As we were staying in County Sligo in the north west of Ireland, we decided to take a day trip to Derry/Londonderry, a city in Northern Ireland with some historical significance in the past several decades through Ireland’s “troubles”. It was fascinating! Londonderry, or Derry, as most people call it, still remains part of Great Britain and a separate country from the rest of Ireland. The city remains divided both religiously and physically, which you may notice in the photos we took. During this visit, we learned about the Catholic-Protestant tension that has existed in the region for centuries.
Named the UK’s City of Culture in 2013, we enjoyed seeing the city’s sites. Our walking tour took us around the entire circumference of the walled city, which is at the center of the old town. The city walls were completed early in the 17th Century and are the only ones in Ireland that are still intact. As the tour progressed, we learned that our tour guide George was born and raised in the Catholic Bogside neighborhood, which was a focal point of “The Troubles” during the ’60s and ’70s. Listening to his stories and feeling his passion was definitely our favorite part of the day. He brought to life what we’d merely heard about of the Catholic-Protestant tension in Northern Ireland. In this post, you’ll notice several photographs of the People’s Gallery murals, all painted by the Bogside Artists. The 12 murals that make up the People’s Gallery were painted between 1997 – 2001 and commemorate the events of “The Troubles”.
