County Londonderry | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: The Oak Leaf County | |
| Motto: | |
 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | Northern Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| Established | Date |
| County Coleraine | 1585 |
| County Londonderry | 1613 |
| County town | Coleraine |
| Area | |
• Total | 818 sq mi (2,118 km2) |
| • Rank | 15th |
| Highest elevation | 2,224 ft (678 m) |
| Population (2021) | 252,231 |
| • Rank | 6th[2] |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Postcode area | |
| Contae Dhoire[3] is the Irish name;Coontie Lunnonderrie is its name inUlster Scots.[4] | |
County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots:Coontie Lunnonderrie), also known asCounty Derry (Irish:Contae Dhoire), is one of the sixcounties ofNorthern Ireland, one of the thirty-twocounties ofIreland and one of the nine counties ofUlster. Before thepartition of Ireland, it was one of thecounties of theKingdom of Ireland from 1613 onward and then of theUnited Kingdom after theActs of Union 1800. Adjoining the north-west shore ofLough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) and today has a population of about 252,231.[2]
Since 1972, the counties in Northern Ireland, including Londonderry, have no longer been used by the state as part of the local administration. Following further reforms in 2015, the area is now governed under three different districts:Derry and Strabane,Causeway Coast and Glens andMid-Ulster. Despite no longer being used for local government and administrative purposes, it is sometimes used in a cultural context inAll-Ireland sporting and cultural events (i.e.Derry GAA).
Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has aCatholic majority (55.56% according to the 2001 Census[5] and 61.3% according to the 2021 Census[6]). Thecounty flower is thepurple saxifrage.[7]
The place nameDerry is ananglicisation of theOld IrishDaire[8] (Modern IrishDoire[9]), meaning "oak-grove" or "oak-wood".[10]
As with the city, its name is subject to theDerry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form "Londonderry" generally preferred byunionists and "Derry" bynationalists. Unlike with the city, however, there has never been a County Derry. County Londonderry was formed mostly from the oldCounty Coleraine (see below).[11][12][13][14][15] British authorities use the name "Londonderry", while "Derry" is used by theRepublic of Ireland.
The county has a significant of megalithic structures from prehistoric times, includingBallygroll Prehistoric Landscape, as well as numerous others. The most significant site however isMountsandel, located near Coleraine in County Londonderry is "perhaps the oldest recorded settlement within Ireland".[16][17]
At an early period, what became the county of Coleraine was inhabited by theO'Cahans, who were tributary to theO'Neills. Towards the close of the reign ofElizabeth I their territory was seized by England, with the purpose of checking the power of the O'Neills, and was made the county ofColeraine, named after the regional capital.
A short description of County Coleraine is given inHarris'sHibernica, and also in Captain Pynnar'sSurvey of the Escheated Counties of Ulster, Anno 1618:
The county ofColeraine,* otherwise called O'Cahan's country, is divided, as Tyrone, byballyboes and doth contain, as appeareth by the survey, 547 ballyboes, or 34,187 acres, every ballyboe containing 60 acres or thereabouts.
