Derry

For other places with similar names, see Derry (disambiguation) and Londonderry (disambiguation).

Derry/Londonderry Irish: Doire/Doire Cholm Cille Scots: Derrie/Lunnonderrie Maiden City, Stroke City
File:Derry arms 2003.png Vita Veritas Victoria "Life, Truth, Victory"
Population
Irish grid reference	H876455
District	Derry City
County	County Londonderry
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDONDERRY
Postcode district	BT47, BT48
Dialling code	028
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	Foyle
NI Assembly	Foyle
Website	www.derrycity.gov.uk

Derry or Londonderry ([Doire or Doire Cholm Chille] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help), meaning 'Oak wood of Colm Cille'), often called the Maiden City, is a city in Northern Ireland. The old walled city of Londonderry lies on the west bank of the River Foyle, and the present city now covers both banks (Cityside to the west and Waterside to the east) and is connected by two bridges. The district extends to rural areas to the southeast of the city. The population of the city proper was 83,652 in the 2001 Census. The Derry Urban Area (including Culmore, New Buildings and Strathfoyle) had a population of 90,663,(which now stand at 105,000 as of 2008) and is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland, the fourth on the island of Ireland. It is one of the few towns in Europe which has not had its defensive walls breached (though the original fortified gates have been replaced). Derry is very near the border with County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland and also serves the west of County Londonderry. The district is run by Derry City Council and has an airport, City of Derry Airport, and a seaport, Londonderry Port.

The City of Derry has had a very close relationship with what is now County Donegal for centuries. The person traditionally seen as the "founder" of Derry is St. Columba (also known as Colm Cille or St. Columb), a holy man and royal prince from Tír Chonaill, the old name for almost all of modern County Donegal. Indeed, Derry was often seen as being part of Tír Chonaill before 1600. Derry and the nearby town of Letterkenny form the major economic core of North-West Ireland.

Name

Main article: Derry-Londonderry name dispute

According to the city's Royal Charter the official name is Londonderry and, as stated in a recent High Court decision in January 2007, remains so. It usually appears as such on maps. The city is known by many as Derry, which is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire, which in modern Irish is spelt Doire, and translates as ‘Oak-grove’. The name derives from the settlement's earliest references, Daire Calgaich (‘oakwood of Calgach’). The name was changed from Derry in 1613 during the Plantation of Ulster to reflect the establishment of the city by the London guilds.

The name "Derry" is in general used by nationalists, whereas many unionists (with the exception of the Apprentice Boys of Derry) usually prefer "Londonderry". The city has a nationalist majority, and the council voted to revert to the name Derry, which is used for official council business. Apart from this local government decision, official use within the UK the city is always known as Londonderry. In the Republic of Ireland, the city and county are almost always referred to as Derry, on maps, in the media and in conversation. Whereas official road signs in the Republic use the name Derry, those in Northern Ireland invariably bear Londonderry (sometimes abbreviated to L'Derry), although a number of these have had the reference to London obscured, probably by those with a nationalist tendency. Usage varies among local organisations, with both names being used. Examples are City of Derry Airport, City of Derry Rugby Club and Derry City FC, as opposed to Londonderry Port and Londonderry Chamber Of Commerce. The council changed the name of the local government district covering the city to Derry on May 7 1984, consequently renaming itself Derry City Council. This did not change the name of the city, although the city is coterminous with the district, and in law the city council is also the "Corporation of Londonderry" or, more formally, the "Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Londonderry". The form "Londonderry" is used for the post town by the Royal Mail.

The city is also nicknamed the Maiden City by virtue of the fact that its walls were never penetrated during the siege of Derry in the late 17th century. It is also nicknamed 'Stroke City' by local broadcaster, Gerry Anderson, due to the 'politically correct' use of the oblique notation Derry/Londonderry. A recent addition to the city has been the erection of several large stone columns on main roads into the city welcoming drivers to "the walled city."

The "No Surrender" mural right outside the city wall: "Londonderry west bank loyalists still under siege no surrender"

File:Derry mural.jpg

The "Free Derry" sign in the Bogside: "You are now entering Free Derry"

History

Main article: History of Derry

Derry is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Ireland. The earliest historical references date to the 6th century when a monastery was founded there by St. Columba, a famous saint from what is now County Donegal, but for thousands of years before that people had been living in the vicinity.

