the city walls of derry

The finest and best preserved of all the town fortifications of Ireland are the walls of the city of Derry, or Londonderry as it became known after the city was granted to the London Companies by a charter of James 1 in 1613. It was these planters who laid out the town on a cross-shaped street grid and surrounded it with town walls between 1613 and 1618.

These walls successfully withstood three sieges - in 1641, 1648-9 and, most memorably, in 1688-89, when Irish and French Jacobite forces failed to take the city from King William's supporters after a siege lasting 105 days. The whole circuit of the walls survives, though three of the original bastions have been demolished and the external ditch has been filled in. All of the original gates were replaced in the 18th and 19th centuries. They are not necessarily always accessible, but there are many access points to the intervening walls which provide a splendid view over the River Foyle below.

Some 17th century cannon are displayed on the northern and western ramparts while other later ones serve as bollards in Shipquay Street.

Within the walls, the most venerable building is St.