Derry (Doire Cholm Cille) Overview

Derry became a major commercial port under the Ulster Plantation of the 17th century (see Cromwell), a feudal system established to create an outpost of London’s authority. Originally christened Diore, meaning “oak grove,” the city’s name was anglicized to Derry and finally to Londonderry. The city’s label remains a source of contention, as the minority Protestant population uses the official title while many Republican Northerners and informal Protestants refer to the city as Derry. In an effort to remain impartial, the BBC reported on “Derry-stroke-Londonderry” at the height of the troubles. The past three centuries of Derry’s history have given rise to the iconography used by both sides of the conflict. The city’s troubled history spans from the siege of Derry in 1689, when the now-legendary Apprentice Boys closed the city gates on the advancing armies of the Catholic King James II (see More British Problems), to the civil rights turmoil of the 1960s, when protests against anti-Catholic discrimination exploded into violence. In 1972, the Troubles reached their pinnacle on Bloody Sunday, a public massacre in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of peaceful protesters. None of the soldiers were ever convicted, and Nationalists are still seeking redress from the British government (see 1994 Ceasefire). Hearings into the Bloody Sunday Massacre were recently held in Derry’s Guildhall, and the report (2006) can be seen at the Bloody Sunday Centre.

Although tourism is relatively new to Derry, visitors are rewarded with an intriguing juxtaposition of the 400-year-old history of the city walls and the more recent memory of the Troubles painted on the walls of the conflict-ridden neighborhoods. The walkable city has a manageable but cosmopolitan vibe, and citizenry and government alike pride themselves on the leaps that Derry has made in its clean and cohesive appearance, as well as the emotional and practical compromises made by both sides of the political and religious divide. Perhaps due to the town’s reputation, natives are quick to stand up for their beautiful and intimate city, and with good reason. It is hard to beat the city’s hopping pub scene, with free live music and merry locals keeping the craic flowing late into the night.

• Orientation

Derry straddles the River Foyle just east of Co. Donegal’s border. The city center and the university area both lie on the Foyle’s western banks. The old city, within the medieval walls ...more