Before leaving Ireland to spread Christianity elsewhere in the British Isles, Columba founded a monastery in the then Doire Calgaich, on the east side of the Foyle. According to oral and documented history the site was granted to Columba by a local king. The monastery then remained in the hands of the federation of Columban churches who regarded Colm Cille as their spiritual mentor. In the year 546 the area was renamed Doire Cholm Cille in remembrance of Colmcille's Oak Grove. At this stage, in the 6th century, Derry was known primarily as a monastic settlement.

Planters organised by London livery companies through The Honourable The Irish Society arrived in the 1600s as part of the plantation of Ulster, and built the walled city of Londonderry across the Foyle from the earlier town. The city has long been a focal point for important events in Irish history, including the 1688-1689 siege of Derry and Bloody Sunday on 30 January 1972.

This Londonderry was the first planned city in Ireland: it was begun in 1613, with the walls being completed 5 years later in 1618. The central diamond within a walled city with four gates was thought to be a good design for defence. The grid pattern chosen was subsequently much copied in the colonies of British North America. The charter initially defined the city as extending three Irish miles (about 6.1 km) from the centre.

The modern city preserves the 17th century layout of four main streets radiating from the Diamond to four gateways - Bishop's Gate, Ferryquay Gate, Shipquay Gate and Butcher's Gate. Historic buildings within the walls include the 1633 Gothic cathedral of St Columb. In the porch is an inscription:

If stones could speake then London's prayse should sound Who built this church and cittie from the grounde.

St Columb's Cathedral

Coat of arms and motto

The devices on Derry's arms are a skeleton and a three-towered castle on a black field, with the chief or top third of the shield depicting the arms of the City of London: a red cross and sword on white. In the centre of the cross is a gold harp.

The blazon of the arms is as follows:

Sable, a human skeleton Or seated upon a mossy stone proper and in dexter chief a castle triple towered argent on a chief also argent a cross gules thereon a harp or and in the first quarter a sword erect gules

According to documents in the College of Arms in London and the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland in Dublin, the arms of the city were confirmed in 1613 by Daniel Molyneux, Ulster King of Arms. The College of Arms document states that the original arms of the City of Derry were ye picture of death (or a skeleton) on a moissy stone & in ye dexter point a castle and that upon grant of a charter of incorporation and the renaming of the city as Londonderry in that year the first mayor had requested the addition of a "chief of London".

A number of theories have been advanced as to the meaning of the "old" arms of Derry, before the addition of the chief bearing the arms of the City of London:

• It has been suggested that the castle is related to an early 14th century castle in nearby Greencastle belonging to the Anglo-Norman Earl of Ulster Richard de Burgh.
• The most popular theory about the skeleton is that it is that of a Norman De Burgh knight who was starved to death in the castle dungeons in 1332 on the orders of his cousin the above mentioned Earl of Ulster. Another explanation put forward was that it depicted Cahir O'Doherty (Sir Charles O'Dogherty), who was put to death after the Derry was invested by the English army in 1608. During the days of Gerrymandering and discrimination against the Catholic population of Derry, Derry's Roman Catholics often used to claim in dark wit that the skeleton was 'a Catholic waiting on the Council housing list'.

In 1979 Derry City Council commissioned a report into the city's arms and insignia, as part of the design process for an heraldic badge. The published report found that there was no basis for any of the popular explanations for the skeleton and that it was "purely symbolic and does not refer to any identifiable person".

The 1613 records of the arms depicted a harp in the centre of the cross, but this was omitted from later depictions of the city arms, and in the Letters Patent confirming the arms to Londonderry Corporation in 1952. In 2002 Derry City Council applied to the College of Arms to have the harp restored to the city arms, and Garter and Norroy & Ulster Kings of Arms accepted the seventeenth century evidence, issuing letters patent to that effect in 2003.

The motto attached to the coat of arms reads in Latin, "Vita, Veritas, Victoria". This translates into English as, "Life, Truth, Victory".

Climate

Climate Table

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average daily maximum temperature (°C)	10	10	11	12	14	17	18	19	17	15	11	11	13.75
Average daily maximum temperature (°F)	50	50	52	54	57	63	64	66	63	59	52	52	56.75
Average daily minimum temperature (°C)	0	0	2	3	5	8	10	10	9	6	4	1	4.8
Average daily minimum temperature (°F)	32	32	36	37	41	46	50	50	48	43	39	34	40.7
Mean total rainfall (mm)	110	80	90	60	60	70	70	90	100	120	120	100	1070
Mean total rainfall (in)	4.3	3.1	3.5	2.4	2.4	2.8	2.8	3.5	3.9	4.7	4.7	3.9	42.1
Source: Yahoo! Weather

