Derry City and administrative district on the River Foyle near Lough Foyle, nw Northern Ireland. In ad 546 St Columba founded a monastery here, and a settlement grew up around it. In 1311, Derry was granted to the Earl of Ulster. In 1600 English forces seized the city, and in 1613 James I granted Derry to the citizens of London. It was renamed Londonderry, a new city was laid out, and Protestant colonization began. In 1688–89, James II unsuccessfully besieged the city. Sectarian violence plagued the city in the latter half of the 20th century. In 1984 its name reverted to Derry. Industries: clothing manufacture. Area: 347sq km (149sq mi). Pop. (1997) 104,000.

Derry

a ballad or set of verses, 1553 [from the repetitive use of “Hey derry, derry” in folk songs].