Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Derry (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Free Derry Corner, St Columb's Cathedral, and Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. Also, be sure to include Hands Across the Divide in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Derry (Northern Ireland).
Table of Contents
Free Derry Corner
Historical landmark in Derry, Northern Ireland. 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 the corner is a memorial to the 1981 hunger strikers and several murals. There is also a memorial to those who died engaging in paramilitary activity as part of the Provisional IRA's Derry Brigade.
On 5 January 1969 a local activist, long believed to be John "Caker" Casey, but who might have been Liam Hillen, painted graffiti on a gable wall at the end of a housing terrace stating "You are now entering Free Derry". When the British Home Secretary, Jim Callaghan, visited Derry in August 1969, the "Free Derry" wall was painted white and the "You are now entering Free Derry" sign was professionally re-painted in black lettering. The area in front of the wall became known as Free Derry Corner by the inhabitants. It 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. It has been repainted at frequent intervals. As currently situated, it now lies in the central reservation of Lecky Road, which was upgraded to a dual carriageway sometime following the demolition of the original terraced houses.[1]
Address: Rossville Street/Fahan Street, BT48 6AQ Derry
St Columb's Cathedral
Britain's first post-Reformation church. St Columb's Cathedral in the walled city of Derry, Northern Ireland, is the cathedral church and episcopal see of the Church of Ireland's Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. It is also the parish church of Templemore. It is dedicated to Saint Columba, the Irish monk who established a Christian settlement in the area before being exiled from Ireland and introducing Christianity to Scotland and northern England. Built after the Reformation in Ireland, St Columb's is the first Anglican cathedral to have been built in the British Isles after the Reformation and was the first non-Roman Catholic cathedral to be built in Western Europe.[2]
Address: London St, BT48 6RQ Londonderry
Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium
Stadium in Derry, Northern Ireland. The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and NIFL Premiership team Institute
The football team play on Friday evenings usually at 7.45pm; the greyhound racing takes place on Monday evenings and occasionally on Thursday evenings.
Until September 2018, the stadium was known as the Brandywell Stadium before it was renamed to honour Ryan McBride.[3]
Address: Lone Moor Avenue, BT48 9HZ Derry
Hands Across the Divide
Hands Across the Divide is a sculpture in Derry, Northern Ireland. The statue was created by Maurice Harron, and erected in 1992. It stands on the western side of the Craigavon Bridge and symbolizes reconciliation between both sides of the political divide during The Troubles.[4]
St Eugene's Cathedral
19th-century Catholic cathedral. St Eugene's Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral located in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the "Mother Church" for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Derry, as well as the parish Church of the parish of Templemore.[5]
Address: Francis St., Derry
Foyle Valley Railway
Museum in Derry, Northern Ireland. The Foyle Valley Railway is a railway museum in Derry, Northern Ireland.
Foyle Valley Railway Museum was initially opened in 1990 on the site of Foyle Road station of the GNR. In August 2016, Destined Ltd, a charity for adults with learning disabilities, secured a lease on the premises and reopened the museum which had been closed to the public since 2002. A number of Destined members were trained as Museum by a staff member of Derry & Strabane District Council's Museum Service.
The exhibition consists of a recreated station platform and visitors can find out about the various railway companies which once operated out of the city.
The steam locomotive exhibited in front of the museum is a 3 ft narrow gauge locomotive built for the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee in 1907 by Nasmyth, Wilson &Co. originally numbered No.16 and named "Donegal". She was superheated in 1926 and then renamed and renumbered as No.4 "Meenglas" in 1937. The locomotive was withdrawn from service on 31 December 1959, when the CDJRC ceased to exist as a railway company.
Initially, a former County Donegal diesel railcar ran along a 3-mile stretch of track along the riverbank. in 2002, the North West of Ireland Railway Society relocated the railcar to the Fintown narrow gauge railway in County Donegal.[6]
Address: 30 Foyle Road, BT48 6SQ Derry
Craigavon Bridge
Bridge in Derry, Northern Ireland. The Craigavon Bridge is one of three bridges in Derry, Northern Ireland. It crosses the River Foyle further south than the Foyle Bridge and Peace Bridge. It is one of only a few double-decker road bridges in Europe. It was named after Lord Craigavon, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
The present bridge was designed by the City Architect, Matthew A Robinson. Construction began in the late 1920s and was finished in 1933. The lower deck of the bridge originally carried a railway line for freight wagons, but that was replaced by a road in 1968. At each end, a silhouetted mural of a railway station stands to mark the former railway. On 3 July 1968, as part of a series of protests against housing conditions in Derry, the Derry Housing Action Committee (DHAC) held a sit-down protest on the newly opened second deck of the Craigavon Bridge.
A pair of bronze statues forming a sculpture entitled Hands Across the Divide are situated at the west end of Craigavon Bridge in Carlisle Square and were produced by Derry sculptor Maurice Harron.[7]
Guildhall
The Guildhall in Derry, Northern Ireland, is a guildhall in which the elected members of Derry City and Strabane District Council meet. It is a Grade A listed building.[8]
Address: Guildhall Shipquay Place, BT48 6DQ Derry
Derry Gaol
Derry Gaol, also known as Londonderry Gaol, refers to one of several gaols constructed consecutively in Derry, Northern Ireland. Derry Gaol is notable as a place of incarceration for Irish Republican Army members during the Irish Civil War, and for its numerous executions, seven of which took place between 1820 and 1923.[9]
Address: Fountain, Derry, Derry
St Columba's Church
Catholic 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.
The present church is built on the site of Roman Catholic worship which goes back as far as the 12th century. The current Long Tower Church began life in 1783 in a much smaller scale than seen today. Father John Lynch, a parish priest in Derry started action to raise funds for building the Long Tower Church and he received finance not just from Roman Catholics but also Protestant people in Derry at the time. The church was opened in 1788.[10]
Address: 59-61 Longtower Street, BT48 6QQ Derry
Tower Museum
Museum in Derry, Northern Ireland. The Tower Museum is a museum on local history in Derry, Northern Ireland.
The museum is located in Union Hall Place, within a historic tower just inside the city walls, near the Guildhall. The museum has two permanent exhibits; The Story of Derry which presents the history of Derry from its prehistoric origins to the present, and An Armada Shipwreck – La Trinidad Valencera which details the local shipwreck from the Spanish Armada. Tower Museum is the home of the Mabel Colhoun collection. The Museum also has temporary exhibits throughout the year.
The top of the museum has an open air viewing facility, which provides panoramic views of the city centre and the River Foyle.
The museum opened in 1992 and has won a number of awards. It covers the political conflict that has affected the history of the city.[11]
Address: Union Hall Place, BT48 6LU Derry