Land Area: 798 sq. miles

Largest Town: Derry

Main Towns: Coleraine, Derry, Dungiven, Limavady,Maghera, Magherafelt, Portstewart.

Main Industries: Agriculture, computer services, dairy food processing, garment manufacturing, meat processing, oil distribution, retailing, service industries, tourism.

Becketts is a well-known pub venue in the centre of Derry city - great place to stop off for a drink in between the shops or to experience the best of Derrys lively nightlife! Another of Derry’s best known landmark pubs ‘The Carraig‘ takes its name from the Gaelic Irish word of a prominent stone or rock, a number of which can still be seen around the area dating back to the days before the riverside land was reclaimed from The Foyle. Under their former name - The Railway Bar - the premises was a Mecca for workers at Derry’s port, which nowadays operates from a purpose-built site upstream on the Foyle. The ground floor bar now stands as a fine testament of the old Victorian pub style - right down to its beveled mirrors and stained glass. And, thanks to the bar’s proximity to the city’s Magee University and a full programme of night time entertainment, it’s not unusual to see the house full signs outside! Glenshane Pass is one of Ireland’s most famous pubs, and also the north’s highest. Thanks in part to its unique location atop the Glenshane Pass, this famous Irish mountain pub enjoys a truly international clientele; they extend from farmers to journalists and sports people to international travelers! Rugby, Gaelic football, hockey and university clubs all visit here regularly.

Superb restaurants, pubs of character and of course the irresistible tumbling melodies of traditional Irish music spilling onto the streets. Quite simply Derry (Hotels, Derry, Ireland) is Amazing!

Benevenagh and Magilligan. The northern elements in the Ulster flora attains specially well-marked development on the magnificent basaltic precipices of Bene- venagh, an isolated hill in Co. Derry (Bed and Breakfasts, Derry, Ireland) lying near the north-western extremity of the basaltic area. The cliff flora there includes :

Draba incana Hieracia (many species)

Silene acaulis Salix herbacea

Dryas octopetala Juniperus nana.

Saxifraga oppositifolia

Spreading out below the Benevenagh cliffs is the wide sand-flat of Magilligan, which is also excellent ground for the botanist. Draba incana descends from its alpine perch to grow in abundance on the dunes ; Hypochaeris glabra has here its only Irish station ; and some other species which are rare locally, such as Orchis pyramidalis, Epipactis palusiris, and Lastrea Thelypteris, may be also found.

Geology

About 3 miles to the east of Derry (Self Catering, Derry, Ireland) is the small glen of Lincairn. This gorge is 100 ft. deep and about two-thirds of a mile long, and has a level bottom. This must have been an overflow channel begun at a time when the Faughan valley had 250 ft, of ice in its bed, thus obstructing the drainage in that direction. The curious steep-sided pools that are met with in the gravels and sands on the right bank of the Foyle Kettle-hole, two miles N.E. of Derry (Accommodation, Derry, Ireland) north of Derry, mark the places where lobes of ice became separated from the main body of the glacier. Sands and gravels were deposited over and around them, and afterwards when melting took place, these kettle holes, as they are called, were formed. At the close of the glacial period the land was higher than now, for we have, in addition to the geological evidence, that of the relict fauna and flora, for believing that a land connection with Norway remained after that with the Continent by way of France was broken. Then came a depression that allowed the sea to re-enter certain of the river valleys of the north. Carlingford Lough was thus invaded, and Belfast Lough extended farther to the west than now, and the estuarine clays on which the lower part of Belfast now stands were laid down. An old shore line can be traced from Belfast round the Derry and Derry (Holiday Apartments, Derry, Ireland) coasts, showing that at this time the sea stood some 25 ft. higher than it does to-day. Afterwards, an uplift occurred that brought the sea to its present position and exposed the stumps of ancient forest trees and the peat of formerly submerged bogs.

Old records and tradition point to the fact that Inishowen was, up till very recently, an island, separated from the mainland by a narrow strait that joined Loughs Foyle and Swilly along the line of the present Lough Swilly railway. Farther south, the low tract from Blanket Nook to Carrigans suggests the probability that the tract to the north was similarly cut off. Inch island retained its insular character till quite recently, when the shallow strait was reclaimed from the sea by artificial embankments; and the hill upon which the city of Londonderry was built was an island in the Foyle until, by the building of walls on the south-west and north, the sea was kept out of what is now the valley to the west of the old city.

