Free Derry Corner is an icon representing the Republican Resistance, and marking the eastern border of the Bogside area. The words “You are Now Entering Free Derry” were painted on the side of a dwelling, destroyed by British troops in 1972, and then rebuilt.
There are a variety of murals in the Bogside area, depicting historical events using photos, film clips and artistic symbolism. They include:
•The Bloody Sunday Monument, which commemorates the civil rights march that turned violent on January 20, 1972 when 14 peaceful protestors were shot by British soldiers.
•The H-Block Monument, which remembers the 1981 Hunger Strike of prison inmates, as well as the ten who died. Mass prison protests resulted in refusal by inmates to bathe or dress in prison garb.
•Petrol Bomber Mural, which shows a boy trying to shield himself by wearing a gas mask from the assault against Republicans by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1969.
•Death of an Innocent, which portrays Annette McGavigan, the first child to die as a result of the violence in Derry. She was mistakenly shot while walking home from school in 1971. Annette was just fourteen years old at the time.
•Bloody Sunday Mural, which shows Edward Daly, a priest, as he tries to remove a victim named Jackie Duddy from danger.
•The Rioter, which depicts a lone protester in the futile effort of fending off a British tank with only a bedspring as a weapon.
•The Civil Rights Mural, which commemorates the peaceful protest marches that preceded the beginning of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Violence erupting between protestors and the RUC in March of 1968 is considered to be the turning point from peaceful protest to violent rioting.
The artists who created the murals have set up the Bogside Artist Studio, located amid the murals. Visitors can attend talks and obtain more information about the murals and the events they represent.