The Bogside

The trip to the bogside is an experience that I will never forget. Nothing that I learned in my three months of class or research on the subject could amount to the knowledge I received from the Bogside artist. When we took a tour around this historic nationalist neighborhood outside the city walls of Derry is when it all clicked for me; this is not a religious problem! After listening to speakers and talking to facilitators of different organizations in Northern Ireland I realized that the cause of the conflict is actually unclear. The conflict has been divided down many lines; ethnically between the British and the Irish, geographically, between the North and the South of Ireland, and religiously between Protestants and Catholics.

It was easy for me to understand the struggles of the Catholics in the Bogside and compare their Civil Rights movement to the struggle of African-Americans in the United States. I was happy that our tour guide gave the impression that his community uses their struggles as a source of strength which is something that I can sincerely relate to. I thought that the Civil Rights movement was one that was unique to African American culture, but I am glad that Northern Ireland religious groups, like blacks in the US are on a path of finding peace and reconciliation within their respective cultures. The truth is that nationalists in Northern Ireland, however, have long identified with African American civil rights activists in a cross-cultural quest for equality. From Northern Ireland’s very first protests against discrimination, civil rights campaigners firmly aligned themselves with the ideological framework modeled in the United States by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Bogside community is now famous for the event commonly known as "Bloody Sunday". Signs and remembrances of Bloody Sunday and the Conflict are especially evident along Rossville Street, where many of the events occurred. Perhaps the most famous symbol, and one which was there before Bloody Sunday occurred, is the Free Derry sign that ardently declares the Republican rejection of British rule. Also the murals painted by the Bogside Artist have recently become famous even outside of Northern Ireland. The following two murals are my favorite murals by the Bogside artist.

This mural is a representation of Bloody Sunday. On this day the British Army opened fire on a Civil Rights demonstration and killed 14 people. The mural shows men, led by a local Catholic priest , carrying the body of Jack Duddy from the scene of the shooting. Depicted in the background are the marchers carrying a civil rights banner.



This mural commemorates the beginning of the struggle in Derry for democratic rights. These early marches are an example of the events inspired by the civil disobedience campaigns of Martin Luther King.