Derry/Londonderry name dispute
The name of the city and county of Derry or Londonderry in Northern Ireland is a subject of naming dispute between nationalists (mostly Catholic) and unionists (most of whom are Protestant), with nationalists calling it Derry, and unionists, Londonderry.
The most visible sign of this dispute to the visitor is in the road signage; those pointing to the town from the Republic refer to it as "Derry", whilst across the border it is written as "Londonderry". It is not uncommon to see vandalised road signs - the "London" part of the name spray painted over on "Londonderry" road signs by nationalists, or added to "Derry" signs by unionists.
History of the name
The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name, Doire ("oak grove"). When a new walled city was built by The Honourable The Irish Society across the River Foyle from the old site of the town, using donations from the livery companies of the City of London during the Plantation of Ulster by English and Scottish settlers, it was renamed and granted a Royal charter as the City of Londonderry. The county was created at the same time, largely based on the previous county of Coleraine.
Irish nationalists, however, do not accept the change of name, as Derry was the original name of the settlement, coming from the original Doire Cholm Cille (Saint Columba's Orchard).
The local authority covers the walled city, urban areas on both banks of the Foyle, and rural areas extending to the southeast of the city. Nationalists account for the majority of the population, and this is reflected by the fact that Nationalist political parties dominate in elections. Local politicians officially changed the name of the local government district coterminous the city from "Londonderry" to "Derry" in 1984, thereby changing the name of the council from "Londonderry City Council" to "Derry City Council". However, the legislation does not provide that cities be automatically renamed with their districts (it does contain such a provision for boroughs).
Businesses, sports clubs and other organisations in the area will frequently avoid using Derry or Londonderry in their names opting instead to name themselves after the River Foyle or simply calling themselves "North-West." This is partly so that they can avoid alienating potential customers or users from either side of the community. The Westminster and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies, which currently have co-terminous boundaries with those of the city council, are called "Foyle", partly in order to avoid the naming controversy and also because the seat has in the past contained parts of County Tyrone. The BBC's regional radio station for the area is also named BBC Radio Foyle partly to avoid controversy.
Attempts at compromise
A suggested compromise wording of "Derry/Londonderry" (read "Derry stroke Londonderry") has given rise to the ironic local usage "Stroke City". Gerry Anderson, a local radio presenter who espoused this term, became known briefly as "Gerry/Londongerry". Another locally-used method of partly circumventing this name problem is to write "L'derry" or "L-Derry". One more way around this issue has been to refer to the city as "The Maiden City", a reference to the fact that the city was not breached during the siege of 1689. This usage is common in business, for example 'The Maiden City Flyer' is the Ulsterbus route from Derry/Londonderry to Belfast. The problem with this, however, is that due to its origin, "The Maiden City" is naturally seen as a term of pride for or by unionists and is hence disdained by nationalists. Another suggested compromise involved referring to the City as "Derry" and the County as "Londonderry"; however this idea has never really caught on.
Common practice in the Civil Service and in communication throughout business and other organisations within Northern Ireland is that, when responding to a letter from a correspondent from the city or county, is to reply using the same nomenclature as the initial communication. Therefore, a letter addressed Derry will be replied to an address in Derry, while a letter addressed from Londonderry will be returned to an address in Londonderry. The official BBC regulations for news broadcasts is that the city should be referred to as Londonderry during the initial reference, and Derry subsequently. Other broadcasters tend to follow suit.
In popular culture
The Divine Comedy song Sunrise utilises this dispute for political effect, beginning "I was born in Londonderry / I was born in Derry City too" (and a similar usage later for Enniskillen and the Irish language version, Inis Ceithleann).
Israeli-Palestinian parallel
Israeli social scientists pointed out the parallel between the Derry/Londonderry name dispute and the name dispute which has been going on since 1967 between those who use the name "Judea and Samaria" - mainly settlers and Israeli nationalists, who claim for Israel the territories which had this name in Biblical times - and "The West Bank", used by Palestinians and by Israeli doves who believe that these are occupied territories which should be given up in exchange for peace.