In a decision that will no doubt cause a huge amount of controversy, Londonderry is to be officially renamed simply “Derry”.
The Derry City and Strabane District Councils voted in the Guildhall to rename the county yesterday evening, Thursday the 23rd of July 2015.
The motion passed with the full backing of the SDLP, the Independent Councillors, and of course, Sinn Féin.
Unsurprisingly, the announcement has been met with fury from unionists, who have described the name change as disgusting.
Derris is Northern Ireland’s second largest city, and has a 75% Catholic majority according to the 2011 census. “London” was added in front of the name Derry is 1613 by King James I.
The proposed name change passed 28 votes to 9. Minister for the Environment, Mark H. Durkan of the SDLP, will now be consulted as to how the city will go about being renamed.
Prince George was not available for a comment at this time.