Free Derry Corner

Last updated

Free Derry Corner
Free Derry Corner in 1969.jpg
Artist's rendition of the corner as it appeared in 1969. The terraced houses were demolished shortly afterwards, but the wall with the slogan was retained.
Free Derry Corner
54°59′44.8″N07°19′36.4″W / 54.995778°N 7.326778°W / 54.995778; -7.326778

Free Derry Corner is a historical landmark in the Bogside neighbourhood of Derry, Northern Ireland, which lies in the intersection of the Lecky Road, Rossville Street and Fahan Street. A free-standing gable wall commemorates Free Derry, a self-declared autonomous nationalist area of Derry that existed between 1969 and 1972.

On 5 January 1969, [1] local activist Liam Hillen painted graffiti on a gable wall at the end of a housing terrace stating "You are now entering Free Derry". [2] [3] [4] [5]

Civil rights activist and writer Eamonn McCann stated: "That phrase, 'You are now entering Free Derry', I take credit for that. It's not an original phrase but it was I who devised it on the night in question and had it put up on the wall, and that's the most enduring thing I've ever written: You are now entering Free Derry. That came from Berkeley in California in 1956 in a Berkeley Free Speech Movement ... And there was a student occupation of Berkeley College ... In the entrance to Berkeley College there was a big sign that said 'You are now entering Free Berkeley' from the Free Speech Movement, and I said, Well that's cool, and then when we came to Derry, I had that put up on that gable wall." [6]

When the British Home Secretary James Callaghan visited Derry in August 1969, the "Free Derry" wall was painted white and the "You are now entering Free Derry" wording was professionally re-painted in black lettering by John "Caker" Casey. The wall and the area in front of it became known as Free Derry Corner by the inhabitants. Free Derry Corner, Rossville flats, and the surrounding streets were the scene of the Battle of the Bogside in 1969 and Bloody Sunday in 1972.

The houses on Lecky Road and Fahan Street were subsequently demolished, but the wall was retained. As currently situated, it now lies in the central reservation of Lecky Road, which was upgraded to a dual carriageway some time following the demolition of the original terraced houses. [7] Also on the reservation are memorials to the 1981 hunger strikers and to those who died engaging in paramilitary activity as part of the Provisional IRA's Derry Brigade. On nearby walls can be seen various murals – part of The People's Gallery by the Bogside Artists. The wall itself is frequently repainted to reflect various causes, both international and local.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloody Sunday (1972)</span> Mass shooting in Derry, Northern Ireland

Bloody Sunday, or the Bogside Massacre, was a massacre on 30 January 1972 when British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland. Thirteen men were killed outright and the death of another man four months later was attributed to gunshot injuries from the incident. Many of the victims were shot while fleeing from the soldiers, and some were shot while trying to help the wounded. Other protesters were injured by shrapnel, rubber bullets, or batons; two were run down by British Army vehicles; and some were beaten. All of those shot were Catholics. The march had been organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) to protest against internment without trial. The soldiers were from the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, the same battalion implicated in the Ballymurphy massacre several months before.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bogside Artists</span>

The Bogside Artists are a trio of mural painters from Derry, Northern Ireland, consisting of brothers Tom and William Kelly, and Kevin Hasson. Their most famous work, a series of outdoor murals called the People's Gallery, is located in the Bogside neighbourhood of Derry and depicts the events surrounding sectarian violence and civil rights protests in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The large gable-wall murals by the Bogside Artists, Free Derry Corner and the Gasyard Féile are popular tourist attractions. The Bogside is a majority Catholic/Irish republican area, and shares a border with the Protestant/Ulster loyalist enclave of the Fountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Derry</span> 1969–1972 no-go area in Northern Ireland

Free Derry was a self-declared autonomous Irish nationalist area of Derry, Northern Ireland that existed between 1969 and 1972 during the Troubles. It emerged during the Northern Ireland civil rights movement, which sought to end discrimination against the Irish Catholic/nationalist minority by the Protestant/unionist government. The civil rights movement highlighted the sectarianism and police brutality of the overwhelmingly Protestant police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Columb's College</span> Secondary school in Derry, Northern Ireland

St Columb's College is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. Since 2008, it has been a specialist school in mathematics. It is named after Saint Columba, the missionary monk from County Donegal who founded a monastery in the area. The college was originally built to educate young men into the priesthood, but now educates boys in a variety of disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Bogside</span> Communal riot that took place from 12 to 14 August 1969 in Derry, Northern Ireland

The Battle of the Bogside was a large three-day riot that took place from 12 to 14 August 1969 in Derry, Northern Ireland. Thousands of Catholic/Irish nationalist residents of the Bogside district, organised under the Derry Citizens' Defence Association, clashed with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and loyalists. It sparked widespread violence elsewhere in Northern Ireland, led to the deployment of British troops, and is often seen as the beginning of the thirty-year conflict known as the Troubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eamonn McCann</span> Northern Irish writer and activist (born 1943)

Eamonn McCann is an Irish political activist, former politician and journalist from Derry, Northern Ireland. McCann was a People Before Profit (PBP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2016 to 2017. In 2019, he was elected to Derry City and Strabane District Council, remaining in the position until his resignation for health reasons in March 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Brolly</span> Gaelic footballer and football analyst

Joe Brolly, born Padraig Joseph Brolly, is an Irish Gaelic football analyst, former player and barrister who played at senior level for the Derry county team. He is from Dungiven.

