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Derry, city, Northern Ireland

Derry (dĕr`ē) or Londonderry (lŭn'dəndĕr`ē, lŭn`dəndĕr'ē) city (1991 pop. 95,371) and district, NW Northern Ireland. The city is the county town of Co. Derry. Much of the district is mountainous, except for the low cultivated plain along Lough Foyle. The district was dominated for many centuries by the O'Neill family. The city, on the Foyle River near the head of Lough Foyle, is the second most important in Northern Ireland. It is a naval base and seaport with industries that include food processing, textiles and apparel, computer products and services, and chemicals.

The city grew up around an abbey founded in 546 by St. Columba. It was burned by the Danes in 812. In 1311 Derry was granted to Richard de Burgh, earl of Ulster. When it was turned over (1613) to the corporations of the City of London, the name was changed to Londonderry; the older name was restored for the local government authority in 1984. The old town walls are well preserved. In the siege of Londonderry by the forces of James II (beginning in Apr., 1689), it was held for 105 days under the leadership of George Walker; a triumphal arch, a column, and one of the town gates commemorate the siege. In the late 20th cent. the city was the scene of conflict between Catholics and Protestants.

The city contains a Protestant cathedral (built 1628–33; restored 1886–87), a Roman Catholic cathedral, and a monastery church (founded 1164). Magee Univ. College in Derry is affiliated with Queens Univ., Belfast.

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Derry, town, United States

Derry, town (1990 pop. 29,603), Rockingham co., SE N.H.; set off from Londonderry 1827. Rapid population growth has changed it from a small town to a suburb. Chemicals and electronic equipment are made. Robert Frost farmed and taught school in Derry.

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Londonderry

 locally and historically Derry

District (pop., 2001: 105,066), northwestern Northern Ireland. It is also the name of a former traditional county, colonized by the English in 1609; the 1973 administrative reorganization broke up the county into several districts, including Londonderry. Bordered by the Irish republic and Lough Foyle, it is centred around the seaport city of Londonderry. In 1969 the old city and the adjacent area were merged administratively, and in 1973 it became one of Northern Ireland's 26 districts.

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Londonderry

 locally and historically Derry

Seaport (pop., 1995 est.: 77,000) and district seat of Londonderry, Northern Ireland. St. Columba established a monastery there in the 6th century, but the settlement was repeatedly destroyed by Norse invaders. In 1600 an English force seized the city; shortly thereafter James I of England granted the city to the citizens of London, who brought in Protestant settlers, and it was then that it became officially known as Londonderry. Growth of the modern city dates from the 1850s, when linen shirt making became important, and clothing manufacture remains a major industry. Home to two cathedrals, Anglican and Roman Catholic, it has been the site of terrorist violence. Steeped in the region's political turmoil, controversy surrounds the city's name. The British government officially refers to the city and district as Londonderry City, but since 1984 the nationalist-controlled city council has called itself the Derry City Council.

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Derry

1. a district in NW Northern Ireland, in Co. Londonderry. Pop.: 106 456 (2003 est.). Area: 387 sq. km (149 sq. miles)

2. another name for Londonderry