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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Shaun Keenan

Bloody Sunday Trust Chairperson condemns those behind Free Derry Corner vandalism

Anger has been expressed after a popular historical landmark in Northern Ireland was vandalised and defaced this week.

The Free Derry Corner in the Bogside area of Derry City is one of the most popular modern-day tourist attractions in the north west.

The landmark dates back to 1969 when a local resident painted graffiti on a gable wall at the end of a housing terrace stating "You are now entering Free Derry".

Read more: Tributes paid to NI civil rights veteran Dermie McClenaghan

However, this week, vandals behind the defacing of the popular attraction have faced criticism, with the Chairperson of the Bloody Sunday Trust urging those behind it to "come back and remove it".

Writing on Twitter, Tony Doherty said: "I see someone has defaced one of the most famous monuments to the civil rights struggle.

"This is no place for personal angst or grievance. It never has been. Please come back and remove it. Leave the wall alone!"

The image of the defaced landmark sparked anger across social media, with a score of responses under Mr Doherty's post.

One wrote: "Unbelievable, they need to get out of Derry. Leave the monument alone."

A second wrote: "This monument to a time of struggle has the equal right to exist as statues of Carson and Craig, murals in Sandy Row, etc.

"Defacing it or any monument to history says more about the [people] who did the defacing."

Meanwhile, a third wrote: "My Lord - will it ever stop?"

The PSNI told MyDerry that no complaints had been made to them about the vandalism at the time of publication.

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