County Londonderry

Contae Dhoire
Coontie Lunnonderrie

Coat of arms

Motto: Auxilium A Domino (Latin)
"Help comes from the Lord"

Sovereign state

United Kingdom

County town

Coleraine

Area

• Total

2,074 km² (801 sq mi)

Area rank

15th

Population (2011)

247,132

• Rank

6th

Contae Dhoire is the Irish name; Coontie Lunnonderrie is its name in Ulster Scots.

County Londonderry, also known as County Derry (Irish: Contae Dhoire, Ulster Scots: Coontie Lunnonderrie), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,074 km² (801 sq mi) and has a population of about 247,132. It is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland, as well as part of the historic province of Ulster.

Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a Catholic majority (55.56% according to the 2001 Census), with 57% of the Catholic population residing within Derry City Council. The county flower is the Purple Saxifrage.

The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire (Modern Irish Doire), meaning "oak-grove" or "oak-wood".

As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form "Londonderry" generally preferred by unionists and "Derry" by nationalists. British authorities use the name "Londonderry", while "Derry" is used by the Republic of Ireland.

Mountsandel located near Coleraine in County Londonderry is "perhaps the oldest recorded settlement within Ireland".

At an early period, what became the county of Coleraine was inhabited by the O'Cahans, who were tributary to the O'Neills. Towards the close of the reign of Elizabeth I their territory was seized by England, with the purpose of checking the power of the O'Neills, and was made the county of Coleraine, named after the regional capital.

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Wikipedia