Arrived at B&B accommodation in Londonderry early and the wonderful Emmett and Katie allowed me to stow my luggage in the suite. Staying up the hill from the ‘Bogside area’, called that because it was built on reclaimed marshland—a “bog”—that was once part of the River Foyle. It lies just outside the historic City Walls, known as the “cityside,” whereas the area across the river is called the Waterside. During the plantation of Ulster in the 17th century, this area became a residential area for workers, particularly growing in the 19th century as Catholic residents were often discouraged from living inside the walled city.

Stilll very much a working class area and as I drove around the streets, I could tell that poverty still exists here, big time – e.g. extensive tagging; boarded-up buildings; broken windows; featureless pebblemix-clad houses with no gardens; bars on windows and doors of businesses; well-stocked supermarkets replaced by smaller convenience stores – very depressing!

You may remember the period of the ‘Troubles’, a violent, 30-year ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted from the late 1960s until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The conflict primarily involved republican paramilitaries (mostly Catholic, seeking a united Ireland), loyalist paramilitaries (mostly Protestant, wanting to remain in the UK), and British security forces. Well, the Battle of the Bogside (August 1969) is often cited as a key catalyst for the conflict’s escalation, leading to the deployment of the British Army.

In memory of those times, a group of artists, from 1994 to 2008, painted a total of twelve murals in the Bogside, which they collectively named The People’s Gallery. The Gallery spans the entire length of Rossville Street, which runs through the centre of the Bogside. Took myself off to see some of the street murals and the historical events they depict.

The first mural contains portraits of the 14 civilians who were killed by the British Army on ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Derry on 30 January 1972; the second, ‘Spirit of Freedom’, commemorating the 10 Republican hunger-strikers who died in 1981.

Another artist also commemorates the 14 civilians killed by British soldiers during a civil rights march in 1972, the central image of Gerald Donaghey, one of the teenagers killed; the second mural ‘Goodnight Sisters’, commemorates Nell McCafferty, a prominent journalist, activist and feminist – with the wall below ‘Two Nations One Struggle’ (depicting the flags of Palestine and Ireland) – representing solidarity between the two causes.

The first mural, ‘Mothers and Sisters’, honours women who supported and advocated for Republican prisoners during the 1981 hunger strikes; the second mural commemorates the beginning of the struggle in Derry for democratic rights, involving both Protestants as well as Catholics (inspired by the civil disobedience campaigns of Martin Luther King).

It was deeply sobering to revisit the pain and suffering endured by Derry people on both sides of the community.

Visited ‘Queen Nails’ in Derry city for a much needed manicure….quite a shock re the state of uncleanliness of benches and table equipment. I did notice that staff were disinfecting equipment they used directly on client nails, so that was a relief. But I did cause a bit of a ‘commotion’ both with staff and clients, when I politely requested that the desk section and LED lamp be cleaned before they started with me…difficult bloody Aussie! Anyway, took a couple of minutes and done!

After that experience, decided I needed a glass of ‘millionaire’s mouthwash’ from the ‘Wig and Gown Champagne Bar and Restaurant’ @ the Bishop’s Gate Hotel I noticed when I parked my car. So glad I ventured in.

The mixologist behind the bar, Gerry, introduced me to An Dulaman – the first gin distilled in Donegal. He told me it takes it’s name not only from an Irish folk song, but also one of the seaweeds that features in it’s botanicals. The botanicals include five local seaweeds (dulaman, sugar kelp, carrageen moss, dulse, pepper dulse) and six more traditional botanicals (juniper, orange, lemon, coariander, angelica and cassia). It comes in a great bottle, said to be reminiscent of those found along the coastline from the wrecks of the Spanish Armada. Gerry did a great selling job, and I decided to try it – OMG, super yummy, with a lemon tonic and a twist of lemon. Unfortunately not exported to Australia, so Blue Sapphire will continue be my gin of choice.