Culmore

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Culmore (Irish: Chuil Móir) is a large village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, close to Derry. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,960 people. It is situated directly across the River Foyle from the village of Strathfoyle.

1 History
2 Places of interest
3 Transport
4 Sport
5 2001 Census
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

Sir Henry Docwra, was an English soldier who landed with a force of 4000 foot and 200 horse troops at Culmore on 16 May 1600, to quell discontent in Ulster. On 22 May he marched into Derry without resistance and occupied and fortified the town. From here he harassed the Irish clans in such as a way as to make them sue for peace with him. For his service he 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, was created Baron Dockwra of Culmore. He was also Treasurer at War and a member of the Privy council. Sir Henry died on 18 April 1631.

Amelia Earheart is also reported to have landed in a pasture at Culmore at the end of her 1932 transatlantic solo flight., When a farm hand asked, "Have you flown far?" Amelia replied, "From America." The site is now the Amelia Earhart Centre.

[edit] Places of interest

Culmore Artillery Fort, at Culmore Point on the River Foyle, formed an integral part of the defences of the City of Derry. A 17th century picture map shows this to have been a very large stone fortification with cannon emplacements. The stone tower on the point is likely to be of late medieval date. It was captured from Phelim O'Doherty in May 1600 and re-fortified by Sir Henry Docwra. It is owned by the Irish Society. Parts of this site, the earthen defences and the tower, are Scheduled Historic Monuments.

[edit] Transport

Culmore railway station opened on 1 October 1853, but finally closed on 2 July 1973.^[1]

[edit] Sport

Sailing is popular due to the River Foyle and Lough Foyle being in close proximity.
There is also a football team called Culmore F.C. who play in the Derry and District League.

[edit] 2001 Census

Culmore is classified by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) as being within Derry Urban Area (DUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,960 people living in Culmore. Of these:

29.3% were aged under 16 years and 8.0% were aged 60 and over
50.2% of the population were male and 49.8% were female
90.2% were from a Catholic background and 8.2% were from a Protestant background
4.3% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service