County Londonderry
County Londonderry
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Ulster Scots.[4] |
County Londonderry (
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:
Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a
Name
The place name Derry is an
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 (see below).[11][12][13][14][15] 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".[16][17]
County Coleraine and the Plantation of Ulster
At an early period, what became the county of Coleraine was inhabited by the
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:
The county of
ballyboesand doth contain, as appeareth by the survey, 547 ballyboes, or 34,187 acres, every ballyboe containing 60 acres or thereabouts.
On 2 March 1613,
shall be united, consolidated, and from hence-forth for ever be one entire County of itself, distinct and separate from all our Counties whatsoever within our Kingdom of Ireland-and from henceforth for ever be named, accounted and called, the County of Londonderry.[18]
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.[18][19][20]
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 3,210 acres (5.02 sq mi; 13.0 km2) throughout the county. These companies and the sites of their headquarters were:[21][22]
- Clothworkers, based at Killowen and Clothworker's Hall (present-day Articlave) in the barony of Coleraine;
- Drapers, based at Draper's Hall, later called Drapers Town (present-day Moneymore) in the barony of Loughinsholin;[23]
- Fishmongers, based at Artikelly and Fishermonger's Hall (present-day Ballykelly) in the barony of Keenaght;
- Goldsmiths, based at Goldsmith's Hall (present-day Newbuildings) in the barony of Tirkeeran;
- Grocers, based at Grocer's Hall, alias Muff (present-day Eglinton) in the barony of Tirkeeran;
- Haberdashers, based at Habberdasher's Hall (present-day Ballycastle) in the barony of Keenaght;
- Ironmongers, based at Ironmonger's Hall (present-day townland of Agivey) in the barony of Coleraine;
- Mercers, based at Mercer's Hall (present-day townland of Movanagher) in the barony of Coleraine;
- Merchant Taylors, based at Merchant Taylor's Hall (present-day Macosquin) in the barony of Coleraine;
- Salters, based at Salter's Hall (present-day Magherafelt) and Salters Town in the barony of Loughinsholin;
- Skinners, based at Skinner's Hall (present-day Dungiven) in the barony of Keenaght;
- Vintners, based at Vintner's Hall, later called Vintner's Town (present-day Bellaghy) in the barony of Loughinsholin.
19th century
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 Londonderry, and seat of the Londonderry County Council until its abolition in 1973, was therefore moved to the town of Coleraine.
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% |
2011 | 247,132 | +4.8% |
2021 | 252,231 | +2.1% |
[24][25][26][27][28][29] |
Geography and places of interest
The highest point in the county is the summit of
The county is home to a number of important buildings and landscapes, including the well-preserved 17th-century
Subdivisions
- Baronies
- Coleraine
- Keenaght
- North East Liberties of Coleraine
- North West Liberties of Londonderry
- 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)[30]
- Medium towns
(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census)[30]
- Small towns
(population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census)[30]
- Intermediate settlements
(population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census)[30]
- 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)[30]
- 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)[30]
- Articlave
- Ballerin
- Ballymaguigan
- Ballyronan
- Clady
- Culnady
- Desertmartin
- Downhill
- Drumsurn
- Feeny
- Glenullin
- Gulladuff
- Lettershendoney
- Macosquin
- Ringsend
- Swatragh
- Tobermore
- Upperlands
Demography
It is one of four
Religion or religion brought up in | Number | % |
---|---|---|
Catholic | 154,621 | 61.3% |
Protestant and Other Christian | 81,995 | 32.5% |
Other religions | 2,368 | 0.9% |
None (no religion) | 13,247 | 5.3% |
Total | 252,231 | 100.00% |
National identity | Number | (%) |
---|---|---|
Irish only | 106,343 | 42.2% |
British only | 62,562 | 24.8% |
Northern Irish only | 49,764 | 19.7% |
British and Northern Irish only | 13,148 | 5.2% |
Irish and Northern Irish only | 5,072 | 2.0% |
British, Irish and Northern Irish only | 2,475 | 1.0% |
British and Irish only | 1,388 | 0.6% |
Other identity | 11,477 | 4.6% |
Total | 252,231 | 100.0% |
All Irish identities | 116,032 | 46.0% |
All British identities | 81,097 | 32.2% |
All Northern Irish identities | 21,248 | 10.9% |
Administration
The county was administered by
Transport
There is also the
Education
Government-funded education up to secondary school level is administered by the Education Authority (EA), sponsored by the Department of Education. The EA is divided into sub-regions:
- Western region: Derry, Limavady;
- North Eastern region: Coleraine, Magherafelt;
- Southern region: Cookstown.
