US President Bill Clinton with John Hume and Martin McGuinness
The museum, located in the Gasyard Centre in Derry’s Bogside, has been supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and will focus on the story of the Bogside community from 1972 to 2007, including the many ways its people contributed to the transition from conflict to peace.
It will be open Monday to Friday all year round from 9.30 am to 5 pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 4pm from April to September.
Admission rates are £8 per adult and £7 concessionary and groups.
The £2.8m redevelopment and extension of the Gasyard Centre also provides a new community café, improved and enlarged reception area, new meeting rooms and an outdoor space that can be used for events.
The Peacemakers Museum will be housed in the former ‘Drum’ indoor events space in the existing building.
Further refurbishment of the existing structure has created a new dance studio, indoor events space and improved office facilities for the numerous tenant organisations in the Gasyard Centre.
The museum will include artefacts and archive footage, oral history interviews with 50 local residents and installations on local landmarks including Free Derry Wall and the former Rossville flats.
Visitors will discover the role of women and young people in moving society forward, with insights into women’s rights, trade unionism and LGBTQ+ experiences, as well as the role of culture and sport in the community.
The museum also covers the roles of former deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Nobel Peace laureate John Hume, and former Speaker of the Assembly Mitchel McLaughlin in the development of the peace process.
Gasyard Trust Manager Linda McKinney said: “We are delighted that we can welcome visitors to our new museum from July 22.
“It has been a labour of love for the Gasyard Trust and will allow visitors from across the globe to learn our story.
“The museum will also have extensive retail facilities, parking as well as a community cafe which will offer an extensive menu and outdoor seating area to both local residents and visitors”.
Project Manager Michael Cooper added: “The museum and its accompanying website are specifically designed to cater for both visitors with no advance knowledge of the conflict and peace process and also academic groups studying the period.
“It also incorporates meeting rooms where tourist and academic groups can have discussions with local residents with direct experience of the period covered by the museum.
“The museum’s historical content has been developed using the Principles of Remembrance in a Public Space and will perfectly complement the existing Museum of Free Derry.
“We are confident it will be a huge asset both for our local community and also to the heritage and tourism offer of the wider city.”
Dr Paul Mullan, Northern Ireland Director at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “The new Peacemakers Museum presents the stories of a community reflecting the perspectives of people in the Bogside and how they engaged with the peace process.
“The exhibition and its audio and visual archive connect into the wider story and helps deepen understanding of the key events of the period.”
“Heritage is all about how we understand the past and how that can be retained for the future.
Former Sinn Fein Assembly speaker Mitchel McLaughlin
“With project funding from the Heritage Fund, communities can tell their stories of the past and conserve and share their experiences so that others can better understand their perspective.
“Anyone who has a heritage project idea they would like to bring to life, can visit the Heritage Fund website to find out more.”
For more information see: www.peacemakersmuseumderry.com
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