Demographics

Derry Urban Area (DUA), including the city and the neighbouring settlements of Culmore, New Buildings and Strathfoyle, is classified as a city by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population exceeding 75,000). On census day (29 April 2001) there were 90,736 people living in Derry Urban Area. Of these:

• 27.0% were aged under 16 years and 13.4% were aged 60 and over
• 48.3% of the population were male and 51.7% were female
• 77.8% were from a Roman Catholic background and 20.8% were from a Protestant background
• 7.1% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Protestant minority

Concerns have been raised by the Protestant community over the increasingly divided nature of the city. During the course of the Troubles, it is estimated that as many as 15,000 Protestants fled the cityside due to safety concerns. Fewer than 1,000 are now living on the west bank of the River Foyle mostly in the Fountains Estate and it is feared that the city could become permanently divided.

However, concerted efforts have been made by local community, church and political leaders from both traditions to redress the problem. A conference to bring together key actors and promote tolerance was held in October 2006. Dr Ken Good, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, said he was happy living on the cityside. "I feel part of it. It is my city and I want to encourage other Protestants to feel exactly the same", he said.

Support for Protestants in the district has been strong from the SDLP Mayor Cllr Helen Quigley. Cllr Quigley has made inclusion and tolerance key themes of her mayoralty. The Mayor Helen Quigley said it is time for "everyone to take a stand to stop the scourge of sectarian and other assaults in the city."

Economy

The River Foyle at night

The economy of the district was based significantly on the textile industry until relatively recently. For many years women were often the sole wage earners working in the shirt factories while the men predominantly in comparison had high levels of unemployment. This led to significant male emigration. In more recent times the textile industry jobs have increasingly moved to the Far East, leaving the district to bear an increased jobless total. The history of shirt making in the city dates back as far as 1831 and is said to have been started by William Scott and his family who first exported shirts to Glasgow. Within 50 years, shirt making in the city was the most prolific in the UK with garments being exported all over the world. It was known so well that the industry received a mention in Das Kapital by Karl Marx, when discussing the factory system:

The shirt factory of Messrs. Tille at Londonderry, which employs 1,000 operatives in the factory itself, and 9,000 people spread up and down the country and working in their own houses.

Du Pont production facility, 2007, Maydown.

A long-term foreign employer in the area is Du Pont, which has been based at Maydown since 1958, its first European production facility. Originally Neoprene was manufactured at Maydown and subsequently followed by Hypalon. More recently Lycra and Kevlar® production units were active. Thanks to a healthy world-wide demand for Kevlar which is made at the plant, the facility recently undertook a £40 million upgrade to expand its global Kevlar production. Du Pont has stated that contributing factors to its continued commitment to Maydown are "low labor costs, excellent communications, and tariff-free, easy access to the UK mainland and European continent."

In the last 15 years there has been a drive to increase inward investment in the city, more recently concentrating on digital industries. Currently the three largest private-sector employers are American firms.

Even though the city provides cheap labour by standards in Western Europe, critics have noted that the grants offered by the Northern Ireland Industrial Development Board have helped land jobs for the area that only last as long as the funding lasts. This was reflected by 1990 questions to The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Richard Needham). It was noted that it cost £30,000 to create one job in an American firm in Northern Ireland.

Seagate production facility, 2005, 1 Disc Drive, Springtown Industrial Estate.

Successes have included call centres and a large investment by Seagate, which has operated a factory in the Springtown Industrial Estate since 1993. It currently sponsors the city film festival, but more significantly employs over 1,000 people in the Springtown premises, which produce more than half of Seagate's total requirement for hard drive read-write heads.

A recent boost to the region was the arrival of Firstsource, one of India's leading Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies. The company opened its Derry contact centre in December 2006: the centre now employs around 450 people, with a target of employing over 600 people by 2008.

A success for the Invest NI was Stream International, who opened an outsourced technology contact centre operation at Peninsula Hi-Tech's Ulster Science & Technology Park in January 1995, it is now the third-largest employer in the district. Other tenants on the Science Park include Homeloan Management Ltd from Skipton in the UK who opened a financial services centre employing up to 400 at Building 3 on 1 January 2004.

A recent but controversial new employer in the area is Raytheon, Raytheon Systems Limited, was established in 1999, in the Ulster Science & Technology Park, Buncrana Road. Although some local people welcomed the jobs boost some in the area objected to the jobs being provided by a firm involved heavily in the arms trade. Following four years of protest by the Foyle Ethical Investment Campaign, in 2004 Derry City Council passed a motion declaring the district a "A 'No–Go' Area for the Arms Trade".

