Siege of Derry: Derry - the City of the Sieges; Few Events in Irish History Have Generated Such Controversy over the Decades as the 1688-89 Siege of Derry. IAN STARRETT Examines a New Volume of Essays, Just Published, Which Seeks to Explore the Profound Impact Events in the Maiden City Have Had on the Literature, History, Politics and Popular Culture of Ireland

Byline: IAN STARRETT

AS historian T G Fraser says in the opening line of his essay, sieges are the stuff of which legends are made. Homer and Virgil knew this, he says, when they wrote of the Siege of Troy and the fate of its heroes.

Fraser writes: "In modern Ireland similar legends have clustered around the Siege of Derry, the longest and most celebrated of its kind in Irish or British history."

He adds: "The appeal of the siege traditions to a significant section of Protestant opinion is not in serious doubt, but in a society as divided as Northern Ireland, there is, inevitably, another view of these events."

He refers to the 1990s opposition to Apprentice Boys marches by the nationalists, particularly the loyal order's …

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Publication information: Article title: Siege of Derry: Derry - the City of the Sieges; Few Events in Irish History Have Generated Such Controversy over the Decades as the 1688-89 Siege of Derry. IAN STARRETT Examines a New Volume of Essays, Just Published, Which Seeks to Explore the Profound Impact Events in the Maiden City Have Had on the Literature, History, Politics and Popular Culture of Ireland. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland). Publication date: May 31, 2001. Page number: 22. © 2006 Johnston Publishing Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group.

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