Culmore () is a village and

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is at the mouth of the

River Foyle The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Ty ...

. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,465 people. It is situated within

Derry and Strabane Derry City and Strabane is a local government district that was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the City of Derry District and Strabane District. It covers most of the northwest of Northern Ireland. The local authority is Derry City and St ...

district.

History

Nine Years' War

Sir Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore, was an English soldier who landed with a force of 4000 foot and 200 horse troops at Culmore on 16 May 1600, as part of an attempt to quell a war against the crown in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

. On 22 May he marched into Derry without resistance and occupied and fortified the town. From here he harassed some local Irish in such as a way as to make them sue for peace with him. Facing stronger local Irish opposition, Docwra's troops became almost prisoners, unable to make any progress while slowly starving until some powerful Irish became allies. For his service Docwra was granted 2000 acres (8 km²) in the Precinct of Liffer. He served as Governor of Loughfoyle, and on 15 May 1621, by a patent dated at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, was created Baron Docwra of Culmore. He was also Treasurer at War and a member of the Privy Council. Sir Henry died on 18 April 1631.

O'Doherty's Rebellion

Culmore Fort was an important strategic position linked to the garrison town of Derry. In 1608 when Sir Cahir O'Doherty, a formerly loyal Gaelic leader, launched O'Doherty's Rebellion by seizing and burning Derry, he began by first capturing a supply of arms from the

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

at Culmore after capturing its commander Captain Henry Hart.

Recent history

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

landed in a pasture at Culmore after her 1932 transatlantic solo flight. A small museum, the Amelia Earhart Centre, has been built there, but the museum is presently closed due to its funding having been cut by Derry City Council.

Transport

Culmore railway station opened on 1 October 1853 and closed on 2 July 1973, although the station was on the opposite side of Lough Foyle to where Culmore is situated today. There is still a bus service every hour from Monday to Saturday and every 2 hours on Sunday as part of the Foyle Metro service operating as the 1A bus to Muff via Culmore Point.

Sport

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

is a popular activity on the

and

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over t ...

. *In early September 2017, a new

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

club named Culmore Cú Chulainn GAA was established with about 30 members.

Demography

At the 2011 Census, Culmore had a population of 3,465 people. Of which: *92.03% were from a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

background and 6.06% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

or other Christian background

References

{{authority control Villages in County Londonderry Derry and Strabane district Derry (city)