County Londonderry ~ Northern Ireland

History

County Londonderry, known in the Irish Gaelic as 'Doire' or 'Contae Doire' is one of the six counties of Ulster. The area has been continuously inhabited by man for many thousands of years and although there are written references to the region that date back only to the 6th century A.D., archaeological evidence suggests that the area was settled and farmed by prehistoric tribes. The name comes from the ancient Irish word 'Daire' meaning a grove of oak trees.The county was in fact named after its main town and administrative centre, the city of Londonderry (or Derry as many prefer to call it) and was established in 1613 by combining the old County Coleraine together with bits of the neighbouring counties of Antrim, Donegal and Tyrone. This was done for a purely commercial purpose, to enable the powerful London merchant venturers to have complete control of the important Rivers Foyle and Bann. The region and in particular the city of Londonderry has a turbulent and bloody history. For many hundreds of years, the populace have fought a variety of invaders including the Vikings, the Anglo Saxons, the Scots and the Normans. It was the site of the terrible 'Seige of Derry' when it refused to surrender to the Catholic King James who in 1689 came with a Jacobite army to seize the city. The townspeople decided on a firm policy of 'no surrender' and despite being subject to constant artillery bombardment and countless deaths from privation and disease, held out against the King for 105 days and the City is still fondly referred to as the Maiden City because it was never breached. More recently, the County witnessed further deaths and suffering during the 'Troubles'when a total of some 350 people lost their lives over the years.

Geography

County Londonderry covers an area of over 800 square miles and has a population of around 220,000. It shares borders with the counties of Donegal to the North, Antrim to the East and Tyrone to the West. The Loughs Foyle and Neagh form the Northern and Southern borders respectively. The county has a fairly wide and level central plain, but becomes increasingly mountainous the further one travels south towards Tyrone, where the Sperrin Mountains straddle the border. The North of the county is more industrialised and contains the largest of the towns and cities and the majority of the settled population. Further South, the county is significantly more rural and agriculture is a more prominent feature.

Industry

Sadly most of the heavy industry and shipbuilding in the area has gone, to be replaced with IT and service industries. Lisahally is the Port of Londonderry and with its massive capability for vessel handling, is a major employer. For many years the local economy relied heavily on the textile industry, particularly the manufacture of shirts. These days the production of Neoprene, Lycra and most recently Kevlar has taken over as the primary fabric product. Other industry includes fishing and the manufacture of armaments.

Agriculture still plays an important role in the economy of the county and the tourist industry is starting to boom following the end to the political strife, with an increasing number of visitors being drawn to the wild beauty of the Loughs and the Mountains as well as to the historic ancient towns and villages.

Cities, towns and villages within County Londonderry