St Columb’s Cathedral to host 2015 Walls400 History Lecture

As the Walled City’s oldest building, the Cathedral is an appropriate venue for events that unpack our rich but often contested history.

Prof Gillespie has written extensively on 17th Century Ulster and in 1987 the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s University, Belfast, published his book ‘Conspiracy: Ulster Plots and Plotters 1615’. It is from this rich research base that Professor Gillespie will deliver the 2015 Walls400 History Lecture on the subject of ‘The Great Northern Plot’.

The plot and subsequent trial took place in the city and county of Londonderry 400 years ago this year. Beyond the immediate effects on relationships between the Settlers and Native Irish, the story of the Plot was of major political concern in the Irish Parliament in Dublin and Court of James I in London. It is no coincidence that the building of the Derry Walls, a task largely neglected prior to the Plot, by the London Companies, was begun in earnest in 1615.

The Walls400 History Lecture is organised by the Friends of the Derry Walls. Tickets cost £10 (£6 concessions) and can be booked via the Playhouse Box Office on 028 7126 8027 or via www.derryplayhouse.co.uk.

The event is sponsored by the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Event Collective and the Department of the Environment. Proceeds from the lecture will go to support archaeological investigations in around the Walled City in 2016 and is supported by the Friends of St Columb’s Cathedral and the North West Archaeological and Historical Society.

The November lecture is an opportunity to learn more about the events of 400 years ago, which shaped our city and cultural identities, at the same time as making a contribution to supporting local archaeological investigations in 2016.

Dr Brian Lacey delivered the 2013 Walls400 Lecture on the subject of ‘Derry before Londonderry’ looking at the story of the monastic settlement on island of Derry before the Plantation City was created; Dr Kevin Whelan delivered the 2014 lecture on the subject of ‘Derry in Revolutionary Times’ exploring life in Londonderry between the American and French Revolutions.