County Londonderry, also known as County Derry (), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, the nine counties of the province of Ulster, and the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Before the partition of Ireland, it was one of the counties of the Kingdom of Ireland from 1613 onward and then of the United Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1800. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and today has a population of about 252,231.
Since 1972, the counties in Northern Ireland, including Londonderry, are no longer used for local administration. Following the most recent local government reforms, in 2015, the area of the traditional county is now governed under three different districts: Derry and Strabane, Causeway Coast and Glens and Mid-Ulster. Despite no longer being used for local government and administrative purposes, it is sometimes used in a cultural context in All-Ireland sporting and cultural events (e.g. Derry GAA).
Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a Catholic majority (55.56% according to the 2001 Census and 61.3% according to the 2021 Census). The county flower is the purple saxifrage.County flowers in Britain www.plantlife.org.uk
Name The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the Old Irish Daire (Modern Irish Doire), meaning "oak-grove" or "oak-wood".
As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form "Londonderry" generally preferred by unionists and "Derry" by nationalists. Unlike with the city, however, there has never been a County Derry. County Londonderry was formed mostly from the old County Coleraine (see below).BBC News: Court to Rule on City Name 7 April 2006City name row lands in High Court BBC News British authorities use the name "Londonderry", while "Derry" is used by the Republic of Ireland.
History
Prehistoric The county has a significant of megalithic structures from prehistoric times, including Ballygroll Prehistoric Landscape, as well as numerous others. The most significant site however is Mountsandel, located near Coleraine in County Londonderry is "perhaps the oldest recorded settlement within Ireland".A.E.P. Collins (1983), "Excavations at Mount Sandel, Lower Site", Ulster Journal of Archaeology vol. 46 pp1-22. JSTOR preview .C. Michael Hogan. 2011. Celtic Sea. Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. P. Saundry & C.J. Cleveland. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC
County Coleraine and the Plantation of Ulster At an early period, what became the county of Coleraine was inhabited by the O'Cahans, who were tributary to the O'Neills. Towards the close of the reign of Elizabeth I their territory was seized by England, with the purpose of checking the power of the O'Neills, and was made the county of Coleraine, named after the regional capital.
A short description of County Coleraine is given in Harris's Hibernica, and also in Captain Pynnar's Survey of the Escheated Counties of Ulster, Anno 1618:
On 2 March 1613, James I granted a charter to The Honourable The Irish Society to undertake the plantation of a new county.Notes on the Place Names of the Parishes and Townlands of the County of Londonderry, 1925, Alfred Moore Munn, Clerk of the Crown and Peace of the City and County of Londonderry This county was named Londonderry, a combination of London (in reference to the Livery 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:
This new county would comprise the then County Coleraine—which consisted of the baronies of Tirkeeran, Coleraine, and Keenaght—and at the behest of The Irish Society the following additional territory was added: all but the south-west corner of the barony of Loughinsholin, 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 the River Foyle and River Bann.
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 throughout the county. These companies and the sites of their headquarters were:
Clothworkers, based at Killowen and Clothworker's Hall (present-day Articlave) in the barony of Coleraine; Drapers, based at Draper's Hall, later called Drapers Town (present-day Moneymore) in the barony of Loughinsholin; Fishmongers, based at Artikelly and Fishermonger's Hall (present-day Ballykelly) in the barony of Keenaght; Goldsmiths, based at Goldsmith's Hall (present-day Newbuildings) in the barony of Tirkeeran; Grocers, based at Grocer's Hall, alias Muff (present-day Eglinton) in the barony of Tirkeeran; Haberdashers, based at Habberdasher's Hall (present-day Ballycastle) in the barony of Keenaght; Ironmongers, based at Ironmonger's Hall (present-day townland of Agivey) in the barony of Coleraine; Mercers, based at Mercer's Hall (present-day townland of Movanagher) in the barony of Coleraine; Merchant Taylors, based at Merchant Taylor's Hall (present-day Macosquin) in the barony of Coleraine; Salters, based at Salter's Hall (present-day Magherafelt) and Salters Town in the barony of Loughinsholin; Skinners, based at Skinner's Hall (present-day Dungiven) in the barony of Keenaght; Vintners, based at Vintner's Hall, later called Vintner's Town (present-day Bellaghy) in the barony of Loughinsholin.
