Senior History Trip to Derry and Belfast

Recently, Senior History students accompanied by their teachers from Our Lady’s College, Greenhills travelled to Derry and Belfast for fieldwork in their study of the history of contemporary Northern Ireland.

The History trip featured exploration of museums and places relevant to the girls’ study of the North. The visit to Derry included the Siege Museum which commemorates the Siege of Derry, and the Apprentice Boy Memorial Hall. The group also had the opportunity to spend time in the Museum of Free Derry in the Bogside.

This is a repository of artefacts and other primary source material documenting Bloody Sunday and life in Derry during the Troubles. The students’ academic study of the time was enriched by a Q&A session with a relative of one of the victims of Bloody Sunday and the opportunity to examine some of the Bogside murals. A guided walking tour of the historic Derry walls completed what was for the students, a very enlightening and interesting visit.

Next on the itinerary was a very enjoyable bus tour of historic Belfast. Students learned about the City Hall, the impact of the Blitz on the city, particularly around the docklands and the current day ‘Titanic Quarter’, before travelling to the Clonard Monastery, and finally to the Peace Wall that divides the Shankill and the Falls Road. Students got the opportunity to see the West-Belfast murals, memorials and other sites associated with the Troubles, before signing the Peace Wall.

The trip concluded with a stroll around Queen’s University and the chance to learn about Northern Ireland’s ancient past as well as the more recent history of Northern Ireland during World War II and the Civil Rights movement there.

This was a first trip to the two cities for some of the Greenhills girls, and an experience which will certainly prompt new and insightful perspectives.