The wall
Free Derry Corner is a freestanding gable wall in the Bogside. The words ‘You are now entering Free Derry’ were first written there in January 1969, after a night of rioting and police attacks in the Bogside. The Museum of Free Derry traces the slogan’s origins and the local civil rights campaign. The wall was later repainted in black lettering, and that is more or less the wall you see today. The terrace it once ended has long gone, leaving the gable standing alone at the junction.
The corner itself is a short stop. What gives it weight is everything around it, so don’t just take the photo and leave.
Free Derry, 1969–1972
For three years the Bogside and Creggan ran as a self-declared no-go area, barricaded against the police and army, with its own street patrols and a pirate station, Radio Free Derry. In August 1969 the Battle of the Bogside, a three-day riot, sealed the area off. On 30 January 1972, on the streets a short walk from this wall, British soldiers shot unarmed civilians during a civil-rights march. It became known as Bloody Sunday. The autonomous area was dismantled that July during Operation Motorman.
The People’s Gallery murals
The Bogside Artists, Tom and William Kelly with Kevin Hasson, painted the People’s Gallery murals on nearby Rossville Street. The first and most famous, the Petrol Bomber (1994), shows a boy in a gas mask during the Battle of the Bogside. Nearby stand memorials to the 1981 hunger strikers. The wall itself is also a working noticeboard that gets repainted for causes local and international, so what is on it when you visit may have nothing to do with 1969.
Visiting
View the wall from the public pavement. This is a residential neighbourhood and a memorial, not an attraction laid on for tourists, and some visitors find the murals’ politics uncomfortable. Keep entrances clear, ask permission before photographing people or homes, and bear that in mind on commemoration days.
The corner is a short walk from the city centre down towards the Bogside, and it is easier to leave the car in the centre and walk. The wall is at street level on flat pavement, though the surrounding streets run to cobbles and inclines. It sits within easy reach of the Peace Bridge and the city walls if you want to string a half-day together.
The Museum of Free Derry is nearby at Glenfada Park. Its exhibits and archive cover the civil rights period, including Bloody Sunday. Check current museum opening and tickets before visiting.