Seven brilliant photographs of Derry's legendary Alleyman’s bar taken a month before it was blown up in gas explosion

The famous watering hole on the Lower Strand was irreparably damaged in the blast early on Saturday morning, August 7, 2004.

Mercifully nobody was injured in the explosion but the pub, alas, had to be tumbled on Tuesday, August 10. It marked the end of an era for a famous local boozer which had served generations of punters from the 1920s.

The ‘Journal’ photographer visited the pub in July 2004, just weeks before the blast, and captured its unique ambience for posterity.