South-west of Derry the drift is of considerable thickness, and the soils arc fertile owing to the variety of the materials from which they arc derived. About Omagh we have again a rich assortment of different rocks in the drifts-grit, limestone, basalt, and altered slate.

In Derry city a granite sett from Carrigart has been in use for some time. A diorite from Fincarn, north-east of Buncrana, is used for the roads near the city ; and for those farther south grits and basalts are employed.

Originally part of the region known as T� Eoghain, “Eoghan’s land”, after one of the sons of the semi-legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages, much of the land remained in the hands of the O’Kanes (or O’Cahans) until the seventeenth century. In 1610, under some duress from James I, the livery companies of the city of London agreed to oversee the colonisation of the area, and in 1610 the county of Londonderry was established. The old inhabitants were expropriated, new towns established and an influx of English and Scottish settlers began. Understandably under the circumstances, the name of the city and county remains somewhat sensitive, “Derry” to the descendants of the old Gaelic and Catholic natives, “Londonderry” to the descendants of the settlers.

Surnames associated with the county include Doherty, McLaughlin, Gallagher, McCloskey, Kane, Kelly, Coyle, Moore, Bradley and Campbell

Chief Towns in County Derry (Bed and Breakfasts, Derry, Ireland) are Londonderry, Coleraine, Limavady, Dungiven, Maghera and Magherafelt.

Part of inner Ulster County Derry (Holiday Homes, Derry, Ireland) enjoyed higher and earlier rates of urbanization and industrialization (based on linen and shirt- making) than areas further west and relatively less disruption during and after the Great Famine. Emigration from County Derry began in 1718 when the so-called Ulster Scots emigrated to New England and later to Pennsylvania. The chief ports of arrival for emigrants through Derry (Holiday Apartments, Derry, Ireland) were New York and Philadelphia in the USA and Quebec and St John, New Brunswick, Canada. Throughout the 19th century there was mass emigration through the port of Derry from Counties Derry, Donegal and Tyrone. From the early 1700s to the onset of the Second World War in 1939, when the last transatlantic passenger steamer sailed from the port, Derry was one of the principal emigration ports in Ireland.

County Derry or Londonderry Genealogy Centre, Heritage Library, 14 Bishop St, Derry City, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland

The Genealogy Centre in Derry (Accommodation, Derry, Ireland) City is the designated Irish Family History Foundation Centre for County Derry (also known as Londonderry). The centre has built up a database, which stands at over 1 million entries, of the major civil and church records for County Derry and the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal. They undertake commissioned research through this database.

The main records include:

Roman Catholic records, the earliest of which date from 1773

Church of Ireland records (Anglican/Episcopalian) commence in 1642

Presbyterian records from 1703

Civil birth and marriage records up to 1922

Gravestone Inscriptions

1901 Census

Griffith’s Valuation of 1858/1859

1831 Census

Tithe Books of 1823 - 1837

1796 Flax Growers Lists

1766 Religious Census

1740 Protestant Householders Lists

1663 Hearth Money Rolls

Rating: 4 Star

Rating: 3 Star

Rating: 4 Star

Rating: 4 Star

Rating: 4 Star

Rating: 4 Star

Rating: 3 Star

Rating: 4 Star

Chalk with bands of flints is a characteristic feature of the scenery of Derry and Londonderry, flint having been plentifully strewn over these and the adjoining counties, by the ice streams of the Glacial period. The most important remains of the settlements of Stone-Age man are the raised beaches at Lame, Whitepark Bay, Island Magee, Portrush, Portstewart, etc. As well as at these settlements, flint flakes and implements have been found nearly every- where along the shores of the River Bann ; several stations having produced implements and flakes in profusion. Many implements and flakes have been found at Mount Sandal, south of Coleraine, and at Kilrea : implements have also been found at Port- glenone, Gortgolc, Culbane, and at other places as far as Toome Bar where the Bann leaves Lough Neagh.

