{{For|other places with similar names|Derry (disambiguation)
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{{Infobox settlement
|name = County Derry
Contae Dhoire
|image_shield = Derry arms.svg
|motto = Auxilium A Domino (Latin)
"Help comes from the Lord"
|image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Derry.svg
|area_total_km2 = 2074
|area_rank = 15th
|seat_type = County town
|seat = Coleraine
|population = 247132
|population_rank = 6th[1]
|population_as_of = 2011
|subdivision_type = Province
|subdivision_name = Ulster
|subdivision_type1 = Country
|subdivision_name1 = Northern Ireland
|subdivision_type2 = Sovereign state
|subdivision_name2 = United Kingdom
|footnotes = Contae DhoireCite error: A <ref>
tag is missing the closing </ref>
(see the help page).), with 57% of the Catholic population residing within Derry City Council.[2] The county flower is the Purple Saxifrage.[3]
Name
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Doire[4] (Modern Irish Doire[5]), meaning "oak-grove" or "oak-wood".[6]
History
Mountsandel located near Coleraine in County Derry is "perhaps the oldest recorded settlement within Ireland".[7][8]
The county comprises County Coleraine, which consisted of the baronies of Tirkeeran, Coleraine, and Keenaght; all but the south-west corner of the barony of Loughinsholin, which was then a part of County Tyrone; the North East Liberties of Coleraine, which was part of County Antrim; and the City of Derry and the Liberties, which were in County Donegal.[9][10] The Liberties of Coleraine and Derry were requested by the Irish society so that they could control both banks of the mouths of the River Foyle and the River Bann, and Loughinsholin to have access to sufficient wood for construction.[11]
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 Derry, and seat of the Derry County Council until its abolition in 1973, was therefore moved to the town of Coleraine.
From Harris's Hibernica, and also from Captain Pynnar's Survey, Anno 1618:
The county of Coleraine,* otherwise called O'Cahan's country, is divided, as Tyrone, by ballyboes and doth contain, as appeareth by the survey, 547 ballyboes, or 34,187 acres, every ballyboe containing 60 acres or thereabouts.
English control of the territory remained nominal until the Flight of the Earls in 1607, which saw the earls territory—spanning almost the entire county—escheated to the Crown. In 1609 the territory was given to the City of London Corporation and its livery companies, who received instructions to undertake its plantation.
The area for planting included:
- the entirety of County Coleraine
- the barony of Loughinsholin which comprised the then north of County Tyrone and the environs of Coleraine in County Antrim, together called O'Cahan's Country
- a small area of County Donegal around Lough Foyle
In 1613, this larger area became incorporated into the newly founded County Derry, with its county town in the new walled city of Derry (also founded in 1613) on the west bank of the Foyle.
Demographics
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% |
[12][13][14][15][16][17] |
Geography and places of interest
The highest point in the county is the summit of Sawel Mountain (678 metres (2,224 ft)) 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 with its spectacular views of the Atlantic; the dikes, artificial coastlines and the noted 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 Derry
- Loughinsholin
- Tirkeeran
- Parishes
- Townlands
Settlements
- Cities
(population of 75,000 or more with a cathedral)
- Large towns
(population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2001 Census)[18]
- Medium towns
(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census)[18]
- Small towns
(population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census)[18]
- Intermediate settlements
(population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census)[18]
- Culmore (part of Derry Urban Area)
- Dungiven
- Eglinton
- Maghera
- Newbuildings (part of Derry Urban Area)
- Villages
(population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census)[18]
- 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)[18]
Administration
In 1973 counties ceased to be a unit of administration within Northern Ireland, being replaced by district councils.
Derry City Council, Limavady Borough Council, and Magherafelt District Council all fall within County Derry's boundaries. Most of Coleraine Borough Council also covers an area within the county (the remainder being in County Antrim), as well as a part of Cookstown District Council (most of which covers an area in County Tyrone).
Railways
Translink provides a Northern Ireland Railways service in the county, linking Derry Waterside railway station to Coleraine railway station (with a branch to Portrush on the Coleraine–Portrush railway line) and onwards into County Antrim to Belfast Central and Belfast Great Victoria Street on the Belfast-Derry railway line.
There is also the Foyle Valley Railway, a museum in Derry with some rolling stock from both the County Donegal Railway and the Derry and Lough Swilly Railway, and is located on the site of the former Derry Foyle Road railway station. The Derry 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.
