History of Londonderry - 20th Century

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The 20th Century

The partition of Ireland in 1921 saw Londonderry unexpectedly become a border city. It was a calamity for the city, depriving it, as it did, of trade with its natural hinterland in Donegal. The city suffered in the general global economic disasters of the 1930s before witnessing its fortunes restored in the Second World War. Derry was bombed by German planes, but the war years in general were kind: the port of Londonderry was one of the most important Allied harbours in Europe and the city was flooded with American and Commonwealth servicemen, adding a little glamour to otherwise grey years. The economy boomed - though only briefly, for in the post-war years, economic difficulties returned.

 

In the 1960s, many factors combined to create a powder keg of discontent. The lack of civil rights for Catholics, the absence of housing for a rapidly-growing population, the gerrymandering of the city council in favour of the Unionist minority, the ending of three of the four railway lines into the city and the decision to downgrade Magee University College by the Stormont administration in favour of a new University of Ulster to be located in the Unionist town of Coleraine. All these contributed to a rising tension throughout the late 1960s. The Civil Rights marches of these years were a response to the injustices, and the lack of a satisfactory response to the issues raised led to the explosion of the Troubles in 1968.

 

The 1970s were disastrous for Derry. The urban fabric of the city was ravaged by repeated bombings; and Bloody Sunday of January 1972, when fourteen unarmed civil rights marchers were killed by British soldiers, was only one (though the most shocking) of many episodes in which people in the city lost their lives. The 1980s and 1990s, however, were better years. In 1980, Brian Friel's play Translations premiered in the Guildhall, marking the beginning of a period of energetic cultural activity that has continued to this day. The status of Magee College was restored in the 1980s, and today the rapidly growing university plays a vital role in the economic and cultural life of the city. In the last 20 years the fabric of the city has been restored, and the damage done (for the most part) painstakingly repaired, so that Derry/Londonderry can face the future in better heart than for many years.