On 2 March 1613,James I granted a charter toThe Honourable The Irish Society to undertake the plantation of a new county.[18] This county was named Londonderry, a combination of London (in reference to theLivery Companies of the Irish Society) and Derry (then name of the city). This charter declared that the "City of Londonderry" and everything contained within the new county:
shall be united, consolidated, and from hence-forth for ever be one entire County of itself, distinct and separate from all our Counties whatsoever within our Kingdom of Ireland-and from henceforth for ever be named, accounted and called, the County of Londonderry.[18]
This new county would comprise the then County Coleraine—which consisted of the baronies ofTirkeeran,Coleraine, andKeenaght—and at the behest of The Irish Society the following additional territory was added: all but the south-west corner of the barony ofLoughinsholin, then a part of County Tyrone, as it had sufficient wood for construction; the North East Liberties of Coleraine, which was part of County Antrim and the City of Londonderry and its Liberties, which were in County Donegal, so that they could control both banks of theRiver Foyle andRiver Bann.[18][19][20]
The Irish Society was made up of the twelve main livery companies of London, which themselves were composed of various guilds. Whilst The Irish Society as a whole was given possession of the city of Londonderry and Coleraine, the individual companies were each granted an estimated 3,210 acres (5.02 sq mi; 13.0 km2) throughout the county. These companies and the sites of their headquarters were:[21][22]
As a result of theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the city was detached from the county for administrative purposes, becoming a separatecounty borough from 1899. Thecounty town of County Londonderry, and seat of theLondonderry County Council until its abolition in 1973, was therefore moved to the town ofColeraine.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1653 | 6,102 | — |
| 1659 | 7,102 | +16.4% |
| 1821 | 193,869 | +2629.8% |
| 1831 | 222,012 | +14.5% |
| 1841 | 222,174 | +0.1% |
| 1851 | 192,022 | −13.6% |
| 1861 | 184,209 | −4.1% |
| 1871 | 173,906 | −5.6% |
| 1881 | 164,991 | −5.1% |
| 1891 | 152,009 | −7.9% |
| 1901 | 144,404 | −5.0% |
| 1911 | 140,625 | −2.6% |
| 1926 | 139,693 | −0.7% |
| 1937 | 142,736 | +2.2% |
| 1951 | 155,540 | +9.0% |
| 1961 | 165,298 | +6.3% |
| 1966 | 174,658 | +5.7% |
| 1971 | 183,094 | +4.8% |
| 1981 | 197,278 | +7.7% |
| 1991 | 213,035 | +8.0% |
| 2001 | 235,864 | +10.7% |
| 2011 | 247,132 | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 252,231 | +2.1% |
| [24][25][26][27][28][29] | ||
The highest point in the county is the summit ofSawel Mountain (678 metres (2,224 ft)) on the border withCounty Tyrone. Sawel is part of theSperrin Mountains, which dominate the southern part of the county. To the east and west, the land falls into the valleys of theBann andFoyle rivers respectively; in the south-east, the county touches the shore of Lough Neagh, which is the largest lake in Ireland; the north of the county is distinguished by the steep cliffs, dune systems, and remarkable beaches of the Atlantic coast.
The county is home to a number of important buildings and landscapes, including the well-preserved 17th-centurycity walls ofDerry; theNational Trust–ownedPlantationestate at Springhill;Mussenden Temple on the Atlantic coast; thedikes, artificial coastlines and thebird sanctuaries on the eastern shore ofLough Foyle; and the visitor centre atBellaghy Bawn, close to the childhood home of Nobel laureateSeamus Heaney. In the centre of the county are the old-growth deciduous forests at Banagher and Ness Wood, where the Burntollet River flows over the highest waterfalls in Northern Ireland.
(population of 75,000 or more with a cathedral)
(population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2001 Census)[30]
(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census)[30]
(population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census)[30]
(population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census)[30]
(population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census)[30]
(population of less than 1,000 at 2001 Census)[30]
| Religion | Per cent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 61.3% | |||
| Protestant and Other Christian | 32.5% | |||
| None | 5.3% | |||
| Other faiths | 0.9% | |||
It is one of fourcounties in Northern Ireland which currently has a majority of the population from aCatholic community background, according to the2021 census. At the time of the 2021 census there were 252,231 residents of County Londonderry.[2] Of these: 61.3% were from a Catholic background, 32.5% were from a Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related), 0.9% were from other religions, and 5.3% had no religious background.[6]
| Religion or religion brought up in | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 154,621 | 61.3% |
| Protestant and Other Christian | 81,995 | 32.5% |
| Other religions | 2,368 | 0.9% |
| None (no religion) | 13,247 | 5.3% |
| Total | 252,231 | 100.00% |
| National identity | Number | (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Irish only | 106,343 | 42.2% |
| British only | 62,562 | 24.8% |
| Northern Irish only | 49,764 | 19.7% |
| British and Northern Irish only | 13,148 | 5.2% |
| Irish and Northern Irish only | 5,072 | 2.0% |
| British, Irish and Northern Irish only | 2,475 | 1.0% |
| British and Irish only | 1,388 | 0.6% |
| Other identity | 11,477 | 4.6% |
| Total | 252,231 | 100.0% |
| All Irish identities | 116,032 | 46.0% |
| All British identities | 81,097 | 32.2% |
| All Northern Irish identities | 21,248 | 10.9% |
The county was administered byLondonderry County Council from 1899 untilthe abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973.[36] They were replaced bydistrict councils. These councils were:Londonderry City Council (renamed Derry City Council in 1984),Limavady Borough Council, andMagherafelt District Council, most ofColeraine Borough Council, and part ofCookstown District Council. After a reduction in the number of councils in Northern Ireland in 2011, County Londonderry is divided into three cross-county councils:Causeway Coast and Glens,Derry and Strabane, andMid-Ulster District.