Education
Government-funded education up to secondary school level is administered by
- Western Education and Library Board: Derry, Limavady
- North Eastern Education and Library Board: Coleraine, Magherafelt
- Southern Education and Library Board: Cookstown
For Catholic grant-maintained schools administration is by the Derry Diocesan Education Office.
Two major centres of the University of Ulster are in the county, including its headquarters at Coleraine and the Magee Campus in Derry.
Sport
In Gaelic games, the GAA county of Derry 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 one All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (in 1993) and five National 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 in Ulster[citation needed] and in 2006 won the Nicky Rackard Cup – the third tier hurling competition in Ireland.
In association football, the NIFL Premiership, which operates as the top division, has two teams in the county: Coleraine F.C. and Institute F.C., with Limavady United F.C., Moyola Park F.C., Portstewart F.C. and Tobermore United F.C. competing in the NIFL Championship, which operates as levels two and three. Derry City F.C. play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland after leaving the Northern Ireland structures in 1985, having resigned from the Irish Football League at the height of the Troubles because of not being allowed play their home games at the Brandywell due to security concerns from other clubs.
The Northern Ireland Milk Cup was established in 1983 and is regarded as one of the most prestigious youth football tournaments in Europe and the world.[19][20][21][22] The competition is based at Coleraine and involves several other towns and villages in the county – Limavady, Portstewart and Castlerock – and in neighbouring County Antrim – Ballymoney, Portrush, Ballymena and Broughshane. The event, held in the last week of July, has attracted teams from 56 countries around the world including Europe, the USA, 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 Premiership giants Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur as well as top European teams such as Feyenoord, F.C. Porto, FC Barcelona, Benfica, Bayern Munich and Dynamo Kiev.
In rugby union, the county is represented at senior level by Rainey Old Boys Rugby Club, Magherafelt who compete in the Ulster Senior League and All Ireland Division Three. Limavady R.F.C, City of Derry Rugby Club, Derry Y.M.C.A and Coleraine Rugby Club all compete in Ulster Qualifying League One.
Cricket is particularly popular in the north-west of Ireland, with 11 of the 20 senior clubs in the North West Cricket Union located in County Derry: Limavady, Eglinton, Glendermott, Brigade, Killymallaght, Ardmore, Coleraine, Bonds Glen, Drummond, Creevedonnell and The Nedd.
In rowing, Richard Archibald from Coleraine along with his Irish team-mates 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 rower Alan Campbell is a World Cup gold medallist in the single sculls in 2006.
Media
The county currently has four main radio stations:
- BBC Radio Foyle
- Q102.9
- Q97.2
- Six FM (in the south of the county)
See also
- Abbeys and priories in Northern Ireland (County Derry)
- List of places in County Derry
- List of townlands in County Derry
- List of civil parishes of County Derry
- Lord Lieutenant of County Derry
- High Sheriff of County Derry
References
- ^ Key Statistics Tables 2001 Census combined for Coleraine, Derry, Limavady & Magherafelt.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NISRA
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ County flowers in Britain www.plantlife.org.uk
- ^ Delanoy, Werner; et al. (2007). Towards a Dialogic Anglistics. LIT Verlag. p. 38. ISBN 978-3-8258-0549-4.
- ^ Dictionary of Irish Terms – Foclóir Téarmaíochta. focal.ie. Retrieved on 23 July 2013.
- ^ Blackie, Christina (2010). Geographical Etymology. Marton Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4455-8286-3.
- ^ 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
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Munn
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ – A New History of Ireland, pages 111–112
- ^ Curl, James Stevens (2001). "The City of London and the Plantation of Ulster". BBCi History Online. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
- ^ For 1653 and 1659 figures from Civil Survey Census of those years, Paper of Mr Hardinge to Royal Irish Academy 14 March 1865.
- ^ Census for post 1821 figures.
- ^ http://www.histpop.org
- ^ NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (c) 2013. Nisranew.nisra.gov.uk (27 September 2010). Retrieved on 23 July 2013.
- ^ Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November 1984). "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850". The Economic History Review. 37 (4): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x.
- ^ a b c d e f "Statistical classification of settlements". NI Neighbourhood Information Service. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
- ^ Newsletter.co.uk
- ^ NI Milk Cup Official Site
- ^ Manchester United Official Website
- ^ University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
External links