The flakes obtained from sites on the River Bann are often carefully flaked and trimmed. The typical flake is leaf-shaped with a well-marked bulb of percussion, it has generally a brownish patina. The implements from the Bann, include axe-heads of the kitchen-midden type, scrapers, pointed implements, and a few ordinary polished celts. Many sites occupied by Neolithic man are to be found in the sandhills of the north coast of Ireland. These sandhills lie above the raised beaches, and, when the wind lays bare old surfaces among the hollows, pottery and worked flints are found. The best known of these are at Whitepark Bay, Co. Derry (Holiday Cottages, Derry, Ireland) ; Dundrum Bay, Co. Down ; and the mouth of the River Bann, near Portstcwart, Co. Derry (Hotels, Derry, Ireland). Among the flints found arc numerous cores and flakes, while scrapers of various sizes, some being exceedingly small, are also discovered in large numbers, showing that the working of flint was carried on extensively in the sandhills. Polished axes have also been found at these sites, while highly finished arrowheads and hollow scrapers have been discovered at Dundrum Bay and Portstewart. The pottery obtained from these settlements is often decorated with incised lines, etc., and judging from some of the objects discovered, it is probable that the human occupation of the sites lasted from Neolithic times into the early Iron Age and the Christian period.

Architecture

The present cathedral of ; Derry (Doire= an oak-wood), was commenced in 1628 and finished in 1633. The cost of the building was defrayed by the Corporation of the city of London, it amounted to some 4000. Built in the perpendicular style, it is interesting as a specimen of the Gothic of that period. In the early portion of last century a new tower and spire were built; a chancel has recently been erected.

History

Derry (Holiday Homes, Derry, Ireland), one of the most historically rich counties in Ireland, has experienced a period of consecutive residency of a single culture for over 1500 years. In ancient times Derry (derived from the Gaelic word for Oak Grove, Daire) was a hallowed land to the Celtic people. The city of Derry was founded by St. Colmcille in 546.

In more recent history, Derry (Holiday Apartments, Derry, Ireland) has been a place of conflict when, starting in the 1600s, settlers from Scotland were moved into Northern Ireland as a result of the power vacuum that occured when the native Irish leaders of Ulster fled to continental Europe in what is known as the Flight of the Earls. At the time, Ulster had been the last region in Ireland to fall to the invading British forces.

In 1689, Derry city was besieged for 105 days by the forces of King James II, in which thousands died on both sides and a great deal of physial devestation was done to the city. Derry city was rebuilt in the 1700s in the much-seen-throughout-Ireland Georgian style. These beautiful buildings are still around for all to see.

Co. Derry
This is a hilly county, but it has a belt of low cultivated land along the northern side, where it fronts Lough Foyle, and along the east, where lie the valley of the Bann and Lough Neagh. Derry (Bed and Breakfasts, Derry, Ireland), one of the most important and historic towns in Ulster, stands in the extreme west of the county, in a commanding position on a bold hill looking down on a curve of the Foyle, here a broad tidal river. The main part of the. city stands on the northern or Donegal side of the stream, but the county boundary swings northward so as to include it and its environs. The town is bright and busy, with good buildings, and the quay accommodation is ample. There are four rail- way stations, two on either side of the river. The walls of the old city, which run round the hill which forms the middle part of the town, are still in an excellent state of preservation. Five miles below Derry the river widens out into the broad expanse of Lough Foyle. Coleraine, on the River Bann where it ceases to be tidal, is also a port, and is an important place. Limavady lies half-way between the last two. Kilrea is on the River Bann, which for a long distance forms the boundary between Derry and Derry. Maghera, and Magherafelt, lie towards the southern end of the county.

The most extensive river system in Ulster is that of the Bann. This stream rises in the Mourne mountains at the southern end of Co. Down, and flows north-west- ward for some thirty miles through Banbridge and Portadown, and past many linen factories to Lough Neagh, which it enters near its south-western corner. A few miles further westward, an equally large stream also enters the lake-the Blackwater, which drains a large part of Monaghan and Tyrone, and flows north- cast. Other streams flow into the lake from east, west, and north. The combined drainage leaves Lough Neagh at Toome, in the north-east corner, and passing through the shallow and hardly distinct Lough Beg, flows north- ward as the Lower Bann down the wide central trough of the basaltic area, already alluded to, to reach sea- level at Coleraine, and the sea itself four miles lower down. A feature of this trough is that down the centre runs a low ridge. The northward-flowing Bann occupies the western of the two valleys thus created. In the eastern, only five miles from the Bann, the River Main flows for 25 miles parallel to it but in the opposite direction, to enter Lough Neagh below Randalstown. The Upper Bann, Blackwater, and Lower Bann are all used as waterways

