City in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Derry
Derry's 400-year-old walls have never been breached, its Halloween is a street party for tens of thousands, and an American aviator once landed in a field nearby.
Key information
- County
- County Londonderry
- Nation
- Northern Ireland
- Population
- About 85,000 (2021 Census)
- Known for
- Intact 17th-century city walls, the Siege of 1688–89, Derry Girls, the Peace Bridge, Halloween carnival
- What locals are called
- Derry people (a Derry man, a Derry woman)
- Famous people
- John Hume, Phil Coulter, Dana, Nadine Coyle
- Football clubs
- Derry City (the Candystripes), who play at the Brandywell
About Derry
The walls that never fell
Derry is the only city in Ireland whose walls survive complete, and they are nearly a mile around. Built between 1613 and 1619 for the new English and Scottish settlers of the Plantation of Ulster, they are a well-preserved example of early-17th-century urban fortifications, and you can walk the entire circuit on top of them. They earned the city the nickname the Maiden City because they were never breached. The big test came in 1688, when thirteen apprentice boys slammed the gates shut in the face of a Catholic army loyal to James II. The Siege of Derry lasted 105 days and ended in July 1689 when a relief ship broke the boom across the River Foyle. Thousands inside died, mostly of hunger and disease. The siege is still commemorated every year by the Apprentice Boys of Derry, and the cannon on the walls, including the famous Roaring Meg, are still there.
An oak grove, a saint and a stroke
The name comes from the Irish Doire, meaning oak grove. Tradition says St Columba, or Colmcille, founded a monastery here in 546, long before any walls went up. In 1613 the city was granted to the livery companies of London, who paid for its rebuilding and put a prefix on its name. Ever since, that choice of name has been argued over in conversation, on signposts and in broadcasting. The radio presenter Gerry Anderson turned the dispute into a joke and called the place Stroke City, after the slash in Derry/Londonderry. Locals adopted it. Most people who live there simply say Derry.
Where the Troubles began to boil
Derry's 20th-century story is one of the most closely watched in Irish history. A civil rights march on 5 October 1968 was batoned off the streets and the images spread around the world. In August 1969 the Battle of the Bogside saw residents hold off the police for days behind barricades. On 30 January 1972, soldiers of the Parachute Regiment killed thirteen unarmed civilians during a civil rights march. A fourteenth victim died in June after being wounded that day. Bloody Sunday became a defining moment of the Troubles, and a public inquiry reported in 2010. Today you can see the story on the gable end of Free Derry Corner and in the Bogside murals painted by the Bogside Artists. The city has also been the home of peacemakers. John Hume, born in Derry, shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the peace process.
A city that bridges itself
The River Foyle splits the city, and its bridges tell the story of how Derry has tried to join up. The double-decker Craigavon Bridge opened in 1933 with a road on top and a railway below. The curved, white Peace Bridge opened in 2011, linking the largely nationalist west bank with the largely unionist east bank for pedestrians and cyclists. In 2013 Derry became the first UK City of Culture. Then came Derry Girls, Lisa McGee's sitcom, which ran from 2018 to 2022 and made the city's teenage 1990s world beloved across the UK. The river has a daring footnote, too. In 1932 Amelia Earhart, after crossing the Atlantic solo, landed in a field just outside the city, and she was the first woman to do it.
Candystripes and Halloween
Derry City FC wear red and white stripes, so they are the Candystripes. They have played in the League of Ireland since 1985, and in 1988–89 they won a domestic treble of league, FAI Cup and League Cup. Their home is the Brandywell, and on match nights the whole city seems to turn out. Halloween is the city's biggest night. The Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival is billed as the largest street party in Ireland, with parades, fireworks and costumes taking over the centre. Locals take their costumes seriously, and the walls make a fine backdrop. Famous Derry names include Phil Coulter, the songwriter behind 'The Town I Loved So Well', the singer Dana, who won Eurovision in 1970, and Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud.