Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
estant cathedral built in Britain after the Reformation, and the cathedral played an import-
ant part in the defense of the city during the siege. During that time, cannons were moun-
ted on its roof, and the original spire was scavenged for lead to melt into cannon shot.
Cost and Hours:
£2 donation, Mon-Sat 9:00-17:00, closed Sun, tel. 028/7126-7313,
Visiting the Church:
Before you enter, walk over to the “Heroes' Mound” at the end
of the churchyard closest to the town wall. Underneath this grassy dome is a mass grave of
some of those who died during the 1689 siege.
In the cathedral entryway, you'll find a hollow cannonball that was lobbed into the
city—it contained the besiegers' surrender terms. Inside, along the nave, hangs a musty
collection of battle flags and Union Jacks that once inspired troops during the siege, the
Crimean War, and World War II. The American flag hangs among them, from the time
when the first GIs to enter the European theater in World War II were based in Northern
Ireland. Check out the small chapter-house museum in the back of the church to see the
original locks of the gates of Derry and more relics of the siege.
Long Tower Church
Built below the walls on the hillside above the Bogside, this modest-looking church is
worth a visit for its stunning high altar. The name comes from a stone monastic round
tower that stood here for centuries but was dismantled and used for building materials in
the 1600s. Long Tower Church, the oldest Catholic church in Derry, was finished in 1786,
during a time of enlightened relations between the city's two religious communities. Prot-
estant Bishop Hervey gave a generous-for-the-time £200 donation and had the four Cor-
inthian columns shipped in from Naples to frame the Neo-Renaissance altar.
Hidden outside, behind the church and facing the Bogside, is a simple shrine beneath
a hawthorn tree. It marks the spot where outlawed Masses were secretly held before this
church was built, during the infamous Penal Law period of the early 1700s. Through the
Penal Laws, the English attempted to weaken Catholicism's influence by banishing priests
and forbidding Catholics from buying land, attending school, voting, and holding office.
Cost and Hours:
Free, generally open Mon-Sat 7:30-20:30, Sun
7:30-19:00—depending on available staff and church functions, tel. 028/7126-2301,
The
Millennium Forum
is a modern venue that reflects the city's revived investment
in local culture, concerts, and plays (box office open Mon-Sat 9:30-17:30, inside city