Translink provides aNorthern Ireland Railways service in the county, linkingDerry~Londonderry railway station toColeraine railway station (with a branch toPortrush on theColeraine–Portrush railway line) and onwards into County Antrim toBelfast Lanyon Place andBelfast Grand Central on theBelfast-Derry railway line.
There is also theFoyle Valley Railway, a museum inDerry with some rolling stock from both theCounty Donegal Railway and theLondonderry and Lough Swilly Railway, and is located on the site of the formerLondonderry Foyle Road railway station. The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway continued as a private bus company based in the city but operating predominantly inCounty Donegal until it closed in 2014. Bus services are now provided byUlsterbus.
Government-funded education up to secondary school level is administered by theEducation Authority (EA), sponsored by theDepartment of Education. The EA is divided into sub-regions:
For Catholic grant-maintained schools administration is by the Derry Diocesan Education Office.
Two major centres of theUniversity of Ulster are in the county, including its headquarters atColeraine and theMagee Campus in Derry.
InGaelic games, theGAA county ofDerry is more or less coterminous with the former administrative county of Londonderry, although teams from the neighbouring counties of Tyrone, Donegal and Antrim have occasionally played in Derry competitions, and vice versa. The Derry teams wear the colours red and white. There are many club teams competing in up to five leagues and three championships. The county team has won oneAll-Ireland Senior Football Championship (in1993) and fiveNational League titles.Hurling is also widely played but is not as popular as football.[citation needed] However, the county team is generally regarded as one of the top hurling sides inUlster[citation needed] and in2006 won theNicky Rackard Cup – the third tier hurling competition in Ireland.
In association football, theNIFL Premiership, which operates as the top division, has two teams in the county:Coleraine F.C. andInstitute F.C., withLimavady United F.C.,Moyola Park F.C.,Portstewart F.C. andTobermore United F.C. competing in theNIFL Championship, which operates as levels two and three.Derry City F.C. play in thePremier Division of theLeague of Ireland after leaving theNorthern Ireland structures in 1985, having resigned from theIrish Football League at the height ofthe Troubles because of not being allowed play their home games at theBrandywell due to security concerns from other clubs.
TheNorthern Ireland Milk Cup was established in 1983 and is regarded as one of the most prestigious youth football tournaments in Europe and the world.[37][38][39][40] The competition is based atColeraine and involves several other towns and villages in the county –Limavady,Portstewart andCastlerock – and in neighbouringCounty Antrim –Ballymoney,Portrush,Ballymena andBroughshane. The event, held in the last week of July, has attracted teams from 56 countries around the world including Europe, the US, Africa, the Far East, South America, the Middle East, Australia, Russia, New Zealand and Canada. Some of the biggest teams in the world have entered including English clubsEverton,Liverpool,Manchester United,Chelsea,Tottenham Hotspur as well as top European teams such asFeyenoord,F.C. Porto,FC Barcelona,Benfica,Bayern Munich andDynamo Kiev.[citation needed]
Inrugby union, the county is represented at senior level byRainey RFC, based inMagherafelt, who compete in the Ulster Senior League andAll-Ireland League. Limavady R.F.C,City of Derry Rugby Club, Londonderry Y.M.C.A and Coleraine Rugby Club all compete in Ulster Qualifying League One.
Cricket is popular in the north-west of Ireland, with 11 of the 20 senior clubs in the North West Cricket Union located in County Londonderry: Limavady,Eglinton, Glendermott, Brigade, Killymallaght, Ardmore, Coleraine, Bonds Glen, Drummond, Creevedonnell and The Nedd.[citation needed]
Inrowing, Richard Archibald fromColeraine along with his Irish teammates qualified for the Beijing 2008 Olympics by finishing second in the lightweight fours final in Poznań, thus qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Another Coleraine rowerAlan Campbell is a World Cup gold medallist in the single sculls in 2006.
The county currently has four main radio stations:
Habberdashers-Hall.
Places adjacent to County Londonderry | ||||||||||||||||
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