Derry is the largest area within Northern Ireland for American Investment according to figures released by the local Chamber of Commerce.

In June 2007 Fujitsu announced the development of an £18 million office at Timber Quay employing 328 IT staff. David Courtley, chief executive of Fujitsu Services stated:

Derry has an advanced local infrastructure, the availability of an IT-focused labour market and a very close proximity to the UK/European marketplace, which made it an ideal choice. The jobs being created at the new centre of excellence will encompass a broad spectrum of high-quality specialist IT services roles.

The most significant employers in the region are:

International:

• Firstsource (India)
• DuPont (US)
• INVISTA (US)
• Stream International (US)
• Seagate Technology (US)
• Perfecseal, Bemis (US)
• NTL (US)
• Arntz Belting (Germany)
• Raytheon (US)
• Northbrook Technology (US)
• Invision Software (Germany)
• Homeloan Management Ltd - HML (UK)

Local:

• Desmonds – Northern Ireland's largest privately-owned company. (International garment manufacturing and sourcing)
• E&I Engineering
• St. Brendan's Irish Cream Liqueur Ltd
• McCambridge Duffy : One of the largest Insolvency Practices in the UK.- MCD

Source (pdf)

Magee campus, University of Ulster

Londonderry Port at Lisahally is the United Kingdom's most westerly port and has capacity for 30,000-ton vessels. The port played a vital part for the Allies in World War II during the war's longest running campaign, The Battle of the Atlantic, and saw the surrender of the German U-Boat fleet at Lisahally on May 8 1945.

In spite it being the second city of Northern Ireland, road and rail links to other cities are below par for its standing. Many business leaders claim that government investment in the city and infrastructure has been badly lacking. Some have stated that this is due to its outlaying border location whilst others have cited a sectarian bias against the west of the province due to its high proportion of Catholics. There is no motorway link with Belfast or Dublin. The rail link to Belfast has been downgraded over the years so that presently it is not a viable alternative to the roads for industry to rely on. Mr Garvan O'Doherty, local business man and board member of the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commission, stated in the Irish Times, October 2005:

It is vital that road, rail and air links are all maximised with particular emphasis on the two principal road axes - connections to Belfast and Dublin.

Much has been made of the City of Derry Airport. Local ratepayers subsidise it through the council, the airport also receives considerable funding from the Irish Government directly.

Critics of investment decisions affecting the district often point to the decision to build a new university building in nearby Coleraine rather than developing the University of Ulster Magee Campus. Another major government decision affecting the city was the decision to create the new city of Craigavon outside Belfast, which again was detrimental to the development of Derry. Even in October 2005, there was perceived bias against the comparatively impoverished North West of the province, with a major civil service job contract going to Belfast. Mark Durkan, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Foyle was quoted in the Belfast Telegraph as saying:

The fact is there has been consistent under-investment in the North West and a reluctance on the part of the Civil Service to see or support anything west of the Bann, except when it comes to rate increases, then they treat us equally.

Shipquay Street with a view of the Guildhall and the River Foyle

Many observers note that politics will need to play a part in the future development of the economy of the city. Whether it is a future devolved Northern Ireland government or the British or Irish or European parliaments that will provide the impetus it is clear that cross border digital and physical infrastructure improvements are needed. In July 2005, the Irish Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, called for a joint task force to drive economic growth in the cross border region. This would have implications for Derry and Tyrone, and Donegal across the border.

Given the affordability of housing in the city, the student population has boomed in recent years bringing a revival in the fortunes of Magee, the oldest campus within the University of Ulster established in 1865 as Magee College.

In 2002 the 145-bedroom "City Hotel" opened. This four-star hotel, part of the Great Southern Hotels group, was built at a cost of £13.8 m - partly funded by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board's Tourism Development Scheme and the International Fund for Ireland. In May 2006 it was used by the Conference of European Churches for the annual meeting of its Central Committee - the first time the meeting had taken place on the island of Ireland.

Shopping

Derry is the western Northern Ireland's major shopping centre and helps to serve outlying areas including rural parts of the county, as well as Tyrone. Retail developments in Letterkenny have, however, lessened cross-border traffic from north County Donegal.

