Running from 1772 to 2022, the Derry Journal will this week be looking back over two and a half centuries in a special edition charting the turbulent history of the region.
Speaking of this landmark edition, Editor-in-Chief William Allen says: “Editor Brendan McDaid and his team have created a superb supplement to mark the anniversary of the Derry Journal’s foundation on June 3, 1772, accompanied by an exhibition running in the city’s main shopping centre. To make its own contribution to the anniversary, Derry City & Strabane District Council’s Museum & Heritage Service, in partnership with NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin, will hold a lecture entitled ‘1772–2022: The Derry Journal at 250’ at The Guildhall on June 1.
“As Ireland’s second oldest newspaper and one which straddles the border created by the partition of Ireland in 1921, the history of the Derry Journal is intertwined with the history of the north west of Ireland. Its establishment pre-dated the American Declaration of Independence, it documented the names of many Irish people who emigrated to that country when it was new; it reported on the French Revolution, the United Irish rebellion of 1798, the Famine and, of course, the various political and military struggles for self-rule for Ireland, and the reunification of the country, including the most recent ‘Troubles’ and peace process. While it began as a Presbyterian publication, it changed course a century later to support Catholic emancipation and Irish nationalism and it remains a strong voice of nationalism today.
“Its commemorative edition contains many testimonies from political and community leaders, and also features the many memories of staff past and present.
“I believe that not only is this special edition an important body of work to mark a milestone anniversary, it also makes a substantial contribution to the history of Ireland and, in particular, the story of the nationalist, Catholic people of the north west of the island.”
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