Ireland Day 12

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Hello again! Today we left our hostel in Donegal and came to Derry or Londonderry. On the ride to Derry I had an interesting conversation with Claire and Alicia. I learn a lot when I talk to Claire. We always have interesting conversations. Once we got here we met up with our tour guide, Adrian, at our Bed and Breakfast. He took us on a bus/walking tour of the city of Derry. He did a wonderful job! Derry is a very interesting place. There are many historic events that took place here. I am lucky to be able to have this experience! We took the bus around the outskirts of town so we could see more. Our tour guide was telling us about the history and the struggles of the city. He told us about the Spanish Armada and how they were trying to get home but they got stuck around Ireland. Some came ashore to find a way to get home. When Queen Elizabeth found out she was scared that they were trying to make an alliance with a Ireland, so she ordered that any Spanish found in Ireland should be killed. Adrian told us that the priests were going to help but some British soldiers got to them first. They split the captains from the other men and took the captains to Dublin. They striped the other men and then killed them here in Derry. In Dublin they killed the captains. I found that story interesting. On the bus part of the tour we saw the Peace Bridge, a Protestant (loyal to the English crown) neighborhood, a Catholic (loyal to the Republic of Ireland) neighborhood, and a statue of two men standing on their own land reaching out in peace. The bus tour was really cool. Then we ate lunch and I had the biggest hot dog ever. I also had my first pint! It was Pepsi. After lunch we went on our walking part of the tour. We saw the war memorial and then went to walk along the wall around the center of the city. Adrian told us a lot of interesting facts about historical events. We were standing where British troops stood during the Civil Rights movement in the '60s and '70s. He told us about a 14 or 15 year old girl who was shot in the back because she was running away from British troops. They said she had a gun but she did not have anything with her. Adrian also told us about a college student who organized a walk from Belfast to Derry like our Civil Rights walk from Selma to Montgomery. When they got right outside of Derry they were ambushed by the police and told to stay on one side of the road. They did as they were told and the people loyal to the British crown started to attack the marchers and the police barricaded them in. When people in Derry heard about it, they went to help them. I found this tour to be very informational. Then we moved on to see the peace wall that is separating some of the Protestants from the Catholics. That is very interesting. Then we went to the Free Derry corner and we talked about the march that was led to that point. The college student who led the march from Belfast to Derry spoke at this march that came to Free Derry corner. This march became known as Bloody Sunday. We went to the memorial they have for Bloody Sunday and Adrian told us about some of the deaths. They were very personal to him because his father was friends with one of the men killed. This part of the tour was very emotional. When I teach about our Civil Rights Movement I will be able to compare it to the Irish Civil Rights. I think it would be good for my students to compare the Civil Rights Movements. They should know how our Civil Rights Movement inspired some of the Irish people with their Civil Rights Movement. I think this will be great for the students. After we finished our tour we came back to our Bed and Breakfast. There are five of us staying in another house. I hung out here all night. It was nice to have a little alone time so I could reflect on the trip. Now I am tired and I'm going to bed. Good night!

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