County Londonderry (
Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six
counties of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
, one of the thirty two
counties of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
and one of the nine counties of
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 Kin ...
. Before the
partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. ...
, it was one of the
counties of the
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label= Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...
from 1613 onward and then of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
after the
Acts of Union 1800. Adjoining the north-west shore of
Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and today has a population of about 247,132.
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;
Derry and Strabane,
Causeway Coast and Glens and
Mid-Ulster. Despite no longer being used for local government and administrative purposes, it is sometimes used in a cultural context in
All-Ireland sporting and cultural events (i.e.
Derry GAA).
Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has 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 ...
majority (55.56% according to the 2001 Census
), with 57% of the Catholic population residing within the territory of
Derry City Council.
The
county flower is the
purple saxifrage
''Saxifraga oppositifolia'', the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of plant that is very common in the high Arctic and also some high mountainous areas further south, including northern Britain, the Alps and the Rocky ...
.
Name
The place name ''Derry'' is an
anglicisation
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influe ...
of the
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writte ...
''Daire'' (
Modern Irish ''Doire''
), meaning "oak-grove" or "oak-wood".
As with the city, its name is subject to the
Derry/Londonderry name dispute
The names of the city and county of Derry or Londonderry in Northern Ireland are the subject of a naming dispute between Irish nationalists and unionists. Generally, although not always, nationalists favour using the name ''Derry'', and unio ...
, 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).
British authorities use the name "Londonderry", while "Derry" is used by the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
.
History
Pre-historic
Mountsandel located near Coleraine in County Londonderry is "perhaps the oldest recorded settlement within Ireland".
County Coleraine and the Plantation of Ulster
At an early period, what became the county of Coleraine was inhabited by the
O'Cahans, who were tributary to the
O'Neills
O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane.
O'Neills has a long r ...
. Towards the close of the reign of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
their territory was seized by England, with the purpose of checking the power of the O'Neills, and was made the county of
Coleraine, named after the regional capital.
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'':
On 2 March 1613,
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
granted a charter to
The Honourable The Irish Society to undertake the plantation of a new county.
[''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] This county was named Londonderry, a combination of London (in reference to the
Livery Companies of the Irish Society) and Derry (then name of the city). This charter declared that the "City of Londonderry" and everything contained within the new county:
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.
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 throughout the county. These companies and the sites of their headquarters were:
*
Clothworkers
The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of t ...
, 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
Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the ...
) in the barony of Loughinsholin;
*
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
In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothi ...
, 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
Dungiven () is a small town, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the main A6 Belfast to Derry road, which bypasses the town. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the ...
) in the barony of Keenaght;
*
Vintners, based at Vintner's Hall, later called Vintner's Town (present-day
Bellaghy
Bellaghy () is a village in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, ...
) 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
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
from 1899. The
county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of County Londonderry, and seat of the
Londonderry County Council
Londonderry County Council was the authority responsible for local government in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
History
Londonderry County Council was formed under orders issued in accordance with the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 w ...
until its abolition in 1973, was therefore moved to the town of
Coleraine.
Geography and places of interest
The highest point in the county is the summit of
Sawel Mountain
Sawel Mountain () is the highest peak in the Sperrin Mountains, and the 8th highest in Northern Ireland. It is also the highest mountain in Northern Ireland outside of the Mourne Mountain range located in County Down.
Geography
To the north of S ...
() on the border with
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
. Sawel is part of the
Sperrin Mountains, which dominate the southern part of the county. To the east and west, the land falls into the valleys of the
Bann and
Foyle rivers respectively; in the south-east, the county touches the shore of Lough Neagh, which is the largest lake in Ireland; the north of the county is distinguished by the steep cliffs, dune systems, and remarkable beaches of the Atlantic coast.
The county is home to a number of important buildings and landscapes, including the well-preserved 17th-century
city walls of
Derry; the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
–owned
Plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...
estate at Springhill;
Mussenden Temple
Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock in County Londonderry, high above the Atlantic Ocean on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland.
History
Perched on the cliffs overlooking Downhill Stran ...
on the Atlantic coast; the
dikes
Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to:
General uses
* Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian"
* Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment
* Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice
* Dikes ...
, artificial coastlines and the
bird sanctuaries
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...
on the eastern shore of
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 ...
; and the visitor centre at
Bellaghy
Bellaghy () is a village in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, ...
Bawn, close to the childhood home of Nobel laureate
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. . In the centre of the county are the old-growth deciduous forests at Banagher and Ness Wood, where the Burntollet River flows over the highest waterfalls in Northern Ireland.
Subdivisions
; Baronies
*
Coleraine
*
Keenaght
*
North East Liberties of Coleraine
*
North West Liberties of Londonderry
The North West Liberties of Londonderry is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is bordered by two other baronies in Northern Ireland. They are Tirkeeran to the east, across Lough Foyle; and Strabane Lower to the south. It also ...
*
Loughinsholin
*
Tirkeeran
; Parishes
; Townlands
Settlements
; Cities
(population of 75,000 or more with a cathedral)
*
Derry
; Large towns
(population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2001 Census)
*
Coleraine
; Medium towns
(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census)
*
Limavady
Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years betwee ...
