County Londonderry


County Londonderry, also known as County Derry, is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. 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, 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 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.
Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a Catholic majority. The county flower is the purple saxifrage.

Name

The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the Old Irish Daire, 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. 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".

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. This county was named Londonderry, a combination of London and Derry. 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 in the barony of Coleraine;
  • Drapers, based at Draper's Hall, later called Drapers Town in the barony of Loughinsholin;
  • Fishmongers, based at Artikelly and Fishermonger's Hall in the barony of Keenaght;
  • Goldsmiths, based at Goldsmith's Hall in the barony of Tirkeeran;
  • Grocers, based at Grocer's Hall, alias Muff in the barony of Tirkeeran;
  • Haberdashers, based at Habberdasher's Hall in the barony of Keenaght;
  • Ironmongers, based at Ironmonger's Hall in the barony of Coleraine;
  • Mercers, based at Mercer's Hall in the barony of Coleraine;
  • Merchant Taylors, based at Merchant Taylor's Hall in the barony of Coleraine;
  • Salters, based at Salter's Hall and Salters Town in the barony of Loughinsholin;
  • Skinners, based at Skinner's Hall in the barony of Keenaght;
  • Vintners, based at Vintner's Hall, later called Vintner's Town in the barony of Loughinsholin.

    19th century

As a result of the Local Government 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
; Parishes
; Townlands

Settlements

; Cities
  • Derry
; Large towns
  • Coleraine
; Medium towns
; Small towns
; Intermediate settlements
; Villages
; Small villages or hamlets
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, 0.9% were from other religions, and 5.3% had no religious background.
Religion or religion brought up inNumber%
Catholic154,62161.3%
Protestant and Other Christian81,99532.5%
Other religions2,3680.9%
None 13,2475.3%
Total252,231100.00%

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, 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.
Sea
The county is served by Londonderry Port, now operating as Foyle Port, located on Lough Foyle at Lisahally. It is the United Kingdom's most westerly port. The main port for the city of Derry, it used to be located in the city centre, however it relocated to Lisahally in 1993. The port is used by DuPont to import raw materials for their manufacturing process and by the nearby Coolkeeragh power station to import fuel oil for their turbines. Lisahally Terminal has 440 metres of quay and can facilitate vessels up to 62,000 GT. Primarily a bulk port and major importer of oil, coal, animal feed, fertiliser and plywood. The port also accepts cruise ships at the city centre berths and at its commercial port at Lisahally.
The county also has a regular ferry service, the Lough Foyle Ferry, providing a seasonal daily shuttle service between Magilligan Point, County Londonderry and Greencastle, County Donegal. The ferry typically operates throughout the spring and summer season.