Compiled by Sean McLaughlin
The story of Derry in the 1970s really is ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. To the outside world, the north of Ireland during this period was regarded as the place that time had left behind.
As a result of the conflict, cities like Derry and Belfast represented all that was negative and contradictory about the modern world. But this perception was flawed in many respects. While the global media focused on a society tearing itself apart, there was another world out there – one in which ordinary people went about their lives, albeit in extraordinary circumstances.
As this new compilation of photographs from the archives of the Derry Journal shows, the community ensured everyday life still continued in the homes, streets, halls and schools across the city.
Packed with hundreds of images of Derry in the turbulent 1970s, this publication captures the remarkable story of a place and its people persevering throughout this troubled decade.
