Ten years of city’s ‘structural handshake’

Its aim was to bring communities together in a symbolic union of what was once a divided city.

The Peace Bridge in Londonderry was intended to connect the once predominately-Protestant east bank of the city to the mostly-Catholic west.

The 235m-long structure consists of two tall masts and overlapping cables, forming a structural handshake across the River Foyle.

In the 10 years since it was opened it has become a treasured landmark.

The £14m project, funded through an EU peace programme, has been visited by a former US president, the Dalai Lama and even appeared on a first class stamp.

An opening ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on 25 June 2011, attended by then EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, then First Minister Peter Robinson and the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, former SDLP leader John Hume and then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Enda Kenny.

Six-hundred schoolchildren sang a specially-commissioned song as the bridge was officially declared open on a sunny Saturday afternoon on the banks of the Foyle.

In his speech on the opening day, Derry native Mr McGuinness said the bridge “would be a catalyst for change in the city”.

“It will be a symbol of a new beginning here in Derry, creating a legacy for future generations,” he said.

Mr Hahn said the bridge was a “symbolic structure of the peace-building work and reconciliation” in the city and across Northern Ireland.

Over the course of that decade, countless numbers of people have crossed between the banks of the Foyle, among them Richard Moore.

Now the director of the Derry-based charity Children in Crossfire, Mr Moore lost his sight at the age of 10 when he was hit by a rubber bullet in 1972.

He crossed Derry’s Peace Bridge along with the Dalai Lama and city church leaders in 2013.

He said that throughout its 10-year history the bridge had not only physically connected two sides of the city but linked its people together in a much wider sense.

“People were emotional [on opening day] because when you come through the conflict and what people experienced in this city over the years, we now had a positive image that spoke to us all,” he told BBC Radio Foyle.

“It has made a massive difference for someone like me for example – I never went to the Waterside unless I absolutely had to… but now I wouldn’t even think twice about going two or three times a day.”

Mr Moore said the bridge was a physical reminder to everyone about the value of peace and the peace-building work that has been achieved in the Maiden City over the years.

“We should never forget what it represents, why it’s it there and it reminds us all of the value of peace and removing divisions,” he said.

Foyle MP Colum Eastwood described the bridge as a “symbol” for the city.

Stanley Page, who was one of the first people to walk across the bridge, said he was fortunate to be in the city’s Guildhall for the opening ceremony.

Mr Page said virtually the whole of the city had descended onto the banks of Foyle for the historic day and waited eagerly to make the short trip across.

“I was among the first 10 or 15 people to walk across and when we came out [of Guildhall] there was just massive crowds behind barriers waiting to go across,” he said.

Mr Page said the Peace Bridge had been “a massive asset to the city” and he believed it was testament to the progress that had been made in improving community relations in Derry.