Next to the Bann, the Erne, draining south-western Ulster, is the largest river in the province. It is a strange stream, a great part of its course being occupied by lake-expansions filled with such a multitude of peninsulas and islands that without a guide, or close attention to a good map, it is hardly possible to find ones way by boat. The course of the Erne lies mainly through a broad, low limestone valley, and most of these expansions are due to solution of the rock by water. the Derry coast-line is remarkable for its boldness, and for the contrasts of colour which its cliffs and scarps present. The black of the basalt is set off by the pure white of the Chalk, and ruddy sandstones and marls and blue-grey The River Bann at Coleraine
Lias clays enhance the effect. A raised beach, forming a narrow platform between the cliff bases and the sea, has allowed of the construction of a fine thoroughfare from Larne to Cushendall, one of the most picturesque roads in Ireland. Fair Head presents a magnificent face of giant basaltic columns, facing across to the Mull of Kintyre, distant only 13 miles ; further eastward the great cliff-walls which overlook the famous Giants Causeway exhibit a series of successive beds of lava, which form an epitome of the volcanic history of the country in Cainozoic times. The Causeway itself is one of these beds, in which very slow cooling has resulted in a splitting up of the homogeneous rock into polygonal columns. Several little towns lie along the coast; Portrush and Ballycastle, in the north, are the most important, and are both well-known summer resorts. Rathlin Island, a cliff-bound outlier of the basaltic plateau, rises out of the waves a few miles to the north of Ballycastle. On the eastern part of the coast lie Cushendall, Carnlough, and Grienarm. Beyond Causeway Pleaskins, Giants
Portstcwart, a few miles east of Portrush, the River Bann enters the sea between areas of sand-dunes ; it is tidal and navigable for steamers as far as Coleraine, 5 miles up.

The flakes obtained from sites on the River Bann are often carefully flaked and trimmed. The typical flake is leaf-shaped with a well-marked bulb of percussion, it has generally a brownish patina. The implements from the Bann, include axe-heads of the kitchen-midden type, scrapers, pointed implements, and a few ordinary polished celts. Many sites occupied by Neolithic man are to be found in the sandhills of the north coast of Ireland. These sandhills lie above the raised beaches, and, when the wind lays bare old surfaces among the hollows, pottery and worked flints are found. The best known of these are at Whitepark Bay, Co. Derry (Holiday Cottages, Derry, Ireland) ; Dundrum Bay, Co. Down ; and the mouth of the River Bann, near Portstcwart, Co. Derry (Hotels, Derry, Ireland). Among the flints found arc numerous cores and flakes, while scrapers of various sizes, some being exceedingly small, are also discovered in large numbers, showing that the working of flint was carried on extensively in the sandhills. Polished axes have also been found at these sites, while highly finished arrowheads and hollow scrapers have been discovered at Dundrum Bay and Portstewart. The pottery obtained from these settlements is often decorated with incised lines, etc., and judging from some of the objects discovered, it is probable that the human occupation of the sites lasted from Neolithic times into the early Iron Age and the Christian period.

In more recent history, Derry (Holiday Apartments, Derry, Ireland) has been a place of conflict when, starting in the 1600s, settlers from Scotland were moved into Northern Ireland as a result of the power vacuum that occured when the native Irish leaders of Ulster fled to continental Europe in what is known as the Flight of the Earls. At the time, Ulster had been the last region in Ireland to fall to the invading British forces.

In 1689, Derry city was besieged for 105 days by the forces of King James II, in which thousands died on both sides and a great deal of physial devestation was done to the city. Derry city was rebuilt in the 1700s in the much-seen-throughout-Ireland Georgian style. These beautiful buildings are still around for all to see.

