Fresh controversy over ownership and repair of Free Derry Wall

Fresh controversy has erupted regarding the ownership and repair of Derry’s iconic Free Derry Wall.

Contractors employed by The Bloody Sunday Trust fenced off the internationally renowned structure on Thursday and erected signs saying ‘caution construction work in progress’.

The dispute dates back to a social media post in February in which the Bloody Sunday Trust said the Wall had been “left in a terrible mess” and asked “those responsible to clean it up and restore it to a respectable condition”

Local artist, Ray Bonner, responded by establishing a Free Derry Wall Crowdfunder (https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/free-derry-wall) to help restore the Wall. At the time of writing, the Crowdfunder had raised just over £3,000 of its £5,000 target.

In a second social media post, Tony Doherty, chair of the Bloody Sunday Trust “appealed to builders and contractors not to respond to the recent online call for support to restore Free Derry Wall.

“We are all concerned about the condition of the Wall, but this is not the way to rectify it,” he added. 

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The recent fencing around Free Derry Wall relates to the Trust’s engagement of “a local building contractor in November”.

Mr Doherty revealed the contractor had “carried out a survey of the wall” and “recommended an extensive programme of works which will restore the wall and keep it in good order against the elements for a long time to come.

“This work, some of it specialist, is due to start as soon as we turn from winter to spring when the weather will be more favourable,” he said.

Speaking to The Derry News on Thursday evening, Raymond Bonner said he was alerted to the fencing around Free Derry Wall by a phone call from a friend asking if I was starting the Crowdfunder repair work.

“I had scaffolders booked for this coming week and because I wasn’t sure what day they were arriving on-site, I phoned to see if they'd put up the fencing and they hadn’t,” said Mr Bonner.

“When I came off that phone call, I got a message from one of the Sinn Féin councillors for the area, saying the Bloody Sunday Trust had started the work,” he added.

“Over the past few weeks, attempts have been made to co-opt me onto a committee initiated by politicians and the Bloody Sunday Trust. I feel this has been suggested so that the Trust’s plans, which I feel are an attempt to lay claim to Free Derry Wall, could proceed.

“However, I have no interest in being involved in committees. I only hoped to see a community restoration of Free Derry Wall, self-funded by the people, and I was prepared to put my shoulder to the wheel to facilitate it happening.

Basically, the Bloody Sunday Trust has tried to scupper the initiative I embarked upon a few weeks back. People were warned off my initiative by Tony Doherty in a Facebook post, then I was approached by a Sinn Féin representative and have had pressure exerted on me to desist from my community restoration of Free Derry Wall.

“Despite explaining to the Sinn Féin representative a community restoration project would empower the local community and be a project of pride, it appears some people consider ownership and control of the Wall more important,” said Mr Bonner.

“I never wanted to be the centre of a controversy as this was an initiative embarked upon with only good intentions,” he added.

“There has been widespread community support for the initiative as a community-led, grassroots project. 

“I’m not sure the community has been consulted or there is the same level of support for the Bloody Sunday Trust’s plans. I also feel there is a lack of transparency around who is funding it. 

“As an artist who has followed on in the tradition of Derry people who have used Free Derry Wall to speak truth to power, I have used Free Derry Wall as a canvas to raise awareness on injustice here and around the world - including the genocide in Gaza; the shooting of black people by the police in the US;  and many other issues.  I therefore felt it right that I step up and try to organise this project. 

“I feel strongly that this is the people’s wall and it is up to the people to maintain it. It would be wrong to use state or quasi-state funding to maintain Free Derry Wall and that would fly in the face of its living history,” said Mr Bonner.

“I feel strongly that this wall belongs to everyone and not any single entity, political party, community group or anyone/anything else,” he added.

“The Wall has been a voice for the voiceless - a place where justice issues can be amplified around the world and that is what it should continue to do so.

“If the wall could speak I think it would say, ‘Let the oppressed people of the world look after me’.

“Unfortunately, the Wall has been fenced off by Bloody Sunday Trust contractors. This looks like a land grab to me. Has Free Derry Wall been captured? 

“It was only after the fence was put up that I was contacted by the same Sinn Féin representative to tell me that there was still time for me to come on board with their plans. 

“I find that coercive. How could I ever do that? Many of the people who donated the money to the Crowdfunder project did so to avoid British state involvement in the maintenance of Free Derry Wall. I could never co-opt them into such an arrangement,” said Mr Bonner.

Derry City and Strabane District councillor for the Moor DEA, Gary Donnelly (Independent) said he was “surprised” Free Derry Wall had been fenced off.

“Nobody had heard of these plans until a local community activist put out an appeal for money. Then, all of a sudden, we were informed there were plans,” said Cllr Donnelly.

“Only last week, Sinn Féin called for ‘partnership and dialogue’. This was after a meeting was set up by the Bloody Sunday Trust, at very, very late notice, which I wasn’t able to attend.

“So, I would cast doubt again on Sinn Féin’s idea of ‘partnership and dialogue’. There are going to be a lot of people annoyed about this because political parties are seen to be part of the establishment and Free Derry Wall was always anti establishment. So there will be major concerns within not only the Bogside but the wider community, given the gatekeeping and control freakery that exists within these areas,” said Cllr Donnelly.

The Derry News contacted the Bloody Sunday Trust for comment. It also contacted the three Sinn Féin councillors in the Moor DEA, where Free Derry Wall is situated, and the SDLP councillor for the area. No response has been received for any of them.