Minister Lyons Promotes the Derry Walls

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has visited Derry Walls to promote the historic free-to-use site, which is the largest upstanding monument in State Care in Northern Ireland.

The major tourist attraction encapsulates 412 years of history with seven gates and 24 cannon. Guides can be downloaded from the Departmental website, picked up at Visit Derry in 11 different languages, or visitors can read the well-illustrated signage along the route. 

Minister Lyons said: “This free to-use monument is among the top 10 most visited sites in Northern Ireland. Stretched along a one-mile circuit it holds so much history, and visitors can also visit the many historic buildings and arts venues on the route. You can see how popular the monument is by the number of tourists taking the tour today, from all over the world.”

The monument was among the last city walls to be constructed anywhere in Europe and reflect the highest modern technology of their time. They were built low and wide, with projecting bastions, to withstand cannon fire and to allow its own cannon to be moved around quickly to where most needed.

The monument withstood three sieges, including the 105-day Great Siege of 1689 which was commemorated 100 years later by the construction of Bishop's Gate, a triumphal arch based upon those erected by the Romans. It also withstood attacks throughout 1642 and a 119-day siege in 1649 when the Parliamentary city was threatened by a Royalist Scottish army. This was lifted when Owen Roe O'Neill visited the inhabitants via a secret ‘Sally Port', which still stands in the Fountain, and agreed to use his Gaelic army to relieve them.

The monument also encloses an ‘ideal city plan', which influenced later settlement in America. At its centre is a mathematically perfect market square, the focus of its plan, emphasising that this was a city designed for commerce from the start.

Minister Lyons also praised the ongoing partnership approach in maintaining the historic monument which thousands of tourists visit each year.

He added: “Today, I am also launching an update to the Walls Management Plan which reflects the strong partnership between my Department and a wide range of agencies with responsibilities, and interest in, maintaining and presenting it to the high standard that we see today.

“These include the city council, The Honourable the Irish Society, the owners and original builders of the monument, the City Centre Initiative, Visit Derry, TourismNI, the Department for Infrastructure, the Department for Justice and the PSNI. I would also like to pay tribute to the volunteer work of the Friends of the monument to promote and increase awareness of this important site and its rich history.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Derry Walls were constructed between 1613 and 1619 and their one-mile circuit enclose an ‘ideal plan'. The city was constructed as part of the Plantation of Ulster. As part of this project a new county of Londonderry was created from the former counties of Tyrone, Coleraine and Donegal and the merchants of the City of London were persuaded to fund the work and recruit settlers from England and Scotland. 12 London guilds were awarded ‘proportions'. The Church, existing Elizabethan ‘undertakers,' and some native Irish received the remainder. At Londonderry and Coleraine, the companies came together to create principal settlements and funded the Honourable the Irish Society for the purpose. This company still exists but now concentrates on charitable work.
2. The Irish Society passed responsibility for the Walls to the NI Government in 1955 under a far-reaching Guardianship agreement. Since 2009, they have joined agencies with a practical interest in the management of the structure on the Derry Walls Management Group. This was set up following the development of a Conservation Plan, Management Plan and Gazetteer for the monument from 2004 funded by TourismNI.
3. The Management Plan launched today, is an update on previous versions and sets out: why the monument is considered important; how it is managed; contact details for partners; what permissions are required; agreed maintenance responsibilities; and advice for those working with the monument, improving its security, adding signage, and for delivering events including filming.
4. Since 2012, the Department has employed the City Centre Initiative to provide wardens for the monument and since 2019 a manager. This has significantly increased the responsiveness of management to issues and incidents and helps ensure that the monument is clean safe and welcoming to all visitors.