Tour guide in Londonderry Northern Ireland William K.

My name is Billy. I have a PhD in history from Cambridge University but be assured we will not be so formal during your visit. I grew up in Derry/Londonderry and in Donegal. Surrounded by 10, 000 years of history it is perhaps no surprise that I became a historian. I am retired now but still excited about discovering and talking about my home and all that happened here. From Early Christian Ireland to the present day the city has played a key role in Irish, British, European and American history. Of course, this is a lot of history and heritage so you can personalize your tour to suit your own particular interests or just take one of my tours on the ToursByLocals website. Ireland has had many visitors over the centuries and some of them, Vikings, Normans, Scots and English liked it so much they stayed. This diversity produced over time an unparalleled cultural heritage still vibrant today. The Irish also left through the port of Derry in great numbers, sometimes by choice but more often because they had no choice, driven by war and famine to colonize the Americas, a story which is both tragic and glorious at the same time. Ireland has often been plagued by war or famine and Derry has had its share of these tragedies: burnt by the Vikings, destroyed by invading English then rebuilt by the English as Londonderry, the citadel of the Plantation of Ulster. Besieged three times but never captured, the Maiden City is the only complete wall city in Ireland. Most recently the city and its people suffered thirty years of the 'Troubles' but is now thankfully at peace. As a son of Derry, the poet Seamus Heaney wrote, it is now hopefully a place 'where hope and history rhyme'. I would be delighted to show you my home and tell you all about it. PhD University of Cambridge, BA Hons in Modern History from the University of Dublin, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy I am not a licensed tour guide.