Co. Derry
This is a hilly county, but it has a belt of low cultivated land along the northern side, where it fronts Lough Foyle, and along the east, where lie the valley of the Bann and Lough Neagh. Derry (Bed and Breakfasts, Derry, Ireland), one of the most important and historic towns in Ulster, stands in the extreme west of the county, in a commanding position on a bold hill looking down on a curve of the Foyle, here a broad tidal river. The main part of the. city stands on the northern or Donegal side of the stream, but the county boundary swings northward so as to include it and its environs. The town is bright and busy, with good buildings, and the quay accommodation is ample. There are four rail- way stations, two on either side of the river. The walls of the old city, which run round the hill which forms the middle part of the town, are still in an excellent state of preservation. Five miles below Derry the river widens out into the broad expanse of Lough Foyle. Coleraine, on the River Bann where it ceases to be tidal, is also a port, and is an important place. Limavady lies half-way between the last two. Kilrea is on the River Bann, which for a long distance forms the boundary between Derry and Derry. Maghera, and Magherafelt, lie towards the southern end of the county.

The most extensive river system in Ulster is that of the Bann. This stream rises in the Mourne mountains at the southern end of Co. Down, and flows north-west- ward for some thirty miles through Banbridge and Portadown, and past many linen factories to Lough Neagh, which it enters near its south-western corner. A few miles further westward, an equally large stream also enters the lake-the Blackwater, which drains a large part of Monaghan and Tyrone, and flows north- cast. Other streams flow into the lake from east, west, and north. The combined drainage leaves Lough Neagh at Toome, in the north-east corner, and passing through the shallow and hardly distinct Lough Beg, flows north- ward as the Lower Bann down the wide central trough of the basaltic area, already alluded to, to reach sea- level at Coleraine, and the sea itself four miles lower down. A feature of this trough is that down the centre runs a low ridge. The northward-flowing Bann occupies the western of the two valleys thus created. In the eastern, only five miles from the Bann, the River Main flows for 25 miles parallel to it but in the opposite direction, to enter Lough Neagh below Randalstown. The Upper Bann, Blackwater, and Lower Bann are all used as waterways

Next to the Bann, the Erne, draining south-western Ulster, is the largest river in the province. It is a strange stream, a great part of its course being occupied by lake-expansions filled with such a multitude of peninsulas and islands that without a guide, or close attention to a good map, it is hardly possible to find ones way by boat. The course of the Erne lies mainly through a broad, low limestone valley, and most of these expansions are due to solution of the rock by water. the Derry coast-line is remarkable for its boldness, and for the contrasts of colour which its cliffs and scarps present. The black of the basalt is set off by the pure white of the Chalk, and ruddy sandstones and marls and blue-grey The River Bann at Coleraine
Lias clays enhance the effect. A raised beach, forming a narrow platform between the cliff bases and the sea, has allowed of the construction of a fine thoroughfare from Larne to Cushendall, one of the most picturesque roads in Ireland. Fair Head presents a magnificent face of giant basaltic columns, facing across to the Mull of Kintyre, distant only 13 miles ; further eastward the great cliff-walls which overlook the famous Giants Causeway exhibit a series of successive beds of lava, which form an epitome of the volcanic history of the country in Cainozoic times. The Causeway itself is one of these beds, in which very slow cooling has resulted in a splitting up of the homogeneous rock into polygonal columns. Several little towns lie along the coast; Portrush and Ballycastle, in the north, are the most important, and are both well-known summer resorts. Rathlin Island, a cliff-bound outlier of the basaltic plateau, rises out of the waves a few miles to the north of Ballycastle. On the eastern part of the coast lie Cushendall, Carnlough, and Grienarm. Beyond Causeway Pleaskins, Giants
Portstcwart, a few miles east of Portrush, the River Bann enters the sea between areas of sand-dunes ; it is tidal and navigable for steamers as far as Coleraine, 5 miles up.

Draba incana Hieracia (many species)

Silene acaulis Salix herbacea

Dryas octopetala Juniperus nana.

Saxifraga oppositifolia

Spreading out below the Benevenagh cliffs is the wide sand-flat of Magilligan, which is also excellent ground for the botanist. Draba incana descends from its alpine perch to grow in abundance on the dunes ; Hypochaeris glabra has here its only Irish station ; and some other species which are rare locally, such as Orchis pyramidalis, Epipactis palusiris, and Lastrea Thelypteris, may be also found.