World Famous Peace-bridge linking the Two Communities of the Divided City

Derry Londonderry Private Full Day Tour From Belfast

Cruises & Sailing
Digital
480 minutes
English

A Completely Unique Private Tour with a Professional Tour Guide including Private Transportation.This Tour is completely Unique in that it is not offered by ANY other company ANYWHERE in Northern Ireland.It is an amazing day out in beautiful ancient County Derry/Londonderry!This tour would suit previous visitors to Northern Ireland who have did all the other sights! You will learn about the Battle of the Bogside,Operation Motorman and Bloody Sunday.Your guide will take you through the area in which those tragic events took place, show you where thirteen civil rights marchers where shot dead by the paratroopers of the British Army, your guide who is also a local historian as well as a political activist will also take you on your own private tour of the ancient city walls where you will learn about the siege and plantation as well as the politically charged murals and street art depicting various events related to the city and beyond as well as the historic canons dotted through city.

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Derry Londonderry Private Full Day Tour From Belfast

Pickup included

From$466.67Per Person

What's included in Derry Londonderry Private Full Day Tour From Belfast

(Subject to Option Inclusions)

Itinerary

Free Derry Corner

We will visit the World Famous Free Derry Corner for some photograph opportunities.

Admission Ticket Included

The Bogside Artists

We will visit "The Bogside" which is a majority Catholic/Irish republican area, and shares a border with the Protestant/Ulster loyalist enclave of the Fountain.The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The large gable-wall murals by the Bogside Artists, Free Derry Corner and the Gasyard Féile are popular tourist attractions. You will learn about The Battle of the Bogside which was a very large communal riot that took place from 12 to 14 August 1969 in Derry, Northern Ireland. The fighting was between residents of the Bogside area (organised under the Derry Citizens' Defence Association), and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) along with local unionists. The rioting erupted at the end of an Apprentice Boys parade which was passing along the city walls, past the Catholic Bogside. Fierce rioting broke out between local unionists and the police on one side and Catholics on the other. Rioting between police and Bogside residents continued for three days. The police were unable to enter the area and eventually the British Army was deployed to restore order. The riot, which sparked widespread violence elsewhere in Northern Ireland, is commonly seen as one of the first major confrontations in the conflict known as the Troubles.

Admission Ticket Included

Republican Murals: Bloody Sunday

You will learn about Operation Motorman which was a large operation carried out by the British Army (HQ Northern Ireland) in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The operation took place in the early hours of 31 July 1972 with the aim of retaking the "no-go areas" (areas controlled by residents, usually Irish republican paramilitaries) that had been established in Belfast and other urban centres. In Derry Operation Carcan (or Car Can), initially proposed as a separate operation, was executed as part of Motorman. Background The Northern Ireland riots of August 1969 marked the beginning of the conflict known as "the Troubles". As a result of the riots, Northern Ireland's two main cities, Belfast and Derry, had become more segregated than before. Many neighbourhoods became entirely Irish nationalist or entirely unionist. In some places, residents and paramilitaries built barricades to seal off and protect their neighbourhoods from incursions by "the other side", the security forces or both. These became known as "no-go areas". By the end of 1971, 29 barricades were in place to block access to what was known as Free Derry; 16 of them impassable even to the British Army's one-ton armoured vehicles.Many of the nationalist no-go areas were controlled by one of the two factions of the Irish Republican Army, the Provisional IRA and Official IRA. On 29 May 1972, the Official IRA called a ceasefire and vowed that it would not launch attacks except in self-defence. On 21 July 1972, in the space of 75 minutes, the Provisional IRA detonated 22 bombs in Belfast. Eleven people (including two soldiers and a loyalist volunteer) were killed and 130 were injured. The attack prompted the British Government to implement Operation Motorman, just ten days later. Preparations Operation Motorman was the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. In the days before 31 July, about 4,000 extra troops were brought into Northern Ireland. Almost 22,000 soldiers were involved, including 27 infantry and two armoured battalions, aided by 5,300 soldiers from the local Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). Several Centurion AVRE demolition vehicles, derived from the Centurion tank and fitted with bulldozer blades, were used. They were the only heavy armoured vehicles to be deployed operationally by the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The tanks had been transported to Northern Ireland on board the amphibious landing ship HMS Fearless, and were operated with their turrets traversed to the rear and main guns covered by tarpaulins. This quick military buildup alerted the Provisional IRA and Official IRA that a major operation was being planned. According to local MP Ivan Cooper and others, the IRA left Derry's no-go areas the day before the operation. Operation The operation began at about 4:00 a.m. on 31 July and lasted for a few hours. In "no-go areas" such as Free Derry, sirens were sounded by residents to alert others of the incursion.The British Army used bulldozers and Centurion AVREs to break through the barricades before flooding the no-go areas with troops in smaller, lighter armoured vehicles. The Provisional IRA and Official IRA were not equipped for open battle against such a large force and did not attempt to hold their ground.Small scale operations were carried out in other places like Lurgan, Armagh, Coalisland and Newry. By the end of the day, Derry and Belfast had been cleared of no-go areas, but the Army remained cautious when operating in staunchly republican districts. Casement Park in Andersonstown, the main stadium of the Ulster GAA, was occupied by 19th Regiment Royal Artillery; it was returned in 1973/4.

Admission Ticket Included

Inclusions

  • Private transportation
  • Do a Private Bloody Sunday Walking Tour
  • Your Very Own Private Minivan So You Can Stop When You Need To
  • Benefit from the personalized service and itinerary of a private tour
  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Optimize your time with hassle-free round-trip transfer from your hotel
  • Fully Qualified Professional Local Guide
  • Gain intimate insight into Derry’s history and culture from your guide
  • Derry Girls Murals
  • See Derry in 1 DAY!
  • Includes a Private Guided Tour of Derry City's Ancient Walls
  • Learn more about the city’s former conflict from your guide
  • Let your driver handle navigation, leaving you free to admire the city
  • Absolutely Unique Private Tour
  • Lunch
  • Tip for your Guide
  • Upgrade to Top of The Range Luxury Mercedes Benz V-Class for £30(Where Available)
  • Tower museum Derry Adult £4
  • Add extra time to your tour from £80 per hour
  • Pickup and drop back off from Cruise Ship Extra £25 each way paid directly to your Tour Guide Cash
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels

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Pickup and Dropoff

Choose to be picked up from a list of locations

Please arrive at the pick up point 15 minutes before departure time.

Additional Information

We will pickup from all Hotels or Airbnbs accommodation in Belfast City Centre.For Larger Groups 8+ Please Call,Text or WhatsApp +447711127772

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Ticket Redemption

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Operator

Giants Causeway Tours