Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [561]
To the west, County Derry’s chief attraction is the historic city of Derry, nestled in a broad sweep of the River Foyle. It is the only surviving walled city in Ireland, and a walk around it is one of the highlights of a visit to Northern Ireland. Derry’s other draws include the powerful political murals in the Bogside district and the lively music scene in its many pubs. Northeast along the coast there are vast sandy beaches at Magilligan Point, Portstewart and Portrush, and from the basalt escarpment of Binevenagh, which overlooks the coast, superb views across Lough Foyle beckon you towards the blue-hazed hills of County Donegal.
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HIGHLIGHTS
City Lights Ancient walls, modern murals and foot-stomping music in the historic city of Derry (opposite)
Catch A Wave Surfing or body-boarding the Atlantic breakers at the beaches around Portrush
Coastal Challenge A 16.5km hike along the spectacular Causeway Coast from Carrick-a-Rede to the Giant’s Causeway
Test Your Nerve The slender, swaying Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Away From It All Seabirds and seals at the remote western end of Rathlin Island
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TELEPHONE CODE: 028 FROM UK; 048 FROM REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
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POPULATION: 532,000
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AREA: 4918 SQ KM
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COUNTY DERRY
DERRY/LONDONDERRY
pop 83,700
Northern Ireland’s second city comes as a pleasant surprise to many visitors. Derry (or Londonderry; see the boxed text, Click here) may not be the prettiest of cities, and it certainly lags behind Belfast in terms of investment and redevelopment, but it has a great riverside setting, several fascinating historical sights and a determined air of can-do optimism that has made it the powerhouse of the North’s cultural revival.
There’s lots of history to absorb, from the Siege of Derry to the Battle of the Bogside – a stroll around the 17th-century city walls is a must, as is a tour of the Bogside murals – and the city’s lively pubs are home to a burgeoning live-music scene. But perhaps the biggest attraction is the people themselves: warm, witty and welcoming.
History
The defining moment of Derry’s history was the Siege of Derry in 1688–89, an event whose echoes reverberate around the city’s walls to this day. King James I granted the city a royal charter in 1613, and gave the London livery companies (trade guilds) the task of fortifying Derry and planting the county of Coleraine (soon to be renamed County Londonderry) with Protestant settlers.
In Britain, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 saw the Catholic King James II ousted in favour of the Protestant Dutch prince, William of Orange. Derry was the only garrison in Ireland that was not held by forces loyal to King James, and so, in December 1688, Catholic forces led by the Earl of Antrim arrived on the east bank of the River Foyle, ready to seize the city.
They sent emissaries to discuss terms of surrender, but in the meantime troops were being ferried across the river in preparation for an assault. On seeing this, 13 apprentice boys barred the city gates with a cry of ‘There’ll be no surrender!’
And so, on 7 December 1688, the Siege of Derry began. For 105 days the Protestant citizens of Derry withstood bombardment, disease and starvation (the condition of the besieging forces was not much better). By the time a relief ship burst through and broke the siege, an estimated half of the city’s inhabitants had died. In the 20th century the Siege of Derry became a symbol of Ulster Protestants’ resistance to rule by a Catholic Irish Republic, and ‘No surrender!’ remains a Loyalist battle-cry to this day.
In the 19th century Derry was one of the main ports of emigration to the USA, a fact commemorated by the sculptures of an emigrant family standing in Waterloo Pl. It also played a vital role in the transatlantic trade in linen shirts: supposedly, local