Stand here and hear ‘Roaring Meg’
thunder across the ramparts to ward off
the ‘enemy’ which had laid siege to Derry
from 1688 to 1689. Just imagine, you can
walk along the most complete walled city
still existing in all of Ireland, including the
Republic. In fact, not only is the Derry wall
one of the most intact in Europe, it has
that continent’s largest collection of
cannon (24 still existing) whose origins
are precisely known. You aren’t likely to
fall off the walls since they are 9 metres
wide– and you will get a fantastic view of
the ancient and now swinging city of
Derry because they are 7.5 metres high,
and 1.5 km in circumference.
The Walls of Derry
www.derryvisitor.com
Derry Walking Tours of the walls are available daily.
T: +44 28 7137 7577
The Tower
Museum - City of Derry
www.derrycity.gov.uk/museums
Union Hall Place, Derry City, Co. Londonderry.
T: +44 28 7137 2411
July-August: Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm, Sun 2-5pm;
September-June: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm.
The name Derry comes from the old Irish
‘Doire’, and refers to the oak grove where
Saint Columba established a monastery –
guess when? In 546 AD. Then when the
English rulers came with their ‘plantation’
‹– ™ƒ• …ƒŽŽ‡† ‘†‘†‡””›Ǥ ‘†ƒ› ™‹–Š ƒŽŽ
–Š‘•‡ …‘ϐŽ‹…–• ƒ† …‘–”‘˜‡”•‹‡• ’ƒ…‡†
—’ ƒ† ’—– ƒ™ƒ›ǡ ‘ ‘‡ ™‹ŽŽ ϐ‹”‡ ƒ …ƒ‘
at you with whichever name you call this
lively city. But the Tower Museum will give
you a fair idea of what you missed by not
being here several centuries earlier–or
even millions of years ago.
Children will be riveted to the two
exhibitions there, with lots of interactive
displays. One is on the history of Derry
right from its geological formation to
all the dhishum-dhishum maara-mari
between Irish and English forces. The
other conjures up even more adventure. It
reconstructs the fascinating story of the
’ƒ‹•Š
”ƒ†ƒǯ• ‰ƒŽŽ‡‘ǡ Ǯƒ ”‹‹†ƒ†
Valencera’, which was shipwrecked off the
Donegal coast in 1588, and was discovered
only in 1971. You can relive the excitement
at the waterfront when its rare artefacts
and treasures were salvaged after lying on
the seabed for nearly 400 years.
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