Murals in Northern Ireland have become symbols of Northern Ireland, depicting the region's past and present political and religious divisions.

The Derry Housing Action Committee (DHAC), was an organisation formed in 1968 in Derry, Northern Ireland to protest about housing conditions and provision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie McAteer</span> Northern Irish politician (1914–1986)

Edward Gerard McAteer was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland. He was born in Coatbridge, Scotland, to Hugh McAteer and Brigid McAteer. McAteer's family moved to Derry in Northern Ireland while he was young. In 1930 he joined the Inland Revenue, where he worked until 1944. He then became an accountant and more actively involved in politics. While his brother, Hugh, became a prominent Irish republican in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Sinn Féin, Eddie chose constitutional nationalist politics. He was elected as the Nationalist Party Member of Parliament for Mid Londonderry in the 1945 Northern Ireland general election. He was co-founder of the Irish Anti-Partition League, founded in 1946, and became its vice chairman in 1947, then its chairman in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 Northern Ireland riots</span> Sectarian riots starting the Troubles

During 12–16 August 1969, there was an outbreak of political and sectarian violence throughout Northern Ireland, which is often seen as the beginning of the thirty-year conflict known as the Troubles. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising out of the Northern Ireland civil rights campaign, which demanded an end to discrimination against Catholics and Irish nationalists. Civil rights marches had been attacked by Protestant loyalists, and protesters often clashed with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the overwhelmingly Protestant police force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seán Keenan</span>

Seán Keenan was an Irish republican from Derry, Northern Ireland. His father Seamus Keenan was a Quartermaster in the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Columba's Church, Long Tower</span> Church in Derry, Northern Ireland

St Columba's Church, Long Tower is a Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Derry. It is located in the heart of the city of Derry in Northern Ireland.

Between 1 March 1976 and 3 October 1981, Irish republican prisoners in HM Prison Maze carried out a variety of protests against the withdrawal of Special Category Status for prisoners convicted of proscribed "terrorism" offences. These protests culminated in the 1981 Irish hunger strike in which ten prisoners died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil O'Donnell (Irish republican)</span>

Phil O'Donnell, was a volunteer in the 2nd Battalion, Derry Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and a founding member of Saor Uladh from the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland.

The city of Derry, Northern Ireland, was severely affected by the Troubles. The conflict is widely considered to have begun in the city, with many regarding the Battle of the Bogside in 1969 as the beginning of the Troubles. The Bloody Sunday incident of 1972 occurred in Derry, in the Bogside area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Bloody Sunday (1972)</span>

This article details the events as they occurred on Bloody Sunday (1972).

The Northern Ireland civil rights movement dates to the early 1960s, when a number of initiatives emerged in Northern Ireland which challenged the inequality and discrimination against ethnic Irish Catholics that was perpetrated by the Ulster Protestant establishment. The Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ) was founded by Conn McCluskey and his wife, Patricia. Conn was a doctor, and Patricia was a social worker who had worked in Glasgow for a period, and who had a background in housing activism. Both were involved in the Homeless Citizens League, an organisation founded after Catholic women occupied disused social housing. The HCL evolved into the CSJ, focusing on lobbying, research and publicising discrimination. The campaign for Derry University was another mid-1960s campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annette McGavigan</span> Northern Irish student, killed during the Troubles

Annette McGavigan was a 14-year-old girl fatally wounded by a gunshot in crossfire between British soldiers and the IRA on 6 September 1971. McGavigan's family has claimed that the bullet which killed her was fired by a British soldier.

References

  1. "Exhibition marks 50 years of Free Derry Corner". BBC News. 13 January 2019. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  2. Kerr, Adrian (16 November 2009). "A silent and powerful witness to troubled times". Derry Journal. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  3. McCann, Eamonn (2018). War and an Irish town (Third ed.). Chicago, IL. p. 27. ISBN   978-1-60846-975-8. OCLC   1090397177.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Sweeney, Eamon. "'You Are Now Entering Free Derry': Man who painted iconic slogan passes away". Derry Now. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  5. "Free Derry Wall painter Liam Hillen passes away". www.derryjournal.com. 27 December 2018. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  6. https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22241810/ Archived 22 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine Eighteen minutes into the interview 'Eamon McCann on life at 80', Brendan O'Connor Show, RTE Radio 1, 22 April 2023
  7. "Bogside Murals tell stories of a half century of conflict". Patrick Comerford. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.