The Derry Walls
The Derry Walls is the largest upstanding Monument in State Care in Northern Ireland and received 466,000 visitors in 2019. It’s been maintained by the State since 1955. The Honourable the Irish Society (who were responsible for building the structure in the early 17th century) remain its owners.
Walls Management Group
Since 2009 a Walls Management Group has been meeting to coordinate and realise the full potential of the monument. Representatives from the Irish Society, Derry City and Strabane District Council, Department for Communities, Department for Infrastructure, City Centre Initiative, Visit Derry, Tourism NI, the Friends of the Walls, and other key stakeholders attend.
In 2019 a City Walls Manager was appointed.
Visitor information
Department for Communities (DfC) has published a visitor guide to the monument.
- Derry-Londonderry - A guide to the historic city walls
- Tourism NI publish further visitor information
- The Friends of the Walls have developed a website
Conservation plan
A conservation plan has been developed which sets out what is important about the monument, explains why this should be considered important, and sets out a series of policies to ensure that this can be maintained into the future. These are based upon detailed research and extensive consultation. A second edition was published in 2015.
Management plan
A management plan has been developed. This provides guidance for those seeking to undertake events and activities and provides up to date contact details of those involved in managing the monument. It also sets provides information on maintenance activity and how this is carried out. A second edition of the plan was reviewed and published in May 2018 but an update is published every year.
Management Group
The management group considers operational issues quarterly with additional strategic meetings held on a biannual basis:
View the records of the Derry Walls Management Group meetings. Documents include:
- Terms of reference for the Management Group
- Most recent approved minutes.
Records of the walls
Research for the conservation and management plans resulted in improved records of the monument which can be accessed at the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland in Belfast or at the Tower Museum.
In October 2011, a Gazetteer was published utilising this data. It provides a detailed description of the monument and its associated history.