Free Derry Corner is a square in the Bogside

Bogside

The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The area has been a focus point for many of the events of The Troubles, from the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday in the 1960s and 1970s...

 neighbourhood of Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, which lies in the intersection of the Lecky Road, Rossville Street and Fahan Street. On the Free Derry Corner is a memorial to the 1981 hunger strikers

1981 Irish hunger strike

The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...

 and several murals. There is also a memorial to those who died engaging in paramilitary activity as part of the Provisional IRA's Derry brigade.

In January 1969 a local activist, John "Caker" Casey, painted a sign on a gable wall stating: "You are now entering Free Derry". When the British Home Secretary, Jim Callaghan

James Callaghan

Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...

, visited Derry in August 1969, the "Free Derry" wall was painted white and the "You are now entering Free Derry" sign was professionally re-painted in black lettering. The houses on Lecky road and Fahan Street were subsequently demolished, but the wall was retained. It has been repainted at frequent intervals.

The square became known as Free Derry Corner of the inhabitants, while the media called it "the area". The square is located on the edge of the Bogside and, together with the surrounding streets were the scene of Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday (1972)

Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...

 and the Battle of the Bogside

Battle of the Bogside

The Battle of the Bogside was a very large communal riot that took place during 12–14 August 1969 in Derry, Northern Ireland. The fighting was between residents of the Bogside area and the Royal Ulster Constabulary .The rioting erupted after the RUC attempted to disperse Irish nationalists who...

. Because of the square's position the front lines when street fighting broke out was here. After the victory in the Battle of Bogside, the residents celebrated at Free Derry Corner, 30 and 31 August 1969, along with many famous Irishmen.