Talk:Derry/FAQ

Many of these questions arise frequently on the talk page concerning Derry, Northern Ireland.

To view the answer, click the [show] link to the right of the question.

Q1: Why is this article called Derry?

A1: There have been disputes on Wikipedia over whether this article should be called Derry or Londonderry. There have also been disputes over whether the county article and others should use Derry or Londonderry. These are part of the wider Derry/Londonderry name dispute. In 2004, in response to these disputes, Wikipedia adopted a compromise that the city should be called Derry and the county should be called County Londonderry. This compromise exists for three reasons. Firstly, it is intended to prevent Wikipedia from being seen as favouring those who prefer Derry or favouring those who prefer Londonderry. Secondly, Wikipedia prefers to avoid a "Stroke City" title like "Derry/Londonderry". Although permitted for the Derry/Londonderry name dispute article, using this for the city article would be confusing to those unfamiliar with the dispute. The guidelines on naming geographic articles favour giving these articles a single name even when the place is subject to a name dispute. Thirdly, this compromise is preferred to the reversed alternative of calling the city Londonderry and the county County Derry.

Q2: Why have there been disputes over this?

A2: The disputes on Wikipedia have been part of a wider dispute over the city's name: see Derry/Londonderry name dispute for more information. In a nutshell: Favouring the use of Derry in the context of these disputes is associated with Irish nationalism (i.e. favouring a United Ireland) and therefore also with the Catholic population of Northern Ireland. Favouring Londonderry in the same context is associated with Northern Irish unionism (i.e. favouring Northern Ireland's continued membership in the United Kingdom) and therefore also with the Protestant population of Northern Ireland. However, it is a misconception that Protestants prefer to call the city Londonderry. As noted in the article, most Protestant locals call the city Derry in everyday speech. Examples of Protestant organisations using Derry include the Apprentice Boys of Derry and the Church of Ireland's Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. Disputes have more often been over which name to use in formal situations where Londonderry was traditionally used, such as the name of the local council.

Q3: By using Derry, is Wikipedia taking sides in the dispute?

A3: There is a risk that Wikipedia will be seen as taking sides, mainly if someone is not aware that the County Londonderry article is being used as a counterbalance. However, for the reasons outlined in Q1, the current compromise was agreed to be better than the alternatives. This issue would certainly not be resolved by renaming the article to Londonderry.

Q4: Is Londonderry the city's official name?

A4: Yes, through the city's 1662 Royal Charter. This was reaffirmed in a High Court case in 2007.

Q5: Why is the official name not used?

A5: Wikipedia's policy on article titles states that an official name is not necessarily the most appropriate one for an article title. For example, Wikipedia may avoid the official name if an alternative name is more neutral. For reasons discussed in Q1 and Q2, this article is a case where the need for neutrality affects the naming of the article. Wikipedia may also avoid the official name in favour of a more frequently used name. Locals tend to call the city Derry more frequently than Londonderry, which is not on its own a justification for calling the article Derry but it is something that can be taken into consideration when deciding on an article name.

Q6: Is Londonderry the city's real/actual name?

A6: If the real/actual name is defined to be the official name, then yes. However, as explained in Q5, that does not mean that it is the most appropriate name to use in the name of the article.

Q7: Why is the article using a nickname?

A7: The full reasons are discussed in Q1, but Derry is not merely an informal name. There are some formal contexts where Derry is used in place of Londonderry. These include the name of the local government district (Derry City and Strabane), the name of the local council (Derry City and Strabane District Council), the City of Derry Airport and the Church of Ireland diocese.

Q8: Is Derry the name that the Republic of Ireland uses?

A8: Yes, by coincidence. This is not related to the reasons why this article also uses Derry, which are discussed in Q1.

Q9: Does this policy apply to other articles?

A9: Yes. The city should be called Derry in other articles. Likewise, the county should be called County Londonderry.

Q10: Are there exceptions to this policy?

A10: Mentions of the city and county in quotations should not be changed, regardless of whether they use Derry, Londonderry or something else. Entities that are local or related to the city should likewise be called by their own names. Hence an office is called High Sheriff of Londonderry City but the airport is called City of Derry Airport. This also applies to articles about the county, for example: North West Liberties of Londonderry and Derry GAA. However, in those articles, any mentions of the city or county should follow Wikipedia's policy, rather than the entity's own practice. Therefore, Derry GAA (which may be abbreviated to Derry) is described as being "responsible for Gaelic games in County Londonderry", even though the organisation itself prefers to call it County Derry. For more advice, see the manual of style regarding Irish topics.

Q11: Can the consensus be changed?

A11: It is true that consensus can change. But any proposal must be an improvement on the 2004 compromise, and it must be at least as neutral towards the name dispute.

Q12: If no-one is objecting to my proposal, can it go ahead?

A12: Be aware that many discussions on the talk page have tended to result in previous arguments being restated, without anything constructive being achieved, and therefore some editors are reluctant to get involved in a repeat of previous discussions. Even if there are few or no objections to a proposal, objections may still be made if the proposal is moved beyond the talk page.