Everything the modern shopper needs is available in Derry

The city centre has two main shopping centres; the Foyleside Shopping Centre (also Northern Ireland's largest shopping centre) which has 45 stores and 1430 parking spaces, and the Richmond Centre, which has 39 retail units. The Quayside Shopping Centre also serves the city-side and there is also Lisnagelvin Shopping Centre in the Waterside. These centres, as well as local-run businesses, feature numerous national and international stores. A retail park was recently built called Cresent Link Retail Park located in the Waterside and has many international chain stores, including Homebase, Curries, Carpet Right, PC World, Argos Extra, Toys R Us, Halfords, JJB, Pets at Home, MFI, Tesco Express, M&S Simply food and Land of Leather. In the short space that this site has been built, it has quickly grown to the second largest retail park in Northern Ireland (second only to Sprucefield in Lisburn). It recently changed hands for £90m in October 2007.

Derry is also home to the world's oldest independent department store; Austins. Established in 1830, Austins predates Jenners of Edinburgh by 5 years, Harrods of London by 15 years and Macys of New York by 25 years. The store's five-story Edwardian building is located in the city centre's Diamond.

Night-life

The city's night-life is mainly centred around the weekend. Waterloo Street is central to this. It is a steep street lined with various pubs, both Irish traditional and modern. Live rock and traditional music can frequently be heard emanating from the pub-doors and windows whilst walking up or down the street at night. Derry also has a Wetherspoons outlet, which is popular with punters as a pre-club drinking destination, as well as Lloyds No. 1 Bar (also owned by Wetherspoons). The city is renowned for producing exceptionally talented musicians and many bands perform in venues around the city, for example the Smalltown America duo, Fighting with Wire and Jetplane Landing. Triggerman have a resident slot at Mason's Bar, while numerous other young local and indeed international bands perform at the Nerve Centre.

Transport

Derry's transport network is built out of a complex array of old and modern roads and railways throughout the city and county. The city's road network also makes use of two bridges to cross the River Foyle, the Craigavon Bridge and the Foyle Bridge, the longest bridge in Ireland.

Buses

City and suburban

File:Ulsterbus Foyle.jpg

Ulsterbus Foyle logo

Most public transport in Northern Ireland is operated by the subsidiaries of Translink. Originally the city's internal bus network was run by Ulsterbus, which still provides the city's connections with other towns in Northern Ireland. The city's buses are now run by Ulsterbus Foyle, just as Translink Metro now provides the bus service in Belfast. The Ulsterbus Foyle network offers 13 routes across the city into the suburban areas.

There is also an Easibus link connecting to the Waterside and Drumahoe, and a free Rail Link Bus runs from the Waterside Railway Station to the city centre. All buses leave from the Foyle Street Bus Station in the city centre.

Long distance

Long distance buses depart from Foyle Street Bus Station to destinations throughout Ireland. Buses are operated by both Ulsterbus and Bus Éireann on cross-border routes and also by Lough Swilly buses to Co. Donegal. There is a half-hourly service to Belfast every day, called the Maiden City Flyer, which is the Goldline Express flagship route. There are hourly services to Strabane, Omagh, Coleraine and Letterkenny, and nine services a day to bring you culchie's up to big Dublin. There is a daily service to Sligo, Galway, Shannon Airport and Limerick.

Railways

Northern Ireland Railways has a single route from Waterside station to Belfast via Bellarena, Castlerock, Coleraine, Ballymoney, Cullybackey, Ballymena, Antrim, Mossley West and Whiteabbey. The service, which had been allowed to deteriorate in the 1990s, has since been boosted by increased investment. However, many still do not use the train, due to the fact that at over two hours it is slower centre-to-centre than the 100-minute Ulsterbus Goldline Express service.

Rail-map-Viceregal-1906

At one time, Derry was served by four different systems which stretched throughout Northern Ireland, into Co. Donegal and deep into southern Ireland. At the turn of the last centuary, Clones was one of the major junctions from Derry, Omagh, and Belfast to north Leinster, in particular, the major market towns of Athlone, Cavan, and Mullingar. This back-bone rail infrastructure was administered by Midland Great Western Railway which also linked to other major centres namely, Sligo, Tullamore, via Clara, other destinations such as Dublin, Limerick, and other market centres of the south coast.

Road network

The road network has historically seen under-investment and has lacked good road connections to both Belfast and Dublin for many years. Long overdue, the largest road investment in the north west's history is now taking place in the district with the construction of new dual-carriageways and roads to Dungiven and helping to reduce the time it takes to get to Belfast. This development is bringing a direct dual-carriageway linking between Northern Ireland's two largest cities a step closer. The project is costing £250 million and is expected to be completed in 2015. In October 2006, the Irish Government announced that it was to invest €1,000 million in Northern Ireland; and one of the planned projects was the complete upgrade of the A5 Derry-Omagh-Aughnacloy(-Dublin) road, around 90km (56 miles) long, to motorway standard.

