Durkan, Northern Ireland Minister of the Environment, to ask how the change could be effected. On 23 July 2015, the council voted in favour of a motion to change the official name of the city to Derry and to write to Mark H. A total of 12,136 comments were received, of which 3,108 were broadly in favour of the proposal, and 9,028 opposed to it. The EQIA then held two consultative forums, and solicited comments from the general public on whether or not the city should have its name changed to Derry. Firstly it held an opinion poll of district residents in 2009, which reported that 75% of Catholics and 77% of Nationalists found the proposed change acceptable, compared to 6% of Protestants and 8% of Unionists. Derry City Council afterward began this process, and was involved in conducting an equality impact assessment report (EQIA). The court clarified that Londonderry remained the official name and that the correct procedure to change the name would be via a petition to the Privy Council. The 2007 court case arose because Derry City Council wanted clarification on whether the 1984 name change of the council and district had changed the official name of the city and what the procedure would be to effect a name change. This was reaffirmed in a High Court decision in 2007. In the 2015 local government reform, the district was merged with the Strabane district to form the Derry City and Strabane district, with the councils likewise merged.Īccording to the city's Royal Charter of 10 April 1662, the official name is "Londonderry".
This also changed the name of the district, which had been created in 1973 and included both the city and surrounding rural areas. "Derry" has been used in the names of the local government district and council since 1984, when the council changed its name from "Londonderry City Council" to "Derry City Council". The name was changed from Derry in 1613 during the Plantation of Ulster to reflect the establishment of the city by the London guilds.
The name derives from the settlement's earliest references, Daire Calgaich ("oak-grove of Calgach"). Road signs in the Republic of Ireland use Derry and the Irish Doire.ĭespite the official name, the city is more usually known as "Derry", which is an anglicisation of the Irish Daire or Doire, and translates as " oak-grove/oak-wood". 9.3.1.1 19th century – early 20th century growth.In 2013, Derry was the inaugural UK City of Culture, having been awarded the title in 2010. The person traditionally seen as the founder of the original Derry is Saint Colmcille, a holy man from Tír Chonaill, the old name for almost all of modern County Donegal, of which the west bank of the Foyle was a part before 1610. Derry is close to the border with County Donegal, with which it has had a close link for many centuries. The district administered by Derry City and Strabane District Council contains both Londonderry Port and City of Derry Airport. The population of the city was 83,652 at the 2001 Census, while the Derry Urban Area had a population of 90,736. The city now covers both banks (Cityside on the west and Waterside on the east).
The old walled city lies on the west bank of the River Foyle, which is spanned by two road bridges and one footbridge. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name Daire (modern Irish: Doire ) meaning "oak grove".