Through the eyes of John McCourt

After leaving Corrymeela we went on a day tour to Derry.  It is also known as Londonderry because the London Guilds paid for the establishment of the city’s industry.  Most people still refer to it as Derry.  This is one of the last walled cities in the world.  The city within the walls was designed to hold around two thousand people, but the city held over twenty thousand during the Siege of Derry.  We met a man named John McCourt who is Catholic and has a vast knowledge of the rich history of the city.  He started out with a tour of the city walls and general information of the city.  We walked around the walls around the city and saw the original cannons that defended the city against King James during the Siege of Derry, these cannons were also paid for by the London Guilds; John said that the name of the guild that bought the cannon used to be engraved upon it.  From each of the four main city gates you can see straight into the city square.  John talked about how common it used to be to have bombs go off around 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon near the city square.  From the wall you could also look at the surrounding neighborhoods.  These neighborhoods seemed very defined with respect to their religion; the curbstones in the neighborhoods were painted in their respective colors and there were many murals to identify the neighborhood.  We stopped on the part of the wall that overlooked the “Bogside” a predominantly Catholic neighborhood.  This is where John grew up and he was able to point out different buildings and areas and tell personal stories about them.  We also learned more about John here; he told us about what it was like for him to grow up and the oppression and discrimination that was part of his childhood.  From here we went down into the “Bogside” and walked around the site where Bloody Sunday occurred.  John told us about how people in his neighborhood protested every weekend because they really had no other community activities.  As we walked he pointed out where people that he knew had died on that day.  He lead us along the path that he followed that day when running from the British troops while retelling the day’s events.  This gave a much more tangible feel to the events of Bloody Sunday, he helped us to understand what went on that day.  John also point out the changes of the landscape, the bullet holes in the building, where the troops had stood while firing, and how the crowd reacted to the event.  As we were walking through the square some of John’s friend invited us into the brand new Bloody Sunday center.  The center was brand new and the plaster on the walls had not fully dried yet.  It was due to open on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.