Today Gavin took us on his own tour of Derry, and it was so interesting to hear about the troubles from someone who knows so much. Gavin is originally from Donegal, and taught at Magee for a bunch of years, so his insight is pretty awesome. We walked through Bogside, a very historically Catholic concentrated area where Bloody Sunday occurred and then though a similar neighborhood where Protestants have historically lived. Derry is known for the murals that are found painted on the sides of buildings, and they were so powerful and moving.
In Bogside there was a memorial for the victims of Bloody Sunday, right where the violence broke out and where a lot of the people were killed and wounded. The area doesn't look anything like it did back when it happened, but the streets were the same, and it was easy to imagine everything that happened.
After that we walked to the Peace Bridge, which is the first walking bridge to be build to connect the city's two sides, divided by the river. On the Bogside, population movements have slowly resulted in an overwhelming majority of Catholics. On the Waterside across the bridge, an overwhelming majority of Protestants. Segregation seems to be the theme of the city, manifestations of this in the segregated schools, and imposing fences and walls. The Peace Bridge was built two years ago in an attempt to symbolize reaching across this division and is said to be in the shape of two hands as they come together for a handshake.
Along the way we stopped at some of the iconic statues and sites in Derry. Ill post some pictures here and the rest on Facebook. On Monday classes start, and maybe it will make me feel less like I'm on extended vacation!
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