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Free Derry was the name given to the self-declared autonomous republican region of Derry, Northern Ireland, following the Battle of the Bogside of August 12-August 14, 1969. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1230x890, 176 KB) Description: mural in Derry. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1230x890, 176 KB) Description: mural in Derry. ... Irish Republicanism is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a united independent republic. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, BSL, NISL, ISL Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Ian Paisley  - Deputy First Minister... The Battle of the Bogside was a battle only in a rhetorical sense. ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ...

Over the course of 1968-69, Derry was the scene of intense rioting beween nationalist protesters and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. "Free Derry" arose out of a perceived need to keep the RUC and British soldiers out of the Catholic nationalist Bogside area. Irish nationalism refers to political movements that desire greater autonomy or the independence of Ireland from Great Britain. ... The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. ... The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Bogside is a nationalist neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. ...

In January 1969, a march by the radical group People's Democracy from Belfast to Derry was attacked by loyalists at Burntollet, five miles outside Derry. When the marchers (many of whom were injured) arrived in Derry on January 5, rioting broke out between their supporters and the RUC, who were seen to have failed to protect the march. That night, RUC officers entered homes in the Republican 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" ^[1]. After this incident, barricades were set up in the Bogside and vigilante patrols organised to keep the RUC out. It was at this point that famous slogan "You are now entering Free Derry" was painted on the corner of Columbs street by a local activist named John Casey. Peoples Democracy was a political organisation that, while supporting the campaign for civil rights for Northern Irelands Catholic minority stated that such rights could only be achieved through the establishment of a socialist republic in all of Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... For the township in Canada, see Loyalist, Ontario In general, a loyalist is an individual who is loyal to the powers that be. ... Sectarianism is an adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination, it also usually involves a rejection of those not a member of ones sect. ... Closeup of a collection of blinker equipped barricades A barricade is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. ... For other uses, see Vigilante (disambiguation). ...

On August 12, 1969 severe rioting broke out in Derry after the loyalist Apprentice Boys of Derry annual parade, part of which passed by the Bogside. After the RUC attempted to disperse nationalist rioters and followed them into the Bogside, pitched battles were fought between Bogside residents and the RUC in the "Battle of the Bogside". Barricades were put up around the Bogside, Brandywell and the Creggan-all Catholic and nationalist neighbourhoods. When the police were withdrawn from the area, the Irish republican dominated Derry Citizen's Defence Association effectively took over policing of the area. From this time until mid 1972, "Free Derry" was therefore a reality, in that the state forces were unable to enter or control much of the city. This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Apprentice Boys Of Derry are a Protestant fraternal society with a worldwide membership, founded in 1814. ... The Battle of the Bogside was a battle only in a rhetorical sense. ... The Bogside is a nationalist neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. ... Creggan, is a large housing estate in Derry in Northern Ireland. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (Pronounced fee-na fall.) (English: Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in the Republic of Ireland. ...

The autonomy was celebrated by a "Liberation Fleadh" on August 30-August 31, 1969, described by organizers as a "manifestation of mass happiness," one of the more situationist aspects of this autonomous zone. A Fleadh is an event of Irish traditional music, many of which take place across Ireland and parts of Britain and the US each year. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... Situationist, Situationism refers to a cultural praxis developed by the Situationist International (SI), a very small group of international, political and artistic agitators with roots in Marxism and the early twentieth century European artistic avant garde. ... The Temporary Autonomous Zone is Hakim Beys most famous work. ...

During this time, the Irish Republican Army split into the Provisional IRA and the Official IRA. Both factions had a presence in Free Derry and organised attacks from the "no-go" area on British Army troops. A community alert system, often neighborhood women banging garbage can lids, was used to alert the IRA to patrols by the security forces into the area. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the Irish Republican Army in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and opponents of the Treaty. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... The term Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA refers to one of the two organisations - the other being the Provisional Irish Republican Army - that emerged from the split in the then Irish Republican Army in 1969-70. ...

The level of violence in the city escalated considerably after Bloody Sunday (1972), when 14 nationalist protesters were shot dead by British troops in the Bogside in January 1972. The Official IRA called off its campaign in May of that year after local people demonstrated against their killing of a local youth who was home on leave from the British Army. The Provisional IRA, which would become the dominant faction, continued its armed actions however. Free Derry represented a major security problem for the authorities, as it provided a base for IRA attacks. For this reason, the British Army mounted a major operation, known as Operation Motorman, to re-take the area and re-establish control over it. On 31 July 1972, several thousand British troops, equipped with tanks, armoured cars and armoured bulldozers, dismantled the barricades and occupied the area. The PIRA did not resist as it did not have the numbers, arms or training to take on a British operation of this magnitude. The Bogside area viewed from the city walls Bloody Sunday (Irish: Domhnach na Fola) is the term used to describe an incident in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 30 January 1972 in which 26 civil rights protesters were shot by members of 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment led by... Operation Motorman was an operation carried out by British forces in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, which started at 4:00 31 July 1972 to retake the no-go areas (i. ...

This represented the end of "Free Derry", as an autonomous zone.

Sources

• Bloody Sunday Trust, The Battle of the Bogside

1. ^ Eamonn McCann, War and an Irish Town, page 108