Bid to change Londonderry to Derry ‘divisive’

The Ulster Unionist Party has described proposals to change the official name of Londonderry to Derry as “divisive and unnecessary”.

A Sinn Féin motion supporting the name change was passed at a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council on Thursday night.

The name Londonderry dates back to 1613, when King James I added the London prefix as part of granting the city a royal charter.

Bringing the motion to the council on Thursday, Cllr Eric McGinley said it was an opportunity to give the city “a clear brand, one single name, one single identity would help promote the city around the world”.

However, the Ulster Unionist Party’s Foyle spokeswoman, Julia Kee, condemned the motion.

“This latest attempt by Sinn Féin to seek to change the official name of the City of Londonderry is completely divisive and unnecessary, and sends a message to the minority unionist community that they are not welcome.

“There are very real problems in our city which need to be urgently addressed but the name is not one of them,” Ms Kee said.

Ms Kee said that generally the unionist community refers to the city as Londonderry while nationalists prefer Derry.

“Many unionists are prepared to use ‘Derry’ as a shorthand term in everyday speech, but they are in no doubt that for official purposes the full name of the city is Londonderry,” Ms Kee said.

“This seems to me to be a reasonable compromise which respects and reflects the historic links between this city and one of the world’s greatest cities,” she added.

The council will now contact Stormont’s SDLP environment minister Mark Durkan, a Derry native, to explore how the proposal can progress.