Page 289 - Guerin Media | The Wild Atlantic Way

The City of Derry / Londonderry
Daire - Oak Grove, Contae Doire, Lunnonderrie
The splendour of the River Foyle is overlooked by
a city which is characterised by its famous walls,
varied history and the warmth of its people.
Derry was founded in AD 546 when St Columba
established a monastery in oak grove on the island of
Doire in the river Foyle. This monastery was called
“Daire” or “oak grove” thereby giving this region it’s
name. In time, the water west of the island silted up and
Daire was no longer an island.
It was said that the saint considered this a special place
saying:
“the angels of God sang in the glades of Derry and every
leaf held its angel”.
The city of Derry was officially part of the county of
Donegal until 1610.
Following the Flight of the Earls (1607) the Crown
confiscated almost the entire county from the Irish
nobility who had fled their lands. In 1609 the city
and it’s surrounding territory was given to the City of
London Corporation and its livery companies – and
so proceeded “The Plantations”. James 1 of England
invited merchants to move from London and to take
responsibility for the development and settlement of the
city. The prefix “London” was then added to the name.
Today the city is known by both names.
Derry is the most complete walled city in Ireland or
Britain. These city walls were constructed in 1613-18 to
defend the new plantation from the attacks of Donegal
chiefs. Just over 1 mile in circumference, the walls rise
to a height of 26 meters and are 30ft thick in places. The
walls have never been breached.
At a time when most of Ireland supported the Catholic
King James 11 against William of Orange, Derry was one
of the few protestant enclaves. The siege of Derry (1688-
1689) was the last siege in Irish or British history – it
lasted 105 days! At one point during the siege Catholic
General Hamilton is reputed to have hurled a shell over
the walls into the city containing terms of capitulation.
A blunt answer of “No Surrender” was the response and
this continues as the city’s motto.
To the west of the city walls an area reclaimed from
marshy lands and called the Bogside, is a Catholic
enclave of the city. This was the site of the the 1972
“Bloody Sunday” massacre when 13 people were killed –
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a mural announcing “ You are now entering Free Derry”
marks the scene on Free Derry Corner.
Together with it’s remarkable history, Derry is a
happening cultural city- it was the European City of
Culture in 2013! In a city with a vibrant energy and
attitude to life, here you have top class theaters and
music venues to choose from, not to mention fine
dining. There are also museums for a dive into Heritage
and History. These include, a Railway Museum, Tower
Museum and an extensive Archive and Genealogy
Service.
On 20 May 1932, Amelia Earhart swooped out
of the sky to touch down in a cow pasture near
Ballyarnet a few miles north of Derry city. Exiting
her Lockheed Vega plane she asked a startled
farm worker“Where am I?”.“In Gallagher’s Pasture”
came the reply. As she was aiming for Paris she
was quite surprised indeed! However she had
just completed the First solo transatlantic flight
by a woman and only the second solo flight since
Charles Lindbergh. She had reached Ireland in
just under 15 hours having disembarked from
Harbour Grace in Newfoundland, on the other
side of the Atlantic ocean. Today, a sculpture
marks the spot where she landed and an
exhibition is dedicated to her memory in a
cottage on the edge of that fated field belonging
to Mr. Gallagher.
Amelia Earhart