19th century As a result of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the city was detached from the county for administrative purposes, becoming a separate county borough from 1899. The county town of County Londonderry, and seat of the Londonderry County Council until its abolition in 1973, was therefore moved to the town of Coleraine.
Geography and places of interest
The highest point in the county is the summit of Sawel Mountain () on the border with County Tyrone. Sawel is part of the Sperrin Mountains, which dominate the southern part of the county. To the east and west, the land falls into the valleys of the Bann and Foyle 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-century city walls of Derry; the National Trust–owned Plantation estate at Springhill; Mussenden Temple on the Atlantic coast; the dikes, artificial coastlines and the bird sanctuaries on the eastern shore of Lough Foyle; and the visitor centre at Bellaghy Bawn, close to the childhood home of Nobel laureate Seamus 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.
Subdivisions Baronies
Coleraine Keenaght North East Liberties of Coleraine North West Liberties of Londonderry Loughinsholin Tirkeeran
Parishes
Townlands
Settlements Cities (population of 75,000 or more with a cathedral) Derry
Large towns (population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2001 Census) Coleraine
Medium towns (population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census) Limavady
Small towns (population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census) Maghera Magherafelt Portstewart
Intermediate settlements (population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census) Culmore (part of Derry Urban Area) Dungiven Eglinton Newbuildings (part of Derry Urban Area)
Villages (population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census)
Ballykelly Bellaghy Castledawson Castlerock Claudy Draperstown Garvagh Greysteel Kilrea Moneymore Strathfoyle (part of Derry Urban Area)
Small villages or hamlets (population of less than 1,000 at 2001 Census)
Articlave Ballerin Ballymaguigan Ballyronan Clady Culnady Desertmartin Downhill Drumsurn Feeny Glenullin Gulladuff Lettershendoney Macosquin Ringsend Swatragh Tobermore Upperlands
Demography
It is one of four counties in Northern Ireland which currently has a majority of the population from a Catholic community background, according to the 2021 census. At the time of the 2021 census there were 252,231 residents of County Londonderry. 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. +Religion or religion brought up in (2021 Census)Religion or religion brought up inNumber%Catholic154,62161.3%Protestant and Other Christian81,99532.5%Other religions 2,3680.9%None (no religion)13,2475.3%Total252,231100.00%
+National identity (2021 Census)National identityNumber(%)Irish only106,34342.2%British only62,56224.8%Northern Irish only49,76419.7%British and Northern Irish only13,1485.2%Irish and Northern Irish only5,0722.0%British, Irish and Northern Irish only2,4751.0%British and Irish only1,3880.6%Other identity11,4774.6%Total252,231100.0%All Irish identities116,03246.0%All British identities81,09732.2%All Northern Irish identities21,24810.9%
Administration The county was administered by Londonderry County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973. They were replaced by district councils. These councils were: Londonderry City Council (renamed Derry City Council in 1984), Limavady Borough Council, and Magherafelt District Council, most of Coleraine Borough Council, and part of Cookstown 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, and Mid-Ulster District.
Transport
Airports The county is served by City of Derry airport, located 7mi to the north of Derry, near Eglinton. The airport is served by regular flights to Birmingham, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London-Heathrow, Liverpool and Manchester, with occasional charter services to continental Europe. The airport is currently served by easyJet, Loganair and Ryanair.
Rail
Translink Northern Ireland Railways provide all railway services in the county, linking Derry~Londonderry, Bellarena, Castlerock and Coleraine to Belfast Grand Central, this service operates hourly on the Belfast-Derry railway line. A line also diverges from Coleraine, connecting Portrush, County Antrim on the Coleraine-Portrush railway line which also serves University, this service also operates hourly.
There is also the Foyle Valley Railway, a museum in Derry with some rolling stock from both the County Donegal Railway and the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway, and is located on the site of the former Londonderry Foyle Road railway station. The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway continued as a private bus company based in the city but operating predominantly in County Donegal until it closed in 2014. Bus services are now provided by Ulsterbus.
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