The Maidens’ City: A ‘Herstory’ of the Walled City (the Herstory Tour) tells the largely hidden history of women of Derry/Londonderry, beginning with a meeting of the local Suffragettes in the Guildhall 100 years ago. 

The dramatised tour takes place on the 17th century city walls, beginning with suffragette Margaret Cousins who went on to become the first female Magistrate in India. As participants walk around the walls, they are moved through the enacted stories of key women such as Amelia Earhart, the shirt factory workers, and Cecily Jackson, and the teenage mother burned at the stake for infanticide in 1725. The idea arose when it was realised that the experiences of women were absent from mainstream city tours.

What worked well and what, if anything, didn't?

The tour has attracted men and women, and local people as well as visitors to the city. Performance makes the information more accessible and appealing to people than more formal modes of presentation. It is described as energetic, engaging and entertaining.

The tour will have a lasting legacy: it is due to be filmed and integrated into future documentary practice lectures.

Further Information

Anne Crilly, University of Ulster, 028 7012 4705, or Sole Purpose Productions at