The Troubles in Derry
The siege became an icon of Ulster Protestant culture, and since the early nineteenth century has been annually commemorated by the Apprentice Boys of Derry.
Although Catholics had previously participated in ceremonies in honour of the Williamite victory, many regarded the Apprentice Boys' celebrations, particularly their parades, as triumphalist and sectarian.
In the mid-nineteenth century an investigation into riots in the city resulted in the recommendation that the Apprentice Boys' parades be banned.
These included the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) and the Derry Housing Action Committee.
Because of the political and sectarian connotations of parades in Northern Ireland, loyalists saw this as a republican claim on their iconic city, and the demonstration was banned.
When the marchers (many of whom were injured) arrived in Derry on 5 January, rioting broke out between their supporters and the RUC, who were seen to have failed to protect the march.
That night, RUC members broke into homes in the Catholic Bogside area and assaulted several residents.
An inquiry led by Lord Cameron concluded that, "a number of policemen were guilty of misconduct, which involved assault and battery, malicious damage to property...and the use of provocative sectarian and political slogans".
It was at this point that famous mural with the slogan "You are now entering Free Derry" was painted on the corner of Columbs street by a local activist named John Casey.
A local man, Samuel Devenny, was badly beaten with batons by RUC members who broke into his home after a riot in the Bogside on 19 April 1969.
Petrol bombs and other missiles thrown by rioters were met by CS gas and batons from the police, with innocent residents inevitably suffering.
[4] In response, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, which had previously had little profile in Derry, began a campaign of violence in the city.
By this stage the level of violence across Northern Ireland was such that the government introduced internment without trial in August 1971.
[8] The army apparently believed that an IRA sniper was operating in the area, and an order to fire live rounds was given.
Numerous journalists were present and the events were widely reported, causing horror and fury around the world, but especially in both parts of Ireland.
Anglo-Irish relations hit one of their lowest ebbs, with Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Patrick Hillery, going specially to the United Nations in New York to demand UN involvement in the Troubles.
In August the following year, the city's coroner, retired British army Major Hubert O'Neill, issued a statement describing the events as "sheer unadulterated murder".
[10] On 29 May 2007 it was reported that General Sir Mike Jackson, second-in-command of 2 Para on Bloody Sunday, said: "I have no doubt that innocent people were shot".
In late February the Official IRA bombed the Aldershot headquarters of the Parachute Regiment, but only succeeded in killing six support staff and a Catholic chaplain.
After 1972, violence in Derry continued regularly much like major cities in Northern Ireland after Operation Motorman.
The main loyalist paramilitary that made the biggest presence in Derry was the Ulster Defense Association.
The Provisional IRA continued its campaign of violence in the city, and the Irish National Liberation Army, a group formed of disaffected members of the Official IRA formed in 1974 a few months after the officials called off their armed campaign, made a big presence in Derry.
Irish journalist Ed Moloney claims in "The Secret History of the IRA" that republican leaders there negotiated a de facto ceasefire in the city as early as 1991.
