We were in Derry in late August, spending time with an old friend and reacquainting (me) with a place I visited in 1992. It’s an old town, about 1500 years, with a mainly twentieth-century history (at least in terms of what it is best known for). However, its most well-known site is a wall built around the old city, constructed between 1613 and 1618, to keep the Protestants in and the Catholics out.

Ireland was partitioned, north versus the Republic of Ireland, in 1921 with the north continuing under British rule and the south an independent nation. Derry became a border city and the epicenter of the ongoing struggle in the rule of Ireland. In many ways, “The Troubles” began when William of Orange defeated King James II and claimed the English throne. William wasn’t even English, he was Dutch. But he represented the protestants and they wished to rule over and drive out the Jacobites (the Catholics). In 1690, Orange Bill invaded Ireland with 36,000 troops. Orange Bill defeated James Two at the Battle of The Boyne and James left for France never to return to what then had become Great Britain. The Protestants were now in charge of a predominantly Catholic nation.

The split along religious lines was bound to lead to difficulties, especially as the religious minority continued to discriminate against their Catholic brethren. By the 1960s, the problems had grown more serious and the two sides became increasingly more hostile to each other. The British army sided with the Orangemen, exacerbating the situation. There was the Battle of Bogside in 1969 and Bloody Sunday in 1972 where 13 unarmed citizens were shot and killed by British paratroopers, bringing the conflict onto the world stage. Events from those times are portrayed in murals that appear all over Bogside. The woman in the second mural is Bernadette Devlin.

Derry is a beautiful place, kept lusciously green by the never-ending rain. It has been restored again and again and is a great walk about place. The River Foyle divides the city. The river is transversed by several bridges, including a more recently constructed pedestrian/bicycle-only architectural delight. We stayed in an Airbnb on the east bank, looking directly downtown.

Of course, no visit to any place is complete without an assessment of public art. In addition to the Bogside murals, there are a number of murals all over Derry. One celebrates the show “Derry Girls”, shot in Belfast (what?). The second Derry Girls mural commemorates the real women who worked in the clothing and other industries.