; Small towns
(population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census)
*
Magherafelt
*
Portstewart
; Intermediate settlements
(population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census)
*
Culmore
Culmore () is a village and townland in Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is at the mouth of the River Foyle. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,465 people. It is situated within Derry and Strabane district.
History Ni ...
(part of
Derry Urban Area)
*
Dungiven
Dungiven () is a small town, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the main A6 Belfast to Derry road, which bypasses the town. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the ...
*
Eglinton
*
Maghera
*
Newbuildings (part of Derry Urban Area)
; Villages
(population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census)
*
Ballykelly
*
Bellaghy
Bellaghy () is a village in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, ...
*
Castledawson
Castledawson is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is mostly within the townland of Shanemullagh (, IPA: �anˠˈʃanˠˌwʊl̪ˠəx, about four miles from the north-western shore of Lough Neagh, and near the market town of ...
*
Castlerock
*
Claudy
*
Draperstown
Draperstown ()Toner, Gregory. ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', p. 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996; is a village in the Sperrin Mountains in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballinascreen ...
*
Garvagh
*
Greysteel
Greysteel or Gresteel is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies to the east of Derry and to the west of Limavady on the main A2 coast road between Limavady and Derry, overlooking Lough Foyle. It is designated as a Large V ...
*
Kilrea
*
Moneymore
Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the ...
*
Strathfoyle
Strathfoyle (from ga, Srath Feabhail) is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland It is about north east of Derry. It was newly built in different phases between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, with many new recent additions to th ...
(part of Derry Urban Area)
; Small villages or hamlets
(population of less than 1,000 at 2001 Census)
*
Articlave
*
Ballerin
Ballerin is a small village between Garvagh and Ringsend in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is located within Causeway Coast and Glens
Ulster Scots: ''Causey Coast an Glens''
, settlement_type = Borough
, image_skyline ...
*
Ballymaguigan
Ballymaguigan () is a hamlet and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the northwest shore of Lough Neagh and close to Magherafelt. The hamlet forms one part of a parish named Ardtrea North. Ballymaguigan is part of the M ...
*
Ballyronan
Ballyronan () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on the north western shore of Lough Neagh. The village is from Magherafelt and from Cookstown. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District.
History
The vill ...
*
Clady
*
Culnady
Culnady (named after the townland of Culnady) is a small village near Maghera in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 144 people. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District.
History
*Dunglady fo ...
*
Desertmartin
*
Downhill
*
Drumsurn
Drumsurn () is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is southeast of Limavady and northeast of Dungiven. It lies in the Roe Valley, at the foot of Donald's Hill and at the edge of the Sperrins. Drumsurn h ...
*
Feeny
*
Glenullin
*
*
Lettershendoney
Lettershandoney or Lettershendony ( or ''Leitir Seandomhnaigh'' meaning "hillside of the old church") is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, six miles to the southeast of Derry and three miles east of Drumahoe. ...
*
Macosquin
*
Ringsend
*
Swatragh
*
Tobermore
*
Upperlands
Administration
The county was administered by
Londonderry County Council
Londonderry County Council was the authority responsible for local government in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
History
Londonderry County Council was formed under orders issued in accordance with the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 w ...
from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973. They were replaced by
district councils. These councils were:
Londonderry City Council
Derry City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Dhoire; Ulster-Scots: ''Derry Cittie Cooncil'') was the local government authority for the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. It merged with Strabane District Council in April 2015 under local govern ...
(renamed Derry City Council in 1984),
Limavady Borough Council, and
Magherafelt District Council
Magherafelt District Council was a district council in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It was merged with Cookstown District Council and Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council on 1 April 2015 under local government reorganisation in ...
, most of
Coleraine Borough Council
Coleraine Borough Council was a local council mainly in County Londonderry and partly in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymoney Borough Council, Limavady Borough Council and Moyle District Council in May 2015 under local g ...
, and part of
Cookstown District Council
Cookstown District Council ( ga, Comhairle Cheantar na Coirre Críochaí; Ulster Scots: ''Districk Cooncil o Cookestoun'') was a district council covering an area largely in County Tyrone and partly in County Londonderry. It merged with Dungan ...
. After a reduction in the number of councils in Northern Ireland in 2011, County Londonderry is divided into three cross-county councils:
Causeway Coast and Glens,
Derry and Strabane, and
Mid-Ulster District.
Transport
Translink provides a
Northern Ireland Railways service in the county, linking
Londonderry railway station to
Coleraine railway station
Coleraine railway station serves the town of Coleraine in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It shares facilities with the town's Ulsterbus bus depot.
History
The station was opened by the Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Portrush Jun ...
(with a branch to on the
Coleraine–Portrush railway line) and onwards into County Antrim to
Belfast Lanyon Place and
Belfast Great Victoria Street on the
Belfast-Derry railway line.
There is also the
Foyle Valley Railway
The Foyle Valley Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway in Derry, Northern Ireland.
Foyle Valley Railway Museum was initially opened in 1990 on the site of Foyle Road station of the GNR (Ireland). In August 2016, Destined Ltd, a charity f ...