Air

City of Derry Airport, the council-owned commercial airport, has been growing in recent years with new investment in a new runway and £10 million towards redeveloping the site. It is hoped that the new investment will add to the airport's already impressive array of domestic and international flights.

Flights depart mostly to airports in the UK and Ireland, such as Dublin, London Stansted, Liverpool, Nottingham,Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Glasgow International Airport, though also serves some resorts on the southern coast of the Iberian peninsula and the Canary Islands during the summer.

In May 2007, the airport's main carrier, Ryanair, announced that it was starting flights to Bristol to complement its flights to Stansted, Liverpool, East Midlands and Glasgow.

A previously successful route between Derry and Manchester was axed by British Airways in 2005 as part of its rationalisation of regional services. Previously Aer Arann had run a service to Birmingham.

Sport

File:Psggame.JPG

Derry City F.C. taking on Paris Saint-Germain at the Brandywell Stadium during the 2006 UEFA Cup.

The city is the home of many sporting establishments, teams and organisations, and football, both Association (soccer) and Gaelic are popular in the area. In soccer, the main teams are: Institute F.C. and Oxford United Stars F.C. who play in the Northern Ireland Irish League; Derry City F.C., who play in the Republic of Ireland's FAI National League. In Gaelic football Derry GAA are the county team and play in the Gaelic Athletic Association's National Football League, Ulster Senior Football Championship and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. They also field hurling teams in the equivalent tournaments.

Gaelic games

There are many Gaelic games clubs in and around the city, for example Steelstown GAC, Doire Colmcille CLG, Seán Dolans GAC and Slaughtmanus GAC.

Association Football

The local soccer league is the Derry and District League and teams from the city and surrounding areas participate, including Lincoln Courts, Don Bosco's F.C. and Trojans F.C.

Boxing

There are also countless boxing clubs, one of which the established Boxer, John Duddy, graduated from. There are countless gyms situated throughout the city, including Fitness First. Others include Pro Gym and Platinum also Extreme Fitness owned & run by Willie Lynch. Pro Gym is run by Dave Fox and Malika Zitouni. Dave is a native of Derry and is the Nabba Northern Ireland 1997/98 winner. Malika won the Nabba Universe Class 1 2006.

Rugby

Rugby Union is also quite popular in the city, with the City of Derry Rugby Club situated not far from the city centre. YMCA RFC is another Rugby club and is based in Drumahoe which is just outside the city.

Places of interest

Guildhall

'Hands Across the Divide' sculpture, by Maurice Harron

Tourism is set to be central to the future economic success of Derry. There are many museums and sites of interest in and around the region. Future projects include the Walled City Signature Project, which intends to ensure that the city's walls become a world class tourist experience.

Derry has a distinct architectural quality from other Irish cities. This quality can be primarily ascribed to the formal planning of the historic walled city of Londonderry within the walls. This is centred on the diamond with a collection of late Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian buildings maintaining the grid lines of the main thoroughfares (Shipquay Street, Ferryquay Street, Butcher Street and Bishop Street) to the city gates. St Columb's Cathedral does not follow the grid pattern reinforcing it's civic status. The Cathedral was the first post-reformation cathedral built for an Anglican church. The more recent infill buildings within the walls are of varying quality and in many cases these were low quality hurriedly constructed replacements for 1970s bomb damaged buildings. The Townscape Heritage Initiative has funded restoration works to a number of key listed buildings and other older structures such as 2 Castle Street (by Hegarty Architects) and at Castle Gate (Tracey Associates) since 2004. Other historic listed buildings that have been adapted and extended include the basement of the Old City Factory at Patrick Street which is now the Void Art Centre and Gallery, the Verbal Arts Centre and the initially controversial extension to 48 Clarendon Street at the corner of Northland Road. There are a number of 1970s churches by Liam McCormick and Partners in the city and environs, noteably the Roman Catholic church on Steelstown Road. Other recent award winning architecture in Derry includes technology pavilions at the Magee campus (University of Ulster), the Collon Bar and Creggan Country Park.

