Tower Museum
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A museum in the historic heart of Derry/Londonderry that includes a section about “the Troubles” as well as lots on older history less relevant to dark tourism, but even if you skip the latter a visit is well worth it and complements the more narrowly focused Free Derry Museum well.
>Combinations with other dark destinations
More background info: for general background see Northern Ireland, Derry/Londonderry and also the Museum of Free Derry for the Troubles part of the city’s history.
I haven’t been able to unearth much background information about this particular museum other than it apparently opened in 1992 and won some award(s).
What there is to see: It begins before you even enter the actual exhibition spaces, namely with a Spitfire display involving the mangled engine of a wrecked specimen of this famous and iconic WWII-era fighter plane.
Once you’ve purchased your ticket you walk through a dimly lit tunnel to reach the beginning of the main permanent exhibition entitled “Story of Derry”. This covers the whole history of the city from the earliest times to the present day. There are several dark chapters in this history, but the older ones fall outside the modern-era catchment period applied to dark tourism on this website (see here), e.g. the Siege of Derry in the late 17th century (still an important part of the Protestant narrative in Northern Ireland).
The contemporary history parts have naturally a strong focus on “the Troubles” and this is hence the most interesting section from a dark-tourism perspective. Unlike the Museum of Free Derry with its narrower focus on Bloody Sunday and the Republican cause, the Tower Museum covers all three sides, those of the Republicans, the Unionists and the police/army.
On display are various artefacts ranging from guns, mock petrol bombs, balaclavas, gas masks, police batons, shields and uniforms as well as model armoured cars of the police. Various types of rubber and plastic bullets (many thousands of which were fired during the Troubles) as well as a CS gas canister are on display too. A particularly impressive item on display is a 2 inch (5 cm) thick multi-layer reinforced glass pane as used in the armoured police cars of the time. This one on display was tested against various types of bullets and you can see the limited damage done. Only the outermost layers were penetrated and shattered but none of the bullets went all the way through. So it was pretty effective protection.
One part of the exhibition focuses on popular culture and the impact the Troubles had on that (e.g. in the rivalry between the two Northern Irish punk bands “The Undertones” and “Stiff Little Fingers”).
There’s also a second permanent exhibition in the museum entitled “La Trinidad Valencera”. This was one of the largest ships of the Spanish Armada that sank off the Donegal coast and was rediscovered 400 years later in the 1970s by local divers.
On the top level of the museum you can access a viewing platform affording good views over the city, its walls, the Guildhall and the River Foyle in the distance.
The museum also houses regularly changing temporary exhibitions on various topics ranging from peace activists to climate change.
Location: at Union Hall Place just behind the Magazine Gate in the historic city walls facing the Guildhall. Post code: BT48 6LU
Google Maps locator: [54.9974, -7.3207]
Access and costs: easily walkable from anywhere in central Derry/Londonderry; fairly inexpensive.
Details: Being located bang in the centre a stone’s throw from the Guildhall it’s easy to locate – it helps that the five-storey historic building/tower that houses the museum is so much taller than the city walls it is behind – and it is clearly marked.
Opening times: daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., last admission at 4 p.m.
Admission: 6 GBP (some concessions apply) … the museum’s own website still says a regular adult tickets costs only 4 GBP, but I believe that is outdated (going by the visitnorthernireland website – unfortunately I did not keep my ticket and cannot remember exactly what I paid, so I can’t be sure).
Time required: I spent about an hour in the museum – but then again I only skimmed the older history parts and the shipwreck section and did not include any temporary exhibition; so other visitors may have to factor in a lot more time.
Combinations with other dark destinations: see under Derry/Londonderry.
Naturally the nearby Bogside district, where much of “the Troubles” played out is a natural combination. It’s easily reached by leaving the walled inner city through the Magazine Gate, then turning left and left again to walk down William Street and at the roundabout turning left and down Rossville Street. In the Bogside you can see the various memorials and political wall murals as well as, in particular, the Museum of Free Derry which focuses on Blood Sunday.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: in general see under Derry/Londonderry.
One of the access stairs to the top of the famous city walls is just outside the museum. And just on the other side of the Magazine Gate a few steps to the right take you to the iconic Guildhall. The Peace Bridge across the River Foyle is just behind that. The rest of the inner city is walkable from the museum as well.
