County Derry

Contae Dhoire

"The historic Walled City, main northern emigrant departure gate."

Estimated Emigrants Over 1,200,000 (transited via Port of Derry)

Peak Migration Eras 1840–1920

Primary US Destinations Philadelphia PA, Boston MA, New York City

County Derry Historical Heritage & Diaspora

County Derry (Londonderry) sits along the scenic banks of Lough Foyle and the River Foyle. Derry City is Ireland’s only completely intact historic Walled City, completed in 1618.

During the nineteenth century, the Port of Derry was the second most significant emigrant departure harbor in Ireland after Cobh. Ships operated by the J. & J. Cooke line and McCorkell Line carried over 1.2 million emigrants from Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh, and Derry across the Atlantic.

Derry emigrants created strong diaspora footholds in Philadelphia, Boston, and the coal towns of Pennsylvania. Renowned Derry surnames include Coyle, Doherty, McLaughlin, Bradley, Kane, and Kelly.

Historical Migration Journey

County Derry Emigration Timeline (1845 – 1920)

1845 – 1852 · The Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór)

Catastrophic Potato Blight & Transatlantic Coffin Ships

Successive failures of the potato crop decimated tenant farming communities. Facing ruthless landlord clearances and starvation, over one million people fled across the Atlantic. Families boarded cramped wooden sailing barques from ports like Cobh, Derry, and Galway, arriving at Boston Harbor and Castle Garden, New York.

1880 – 1900 · The Industrial & Mining Surge

Chain Migration, Coal Valleys, and Urban Labor Solidarity

Younger siblings and children emigrated through prepaid tickets and diaspora remittances sent home from America. Immigrants fueled the industrial expansion of the United States—mining anthracite in Pennsylvania, digging copper in Butte, Montana, and operating textile mills across New England while establishing the first labor unions.

1920s · Independence, Irish Free State & Civic Leadership

War of Independence Remittances and Second-Generation Rise

American diaspora communities raised millions of dollars (via Éamon de Valera's 1919 US tour) to support Irish independence. Second and third-generation Irish-Americans ascended into the heights of US jurisprudence, municipal leadership, journalism, and cultural institutions.