Other existing attractions are:

• Templemore Sports Complex, which has hosted the European Boxing Championships and is claimed to be capable of hosting "any indoor sport up to international level".
• Amelia Earhart Centre And Wildlife Sanctuary
• Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall
• Ballyoan Cemetery
• The Bogside
• Murals by the Bogside Artists
• The Craft Village
• Free Derry Corner
• The O'Doherty Tower
• Guildhall
• Harbour Museum
• Museum of Free Derry (Online)
• St Columb's Cathedral and Chapter House Museum
• Tower Museum
• Workhouse Museum
• Foyle Bridge - second-longest bridge in Ireland (and Ireland's only award winning bridge)
• Craigavon Bridge.
• Foyle Valley Railway Centre
• The Nerve Centre - Centre of Culture and Arts
• St. Columb's Park and Leisure Centre
• St. Eugene's Cathedral
• Creggan Country Park
• The Millenium Forum - Theatre

Events

• The world-famous "Banks of the Foyle Hallowe’en Carnival" (known in Irish as Féile na Samhna) in Derry also prove a huge tourism boost for the city, the carnival is promoted as being the first and longest running Halloween carnival in the whole of Ireland, It is the largest street party in Ireland with more than 40,000 ghoulish revellers taking to the streets annually.

• In March, the city hosts the Big Tickle Comedy Festival, which in 2006 featured Dara Ó Briain and Colin Murphy. In April the city plays host to City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival and in November the Foyle Film Festival, the biggest film festival in Northern Ireland.

• Every summer the city hosts Tomo-Dachi, Ireland's largest Anime convention, which in July 2006 was held at Magee College, University of Ulster. Hundreds of fans from across the UK and Ireland descended upon the city for the event.

• The siege of Derry is commemorated annually by the fraternal organisation the Apprentice Boys of Derry in the week long Maiden City Festival.

• The Foyle Cup is a youth soccer tournament held every year in the city. It has attracted many notable teams in the past. For example Werder Bremen, IFK Goteborg and Ferencvaros.

• The Instinct Festival is an annual youth festival celebrating the Arts. It is held around Easter and has proven a success in recent years.

• Radio 1's Big Weekend was held in Derry in Prehen Playing Fields in 2004.

• The Glasgowbury Festival takes place every year outside Draperstown. It features the best in local talent as well as more well-known names.

• Celtronic is a major annual electronic dance festival held at venues all around the city. The 2007 Festival featured the DJ, Erol Alkan.

• On 9 December 2007 Derry entered the Guinness Book of Records when 13000 Santas gathered to break the world record beating previous records held by Liverpool and Las Vegas.

Famous people from Derry

• Liam Ball - Olympic Swimmer
• Seamus Ball - Actor
• Amanda Burton - Actress. Best known for her role as forensic pathologist Doctor (later Professor) "Sam Ryan" in the BBC crime drama series Silent Witness.
• Gregory Campbell - Democratic Unionist Party Member of Parliament for East Londonderry
• Willie Carson - Photo-journalist and author.
• Joyce Cary - Author. Two of his novels were made into films: The Horse's Mouth (1958) starring Sir. Alec Guinness and Mister Johnson (1990)
• Phil Coulter - Songwriter. Wrote The Town I Loved So Well (See below)
• Charlotte Coyle - Plus-size model
• Nadine Coyle - Singer (Girls Aloud)
• Peter Cunnah Lead singer with 1990s pop outfit D:ream.
• Dana - Won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970, later became a politician.
• Seamus Deane - Writer
• Nigel Dodds - Democratic Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Belfast North
• Richard Doherty - Catholic Unionist/Royal Ulster Constabulary reservist, writer, military historian
• Willie Doherty - Visual Artist. Twice nominated for the Turner Prize.
• Roma Downey - Actress. Best known for her role as Monica, the main character of the religious TV series Touched by an Angel
• John Duddy - Boxer current holder of the IBA World Middleweight Title and the WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Title
• Mark Durkan - Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Member of Parliament for Foyle (the Derry area)
• George Farquhar - Restoration dramatist.
• Bronagh Gallagher - Actress/singer. Films include Pulp Fiction and The Commitments.
• Neil Hannon - Lead singer of The Divine Comedy.
• William Hay - Democratic Unionist Party, Speaker of the Northern Assembly & MLA for Foyle
• Seamus Heaney - an Irish poet, writer and lecturer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.
• John Hume - Nobel Peace Prize and Gandhi Peace Prize recipient, former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and former MP for Foyle 1983-2005
• John Lawrence - Soldier and administrator in 19th century India and Viceroy of India
• Josef Locke - Tenor singer, popular in the 1940s and 1950s.
• Nell McCafferty - journalist, playwright, civil rights campaigner, and feminist.
• Johnny McCauley - Singer/songwriter. Founder of the "Country & Irish" sound who penned "Pretty Little Girl From Omagh", "Hometown On The Foyle" and many more.
• Mark McFadden - Television journalist
• Martin McGuinness - Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and Sinn Féin MP for Mid Ulster.
• Charlie Nash - Boxer. Former European and British lightweight champion.
• Cahir O'Doherty - Musician in bands Fighting with Wire, Jetplane Landing and Seafood.
• Martin O'Neill - OBE recipient, former manager of Celtic Football Club, and current manager of Aston Villa F.C.
• Feargal Sharkey - Lead singer of The Undertones and current chairman of the Live Music Forum.
• Andrew Simpson - Actor from Notes on a Scandal.
• William Taylor Whan Botanist see Irish plant Collectors 1811-1866

