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Derry Gaol

Buildings and structures in Derry (city)Defunct prisons in Northern IrelandEngvarB from March 2020History of Derry (city)
Derry.GaolTower
Derry.GaolTower

Derry Gaol, also known as Londonderry Gaol, refers to one of several gaols (prisons) constructed consecutively in Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Derry Gaol is notable as a place of incarceration for Irish Republican Army (IRA) members during the Irish Civil War, and for its numerous executions, seven of which took place between 1820 and 1923. On Christmas day 1939 interned Irish Republican prisoners took control of the jail, protesting their continued imprisonment without charges or trials. On 20 March 1943, 21 Irish Republican prisoners tunneled their way out of Derry Jail with the assistance of Jimmy Steele (republican). This escape was referred to as "The Big Derry Jail Escape".

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Derry Gaol (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Derry Gaol
Wall of Derry, Derry/Londonderry Waterside

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

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N 54.994 ° E -7.326 °
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Double Bastion

Wall of Derry
BT48 6DH Derry/Londonderry, Waterside
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
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Free Derry Corner
Free Derry Corner

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". Civil rights activist and writer Eamonn McCann stated: "That phrase, 'You are now entering Free Derry', I take credit for that. It's not an original phrase but it was I who devised it on the night in question and had it put up on the wall, and that's the most enduring thing I've ever written: You are now entering Free Derry. That came from Berkeley in California in 1956 in a Berkeley Free Speech Movement ... And there was a student occupation of Berkeley College ... In the entrance to Berkeley College there was a big sign that said 'You are now entering Free Berkeley' from the Free Speech Movement, and I said, Well that's cool, and then when we came to Derry, I had that put up on that gable wall...." 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.