Okay, I learned that you can't just trust the map to tell you the name of the town. If you are in the Republic of Ireland, the town is called Derry, and should generally not be referred to as Londonderry. On the map of Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, the town is listed as Londonderry. In the town itself, most people say Derry, and some will say both. In one of the tourist stores, you can buy rubber bracelets that are green, white and orange and they say Derry, or you can buy some that are blue, white and red and say Londonderry!
There is a lot of history here, and it can be difficult to weed through it all, but it is worth it to come to some understanding of the conflicts and The Troubles of Northern Ireland. Derry is where Bloody Sunday occurred. The town is still not nearly as tense as Belfast, in my opinion. The people are very open about the problems, the desire to stop the violence, and the need for peace. How that peace should be obtained is open to discussion though.
Derry is a walled city. The wall has several gates and you can walk around the entire top of it to circle the oldest part of the city. There are numerous shops and pubs and tours and the town has a wealth of information for tourists.
There is a building dedicated to the Apprentice Boys which tells the story of the siege back in 1688-1689. The siege itself took place during a tumultuous time in English succession to the throne, when the Catholic King James II of England, who was also King James VII of Scotland, was deposed by his protestant daughter, Mary and her husband, William of Orange. There were many things that lead to the siege, including a history of discrimination against Catholics during Cromwell's "reign", reform and progress made toward equality for Catholics under the converted James II, and the English fight for power and succession to the throne.
When James lost the throne to William and Mary, he came to Ireland with French Catholic support to try to retake the throne. Derry was a protestant stronghold at the time, and the Scottish Catholics, the Redshanks, attempted to enter the gates in December 1688 on behalf of the multi-numbered King James. The 13 apprentice boys are famous for closing and locking the gate and yelling NO SURRENDER. James arrived on April 18 and asked the town to surrender, and they refused, thus forced to stay inside the wall for protection, yet cut off from food and other supplies. The siege lasted for 105 days, to end with a protestant victory and the town being liberated and James II unsuccessful in his bid to retake the throne. The siege is largely remembered as a show of resolve and strength by the poorer protestant people of Derry and surrounding areas who came to the walled city for protection from King James and his warring forces. Many people suffered from starvation and other problems as a result of being essentially trapped inside the city walls.
The walking tour of the city gives you all of this information and also tries to put it into context. In many of the historical tours around Ireland, they do point out that in many ways the conflicts are not religious conflicts but conflicts of wealthy versus poor, or political conflicts for civil rights, which are sometimes drawn along religious lines. In some ways the siege of Derry can be seen as a stand of ordinary people against the whims of a King. As an American, that idea appeals to me, but the nuances of the struggles and the battle lines that were drawn are really not so simple.
That was an event that took place over 300 years ago, but it still seems to carry baggage forward and feelings even this many years later are still somewhat raw. There are celebrations held each year to commemorate the closing of the gates and the liberation of the city. There is an Apprentice Boys organization in existence today which sponsors the events. Such celebrations and marches can be cause for violence and riots, though in recent years these have been fairly peaceful events in Derry.
Since the siege, there have been wide and varied struggles in Derry, including discrimination and internment without trial, essentially against Catholics, the predominantly poorer people of the city, which has been cause for marches for civil rights and violence as people struggle to make their voices heard. The 1960's were a volatile time, and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement in Derry.
Bloody Sunday took place on January 30, 1972, when people on the bog side of Derry, the Catholic side, marched against the policy of internment, marched for civil rights, and they were shot upon by the British police/paratroopers. 13 marchers were shot and killed, 13 were wounded, and another died later of wounds received during the march. It underwent independent investigation over 20 years later and it was determined that there were no grounds to fire on the marchers. The English government issued an apology.
How to find peace under such events? There has been a lot of progress in Derry towards bringing all sides together, and a visit to the City is enjoyable, relaxed, and informative. The Apprentice Boys' march in August 2013 went on peacefully. Unfortunately, a march in Belfast, (just a week after we had been there) protesting the internment policies of the 70's, was met with protests by loyalists to the British crown who tried to impede the progress of the parade resulting in a riot and injuries to police and bystanders.
There is a lot to learn here. The people are friendly and passionate and it makes a transplant like myself want to learn the history and attempt to understand the struggles of those who have lived here all their lives. I claim an Irish ancestry myself, and will attempt to learn the history and my own family's place in it as we continue to call The Emerald Isle home.
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