Derry, Wild Ireland then Castlerock - 21 May 2023

21 May 2023 - Derry/Wild Ireland & Castlerock

Took a long time for me (not him!) to get to sleep - think it was having road noise again - has been so peaceful recently.

It rained on and off from about 15.30 yesterday, well into the night - but no rain today 🙂

Had a good chat with the lovely Jo & Francesca this morning - giving us ideas for where to visit whilst in NI.

By 10.30 we were into our busy day sightseeing. Started off with the mural of The Derry Girls.

From there, we walked along the wide old walls of Derry. These were built 1613 - 1618, and still intact, forming a mile long oval loop.

It was in Derry in 1688 that a group of boys who had been shipped there as orphans after the great fire of London in 1666 made their stand. They slammed the city gates shut in the face of the approaching Catholic forces of deposed King James II. The boys galvanized the city’s indecisive Protestant defenders inside the walls.

A 105 day siege followed, during which a third of the 20,000 refugees and defenders crammed into the city perished. The siege finally broke in 1689, when supply ships broke through a boom stretched across the River Foyle. The sacrifice and defiant survival of the city turned the tide in favour of newly crowned Protestant King William of Orange, who arrived in Ireland soon after and defeated James at the pivotal Battle of the Boyne.

I took loads of photos of all the notice boards, again - click on them to read if you’re interested!

The English defeated the last Ulster based Gaelic chieftains in the battle of Kinsale in 1601. With victory at hand, the English took advantage. They began the “plantation” of Ulster with loyal Protestant subjects imported from Scotland and England. The native Irish were displaced to less desirable rocky or boggy lands, sowing the seeds of resentment that eventually fueled the Troubles.

Wealthy London guilds changed the name to Londonderry, and built the walls to protect their investment. “No surrender” is still a passionate rallying cry among Ulster Unionists determined to remain part of the UK.

The town became a major port of emigration in the early 1800s. During the Industrial Revolution the city developed a thriving shirt-making industry. The factories employed mostly Catholic women who flocked from rural Donegal. Although Belfast grew larger and wealthier, Unionists tightened their grip on “Londonderry”. In 1921 they insisted that the city be included in Northern Ireland when the province was partitioned from the new Irish Free State (later - Republic of Ireland).

In 1972 the ugly events of Bloody Sunday brought worldwide attention to the Troubles. The 1998 Good Friday Peace Accord made significant progress towards peace, and the British army withdrew 90% of its troops in mid 2007. With a population that is over 70% Catholic, the city has agreed to alternate Nationalist and Unionist mayors. All a bit heavy - I don’t do politics - or religion!

But - it continues… next walked the Catholic Bogside area to look at the murals - 12 of them depict the events - they are painted on the ends of residential flats.

1 - Peace - a dove in flight, an oak leaf, created from a single ribbon.

2 - Hunger Strikers - features two Derry born participants of the 1981 Maze Prison hunger strikes, as well as their mothers. The prison was closed after the release of all the prisoners in 2000.

3 - John Hume - four faces - John Hume, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa.

4 - The Saturday Matinee - depicts a local youth with a stone in his hand, whilst a British armoured vehicle approaches. MOFD stands for Museum of Free Derry.

5 - Civil Rights - showing a marching Derry crowd carrying an anti-sectarian banner.

6 - The Runners - four rioting youths flee tear gas from canisters used by the British Army to disperse hostile crowds. More than 1,000 canisters were used during the Battle of the Bogside. “Non-lethal” rubber bullets killed 17 people during the course of the Troubles.

7 - Operation Motorman - a soldier wields a sledgehammer to break through a house door, depicting the massive push by British Army to open up the “no-go” areas that the IRA had controlled from 1969-1972.

8 - Bloody Sunday - a small group of men carry a body from that ill-fated march.

9 - Bernadette - an outspoken civil rights leader, who at 21 became the youngest elected member of British Parliament.

10 - Petrol bomber - shows a teen wearing an army-surplus gas mask.

11 - The Death of Innocence - Annette McGacigan, a 14 year old killed by crossfire in 1971. 100th fatality of the Troubles - which eventually took more than 3,000 lives.

12 - Bloody Sunday Commemoration - shows 14 victims

Think we both walked around without really talking…

From there we rejoined the walk around the wall. Had a quick look in the Guildhall and then walked across the Peace Bridge. The €14m pedestrian bridge opened in 2011 - linking the Catholic Nationalists on the West Bank, and the Protestant Unionists on the east bank.

I’m not sure whether it was good to visit on Sunday or not. Virtually all the shops were shut, so we didn’t get any good vibes from a busy place, but then again maybe it was better without too many people…

Here’s some photos of the double deck Craigavon Bridge.

Some more photos from out walk around Derry.

Back to Dave for a quick lunch. We should have been able to service Dave for £10, but the cafe holding the key has recently been taken over - and no key. Really useful!

Tintin driving today - about 20 minutes to Wild Ireland. Think co-pilot took the most direct route instead of the most sensible!

Admission was €34.50 for us both. We were due to see brown bears, wolves, lynx and much more…

We hit lucky with keeper talks for otter, lynx, wolves and bears. The keepers explained that all the animals had been rescued from abusive conditions or had been abandoned.

Think we were also extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time, as the wolves started howling when we were there, which we both videoed.

My highlight was the lynx. Beautiful specimen - actually bigger than I imagined.

I’ve typed enough - will let the photos do the talking!

From there about 1-1/4 hour’s drive to Castlerock. Bit average looking out over all the static homes, but can hear the sea - and will go exploring tomorrow. Over 13,000 steps - and it didn’t rain - and now at 8pm it’s even sunny 🙂