, a museum in
Derry with some rolling stock from both the
County Donegal Railway
The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint p ...
and the
Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway, and is located on the site of the former
Londonderry Foyle Road railway station. The
Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway continued as a private bus company based in the city but operating predominantly in
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrcon ...
until it closed in 2014. Bus services are now provided by
Ulsterbus.
Education
Government-funded education up to secondary school level is administered by the
Education Authority
The Education Authority ( ga, Údarás Oideachais) is a non-departmental body sponsored by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. It was established under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 (c. 12) which was passed by the Northe ...
(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
University of Ulster
sco, Ulstèr Universitie
, image = Ulster University coat of arms.png
, caption =
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng =
, latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae
, established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
are in the county, including its headquarters at
Coleraine and the
Magee Campus in Derry.
Sport
In
Gaelic games
Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling ...
, the
GAA county of
Derry is more or less coterminous with the former administrative county of Londonderry, although teams from the neighbouring counties of Tyrone, Donegal and Antrim have occasionally played in Derry competitions, and vice versa. The Derry teams wear the colours red and white. There are many club teams competing in up to five leagues and three championships. The county team has won one
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (in
1993) and five
National League titles.
Hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
is also widely played but is not as popular as football. However, the county team is generally regarded as one of the top hurling sides 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 Kin ...
and in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
won the
Nicky Rackard Cup – the third tier hurling competition in Ireland.
In association football, the
NIFL Premiership
The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the North ...
, which operates as the top division, has two teams in the county:
Coleraine F.C. and
Institute F.C., with
Limavady United F.C.
Limavady United Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League. The club comes from Limavady, County Londonderry, and plays home matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours are royal ...
,
Moyola Park F.C.
Moyola Park Association Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League. The club, founded in 1880, hails from Castledawson, near Magherafelt, County Londonderry, and plays its home ...
,
Portstewart F.C.
Portstewart Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club from Portstewart, County Londonderry. The club was founded in 1968 and currently plays in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League. The club's main colours are sky blue an ...
and
Tobermore United F.C.
Tobermore United Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League.
History
The club, founded in 1965, is based in Tobermore, near Magherafelt, County Londonderry and currently pl ...
competing in the
NIFL Championship, which operates as levels two and three.
Derry City F.C. play in the
Premier Division of the
League of Ireland after leaving the
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
structures in 1985, having resigned from the
Irish Football League at the height of
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
because of not being allowed play their home games at the
Brandywell
The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and (temporaril ...
due to security concerns from other clubs.
The
Northern Ireland Milk Cup
SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area ...
was established in 1983 and is regarded as one of the most prestigious youth football tournaments in Europe and the world.
The competition is based at
Coleraine and involves several other towns and villages in the county –
Limavady
Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years betwee ...
,
Portstewart and
Castlerock – and in neighbouring
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population ...
–
Ballymoney,
Portrush,
Ballymena
Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim.
The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...
and
Broughshane. The event, held in the last week of July, has attracted teams from 56 countries around the world including Europe, the US, Africa, the Far East, South America, the Middle East, Australia, Russia, New Zealand and Canada. Some of the biggest teams in the world have entered including Premiership giants
Everton,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
,
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
,
Chelsea,
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
as well as top European teams such as
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after i ...
,
F.C. Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Port ...
,
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Found ...
,
Benfica,
Bayern Munich and
Dynamo Kiev.
In
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
, the county is represented at senior level by
Rainey Old Boys Rugby Club, Magherafelt who compete in the Ulster Senior League and All Ireland Division Three. Limavady R.F.C,
City of Derry Rugby Club, Londonderry Y.M.C.A and Coleraine Rugby Club all compete in Ulster Qualifying League One.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
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
rowing, Richard Archibald from
Coleraine along with his Irish teammates qualified for the Beijing 2008 Olympics by finishing second in the lightweight fours final in Poznań, thus qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Another Coleraine rower
Alan Campbell is a World Cup gold medallist in the single sculls in 2006.
Media
The county currently has four main radio stations:
*
BBC Radio Foyle;
*
Q102.9
Q1 or Q-1 may refer to:
* Quarter 1, as in the first quarter of a calendar year or fiscal year
* first quartile in descriptive statistics
* The first quarto, usually meaning the earliest published version, of one of William Shakespeare's works
* ...
;
*
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
This is a list of cities, towns, villages, parishes and hamlets in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. See the list of places in Northern Ireland for places in other counties.
Towns are listed in bold.
A
* Aberfoyle
*Aghadowey
* Altnag ...
*
List of townlands in County Londonderry
In Ireland, Counties of Ireland, counties are divided into Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parishes, and these parishes are further divided into townlands. The following is a list of townlands sorted by parish in County Londonderry, Northern I ...
*
List of civil parishes of County Londonderry
*
Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry
This is a list of people to have been Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry.
There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II of England, James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recre ...
*
High Sheriff of County Londonderry
References
External links
County Londonderry on the interactive map of the counties of Great Britain and Ireland– Wikishire
*
{{Authority control
Counties of Northern Ireland
Londonderry
1613 establishments in Ireland