The city in song

Shots were fired by a mindless military,
The people ran they were unarmed
Across the world we will read of Derry
And those who died by oppressive hands.

— Cruachan, "Bloody Sunday"

I was born in Londonderry
I was born in Derry City too
Oh what a special child
To see such things and still to smile
I know that there was something wrong
But I kept my head down and carried on.

— The Divine Comedy "Sunrise"

Well it was Sunday bloody Sunday
When they shot the people there
The cries of thirteen martyrs
Filled the Free Derry air
Is there any one amongst you
Dare to blame it on the kids?
Not a soldier boy was bleeding
When they nailed the coffin lids!

— John Lennon and Yoko Ono "Sunday Bloody Sunday" Full lyrics

In 1803 we sailed out to sea,
Out from the sweet town of Derry,
For Australia bound if we didn't all drown,
And the marks of our fetters we carried...

— Bobby Sands "Back Home In Derry" Full lyrics

It is old but it is beautiful, and its colours they are fine.
It was worn at Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne.
My father wore it as a youth in bygone days of yore.
And on the Twelfth I love to wear the sash my father wore

— Anon "The Sash"

...In the early morning the shirt factory horn called women from Creggan,
the Moor and the Bog.
While the men on the dole played a mother's role,
fed the children and then walked the dog.
And when times got tough there was just about enough.
But they saw it through without complaining.
For deep inside was a burning pride in the town I loved so well.
There was music there in the Derry air, like a language that we all could understand...

— Phil Coulter "The Town I Loved So Well" Full lyrics

Trivia

Derry/Londonderry are neighbouring towns in the state of New Hampshire, USA.

Famous Events

The city was famously visited by a killer whale in November 1977 at the height of the troubles and was dubbed Dopey Dick by the thousands who came from miles around to see him.

Education

• St. Columb's College
• Naíscoil na Rinne
• Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir
• Naíscoil na Gáslainne
• Naíscoil Cholmcille
• Naíscoil Dhoire
• Naíscoil Mhaol Íosa
• Bunscoil Cholmcille
• Gaelscoil na Daróige
• Coláiste Bhríde

• Oakgrove Integrated College
• St Cecilia's College
• St. Joseph's Boys' School
• Magee College, now the University of Ulster Magee Campus
• Lisneal College
• Foyle and Londonderry College
• Thornhill College
• North West Institute of Further & Higher Education
• Lumen Christi College
• St. Peter's High School

See also

The Bogside area viewed from the walls

• Abbeys and priories in Northern Ireland (County Londonderry)
• Apprentice Boys of Derry
• Ballynalliagh
• BBC Radio Foyle
• Bogside
• C9TV (Channel 9 Television)
• Derry City F.C.
• Derry GAA

• Doire Colmcille CLG
• Derry Journal
• List of towns in Northern Ireland
• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• Scouting in Londonderry
• Shantallow

External links

File:Craigavon bridge 2005 jonathanmoran.jpg

Craigavon Bridge, one of the city's two bridges.

• Guardian Unlimited Video of Andrew Maxwell exploring Derry and Donegal
• Accents and dialects of the UK Speaker: Rita McClaughlin (b.1940/03/02; female, embroiderer) The British Library Board
• Xpressions of Derry - an interactive galleria which comprises assorted images of Derry architecture, landscape and society.
• Google satellite view of Derry, the Foyle and the Swilly
• Derry City Council
• Derry visitor information
• Derry G.A.A.
• Londonderry Chamber of Commerce
• The Charters of Londonderry and Coleraine, 1613
• Guildhall Press - publisher of the Derry Tourist Guide