Culmore () is a village and

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), 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. B ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is at the mouth of the

River Foyle The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Ty ...

. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,465 people. It is situated within

Derry and Strabane Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Derrie an Stràbane'' , settlement_type = District , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Sovereign state , subdivision_type1 = Countries of the United Kingdom, Constituent co ...

district.

History

Nine Years' War

Sir Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore (1564 – 18 April 1631) was a leading English-born soldier and statesman in early seventeenth-century Ireland. He is often called "the founder of Derry", due to his role in establishing the city. Bac ...

, was an English soldier who landed with a force of 4000 foot and 200 horse troops at Culmore on 16 May 1600, as part of an attempt to quell a war against the crown in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. On 22 May he marched into Derry without resistance and occupied and fortified the town. From here he harassed some local Irish in such as a way as to make them sue for peace with him. Facing stronger local Irish opposition, Docwra's troops became almost prisoners, unable to make any progress while slowly starving until some powerful Irish became allies. For his service Docwra was granted 2000 acres (8 km²) in the Precinct of Liffer. He served as Governor of Loughfoyle, and on 15 May 1621, by a patent dated at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, was created

Baron Docwra of Culmore Baron Docwra of Culmore was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1621 for the leading soldier and statesman Sir Henry Docwra. He was born at Thatcham in Berkshire, saw much military service in Ireland and was successively Governor ...

. He was also Treasurer at War and a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. Sir Henry died on 18 April 1631.

O'Doherty's Rebellion

Culmore Fort was an important strategic position linked to the garrison town of Derry. In 1608 when Sir

Cahir O'Doherty Sir Cahir O'Doherty ( ga, Cathaoir Ó Dochartaigh or ga, label=none, Caṫaoir Ó Doċartaiġ; 1587–5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Chief of the Name of Clan O'Doherty and Lord of Inishowen, in what is now County Donegal. O'Doherty was a n ...

, a formerly loyal Gaelic leader, launched O'Doherty's Rebellion by seizing and burning Derry he began by first capturing a supply of arms from the

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

at Culmore after capturing its commander Captain Henry Hart.

Recent history

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

landed in a pasture at Culmore after her 1932 transatlantic solo flight. A small museum, the Amelia Earhart Centre, has been built there, but the museum is presently closed due to vandalism.

Transport

Culmore railway station Culmore railway station served Culmore and Coolkeeragh in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom ...

opened on 1 October 1853 and closed on 2 July 1973. There is still a bus service every hour from Monday to Saturday and every 2 hours on Sunday as part of the Foyle Metro service operating as the 1A bus to Muff via Culmore Point.

Sport

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

is a popular activity on the

and

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over ...

. *In early September 2017, a new

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

club named Culmore Cú Chulainn GAA was established with about 30 members.

Demography

At the 2011 Census, Culmore had a population of 3,465 people. Of which: *92.03% were from a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

background and 6.06% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

or other Christian background

References

{{authority control Villages in County Londonderry Derry and Strabane district Derry (city)