Use this map to explore the makeshift barricades that the citizens of the Bogside created in order to prevent law enforcement from entering their neighborhood.
Additional contextual information can be found below.
On the afternoon of August 14th, after two days of essentially continuous fighting, British troops landed in Derry. At first, many Catholic civilians greeted their arrival with open arms, as they believed the British troops would serve as a controlling force against the anti-Catholic RUC. But they soon learned that the British troops were working in conjunction with the RUC and essentially functioned as an extension and escalation of the Northern Irish police force’s discriminatory practices.1
At this point, the Bogside residents had already constructed makeshift barriers at various access points around the neighborhood. These can be explored on the map below. These barricades were put in place in an attempt to prevent the RUC from entering the neighborhood and furthering their deleterious tactics, many of which had left homes uninhabitable because of fires, broken windows, and the firing of tear gas.2 The residents of the neighborhood felt it necessary to take over control of the Bogside since law enforcement was at the time functioning as a destructive force rather than a force of order. By preventing the RUC from accessing the neighborhood, the Bogside became a self-governing space within the city. Given the pro-unification and anti-British rule sentiment within the Catholic population, this act can be understood as a reclamation of power by a subjugated citizenry – making this an anti-colonial act.
When the troops first arrived, they negotiated with the Bogside residents about the removal of the citizen barricades, treating them as equals within the broader law and order dialogue. This lasted for several weeks, while the barricades remained up, but such treatment ceased upon the removal of these barriers. Once the troops gained access to the neighborhood, their good will evaporated and they functioned as an occupying force within the Bogside. Given the strong pro-republican sentiment within the neighborhood, this would remain the case for the entirety of The Troubles, with the British military patrolling the streets of the Bogside for the following three decades.3
Free Derry Corner
Harvey & Waterloo Citizen Barricade
Chamberlain Street Citizen Barricade
Rossville Street Citizen Barricade
William & Rossville Citizen Barricade
William & Abbey Citizen Barricade
Abbey Street Citizen Barricade
Little Diamond Citizen Barricade
Frederick Street Citizen Barricade
Westland Ave I Citizen Barricade
Westland Ave II Citizen Barricade
Fahan Street Citizen Barricade
Magazine Street Citizen Barricade
St. Columbus Road Citizen Barricade
Notes
- O’Dochartaigh, Niall. From Civil Rights to Armalites: Derry and the Birth of the Irish Troubles. (Cork, IE: Cork University Press, 1997).
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
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The Battle of the Bogside In Three Parts 