Derry Cathedral

St Columb’s Cathedral was the first Protestant Cathedral to be built in the British Isles following the Reformation and holds a place of pride and distinction within the Derry City walls. Named after St Columba, who is so intricately connected with the heritage of Derry. It was constructed between 1628 and 1633 by William Parrot for the Honourable The Irish Society less than two decades after the Plantation of Ulster in 1609. 

The foundation stone in the porch is inscribed: 'If stones could speake, then London's prayse should sound, Who built this church and cittie from the grounde.’

The cathedral is nestled with the historic walls which were fortified by thirteen guns sent by the London Companies in 1642 to bolster the city’s defences after the outbreak of insurgency in October 1641. 

The city became part of the political and religious turmoil which was triggered by the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688. These events saw the Catholic King James II deposed by the Protestant Stadtholder (national leader) of the Dutch United Provinces, William of Orange, who established himself on the English throne as King William III. King William was married to Queen Mary, King James II's elder daughter by his first wife, Anne Hyde. 

Perched atop a commanding hill, the cathedral’s lofty spire made it the tallest building in the city and a target for the Jacobites during the Siege of Derry 1688-89. The lead of the wooden spire was used for musket balls during the siege and the cathedral sustained much damage. The end of the Siege was reportedly heralded by a boy named James McGregor who climbed to the top of the city Cathedral to fire a cannon.

The city became known as  "the Maiden City" because its walls were never breached despite being besieged on three separate three separate occasions, most notably during the siege of 1688-89.

A unique feature of St Columb’s is its possession of the oldest peal of bells in Ireland presented by Charles 1 in 1638 and you can hear the bells ring out across the historic walls to this day.

The most significant structural modifications to the Cathedral were carried out during the Victorian period when the 17th century building took on its current appearance. Inside visitors are greeted by encaustic pavements and a narthex crafted by Welland & Gillespie in 1862, setting the stage for an inspiring journey through history. The cathedral houses an incredible collection of stained glass windows and magnificent funerary monuments as well as many tangible artefacts associated with Siege of Derry. A hollow mortar ball which the Jacobites filled with terms of surrender displayed within the prorch and the original keys and locks to the city gates, which were famously closed by thirteen apprentice boys in the face of King James II's advancing army.