For Catholic grant-maintained schools administration is by the Derry Diocesan Education Office.
Two major centres of the
Sport
In
In association football, the
The
In
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 Londonderry: Limavady, Eglinton, Glendermott, Brigade, Killymallaght, Ardmore, Coleraine, Bonds Glen, Drummond, Creevedonnell and The Nedd.
In
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 Londonderry)
- List of places in County Londonderry
- List of townlands in County Londonderry
- List of civil parishes of County Londonderry
- Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry
- High Sheriff of County Londonderry
References
- ^ Northern Ireland General Register Office (1975). "Table 1: Area, Buildings for Habitation and Population, 1971". Census of Population 1971; Summary Tables (PDF). Belfast: HMSO. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ a b c "County". NISRA. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "Northern Ireland" (PDF). Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ Banagher and Boveagh Churches Archived 30 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Department of the Environment.
- ^ "NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (c) 2015" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2007.
- ^ a b "Religion or religion brought up in". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ County flowers in Britain Archived 14 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine www.plantlife.org.uk
- ISBN 978-3-8258-0549-4.
- ^ "doire". téarma.ie – Dictionary of Irish Terms. Foras na Gaeilge and Dublin City University. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-4455-8286-3.
- ^ "Centre for European Policy Studies, accessed 6 October 2007". Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
- ^ "The Walled City Experience". Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
- ^ BBC News: Court to Rule on City Name 7 April 2006
- ^ City name row lands in High Court BBC News Archived 7 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Derry City Council: Re Application for Judicial Review [2007] NIHC 5 (QB)
- ^ A.E.P. Collins (1983), "Excavations at Mount Sandel, Lower Site", Ulster Journal of Archaeology vol. 46 pp1-22. JSTOR preview Archived 4 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2011. Celtic Sea. Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. P. Saundry & C.J. Cleveland. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC Archived 2 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Notes on the Place Names of the Parishes and Townlands of the County of Londonderry, 1925, Alfred Moore Munn, Clerk of the Crown and Peace of the City and County of Londonderry
- ISBN 9780198217459. Archivedfrom the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2015 – via Google Books.
- ^ Curl, James Stevens (2001). "The City of London and the Plantation of Ulster". BBCi History Online. Archived from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
- ISBN 978-1-903688-00-7.
- ^ Walter Harris (1770). Hibernica: or, Some antient places relating to Ireland. John Milliken. p. 229. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
Habberdashers-Hall.
- ^ "Place Names NI – Home". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ For 1653 and 1659 figures from Civil Survey Census of those years, Paper of Mr Hardinge to Royal Irish Academy 14 March 1865.
- ^ "Server Error 404 – CSO – Central Statistics Office". Archived from the original on 9 March 2005. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
- ^ "Histpop – The Online Historical Population Reports Website". www.histpop.org. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016.
- ^ NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (c) 2013 Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. 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.
- hdl:10197/1406. Archived from the originalon 4 December 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "Statistical classification of settlements". NI Neighbourhood Information Service. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
- ^ "Religion or religion brought up in". NISRA. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ "National Identity (Irish)". NISRA. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "National Identity (British)". NISRA. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "National Identity (Northern Irish)". NISRA. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "National identity (person based) - basic detail (classification 1)". NISRA. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972". Legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ "Newsletter.co.uk". Archived from the original on 30 July 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
- ^ "SuperCupNI (formerly NI Milk Cup est. 1983) – Homepage". Archived from the original on 9 August 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
- ^ "Official Manchester United Website". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ "John Trask on U.S. U-18 Staff at Northern Ireland Milk Cup". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2009.