A historical castle in Ireland

4 Places to Visit When You’re in the Historical Derry City

Derry, Ireland, is no doubt an awe-inspiring city with a unique location, a rich history, and many historical sites to visit. If you’re planning on taking a day trip to Derry and taking a historical tour of Ireland, take a look at some of the places you should visit.

City Walls

Derry is the only city in Ireland the completely walled. The walls were built to defend the city against the 17th-century settlers. The best thing is that the wall is still completely intact and now serves as a walkway to Derry’s inner spaces. If you want to stroll on these 19-foot-high walls and get an aerial view of Derry, you must visit the city walls. The walls are also completed with battlements, gates, big cannons, and watchtowers.

Museum Of Free Derry

If you want to educate yourself about the history of Derry and look at some historical artifacts, the Museum of Free Derry is the place to visit. The museum opened in 2007 and shows a glimpse of Derry from 1968 to 1972. It’s an enlightening experience if you want to get involved in the events that took place in Derry. The museum also has priceless paintings depicting the city in the old days.

A field with animals

The Peace Bridge

An iconic place in Derry, the Peace Bridge connects the city center with the old army barracks in Ebrington. The bridge was built to end the 400-year gap between the two locations. Today it symbolizes peace and offers visitors a glimpse of both sides surrounded by calm and clear waters. The bridge is also a great backdrop for pictures.

The Guildhall

The beautiful neo-gothic style building, built in 1887, is just outside the city walls. The site was restored in 2013 and has been open to tourists ever since. So if you’re into stone architecture and authentic historic sites against the backdrop of clear blue skies, then visiting the Guildhall should be on your list.

Get One-Day Heritage Tours With My Ireland Family Heritage

Immerse yourself with nature and cultural heritages and take a tour of Ireland. My Ireland Family Heritage offers cultural and ancestry tours of Ireland. Besides that, our company also offers comprehensive Irish ancestry and genealogy research with an accuracy rate of 95%. We also have authentic tour guides, so you know you’ll be seeing the most authentic sites in Ireland. To learn more about our tours or book a consultation, reach out to us today!

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Review of My Ireland Heritage Tours Presented on Trip adviser Oct 2024 By • Family TomBarron2013 New York City, NY2

Once in a lifetime experience

Oct 2024 • Family

We highly recommend My Ireland Heritage for anyone who wants to learn and be guided to their Irish “roots” and much, much more. Sean Quinn and Ian Darragh of My Ireland Family Heritage have deep knowledge or the areas we wanted to visit in Meath, Sligo and Kilkenny. While we knew about one side of the family history back to 1690, there was nothing known about the other that arrived in the US in the 1870s.

Ian, Sean, and Nicola did thorough research on our localities and locations from which our ancestors left for America in 1849 and later. In addition, Ian and Sean did separate day-long “recons” in advance of our time with them, seeking out local people and the specific properties with maps and whatever records still available. Their results were absolutely outstanding! In both our cases, they found and took us to our still-existing cottages and shops from the early 1820s.

It was so enjoyable to be with Ian for three days and for a special day with Sean. Whether it was the Newgrange World Heritage sites 5,500 years old , the Battle of the Boyne 1690 , or the local cemeteries and churches of our ancestors. Ian was especially attentive to my wife throughout the travels after she twisted her ankle in a rain-soaked old cemetery.

Throughout the process of trip preparation over months to giving us the final, wonderful books of Meath and Sligo, Aisling was highly professional and responsive with all the many details. The bound books she prepared are treasures! Thanks to all for truly exceptional experiences.

Newgrange World Unesco Site 5500 years old
Battle of the Boyne 1690 AD
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Entrance stone at Newgrange

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Review of My Ireland Heritage Tours Presented on Trip adviser by Shelley L @ sjlively

Exceptional in every way!

Over the last few months of preparing for our trip, every single detail was meticulously attended, not only professionally, but helpfully, and in such a friendly manner, that I felt as if I knew Sean, Aisling and Ian before I even stepped off the plane.

The amount of work these wonderful people put into our personal history is mindboggling. My mother was an avid amateur genealogist, and had worked for decades to bring to light the trail our family took, but our resources are limited.

Sean knows exactly where to look, and was able to fill in so many gaps that had eluded us for generations. Some of the information he found, unbeknownst even to him, actually solidified the findings we had amassed over the years. Ours was a family in coal mining – I only found on our tour that they had originated from a mining area, and their arrival on the  border coincided exactly with the decline in the mining industry in County Wicklow.

I would have been overjoyed simply with the knowledge of why they left when they did, about 12 years before the famine. Breaking through our brick wall of great grandparents even farther back on the family tree was a dream come true, but to be able to set foot on not only the area they lived, and find that the house is still there was overwhelming. Seeing the family church and cemetery where our ancestors and extended family still rest is a truly moving experience.

The care taken by this company in each and every aspect of the journey cannot be overstated. Only about 2 weeks prior to my trip, Sean contacted me to let me know that he had also stumbled across some of my husband’s family name in the process and included them as well in his research. How often can anyone say that they not only got what they paid for, but more than they ever imagined? I can say that. They were even kind enough to answer a few follow-up questions after my return home, as I was so stunned on my tour with Ian that I didn’t think ask at the time.If you have the opportunity to make the trip to Ireland, contact My Ireland Family Heritage before you go.

If your family was there, Sean will go above and beyond to find them. Even without family, contact them anyway. Ian is a walking encyclopedia of history, and so fun to talk to. Aisling will make sure every “I” is dotted, and every “T” is crossed.  Thank you so much for the trip of a lifetime, and the opportunity to pass on everything we have discovered to future generations

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