List of people from Derry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of famous people who were born or have lived in Derry, Northern Ireland.

Contents 1 Actors 2 Artists 3 Authors 4 Musicians 5 Politicians 6 Scientists 7 Sportspeople 8 Other

[edit] Actors

• Seamus Ball - Actor
• Amanda Burton - Actress, best known for her role as forensic pathologist Doctor (later Professor) "Sam Ryan" in the BBC crime drama series Silent Witness
• Roma Downey - Actress best known for her role as Monica, the main character of the religious TV series Touched by an Angel
• George Farquhar - Restoration dramatist
• Bronagh Gallagher - Actress/singer whose films include Pulp Fiction and The Commitments
• Andrew Simpson - Actor from Notes on a Scandal

[edit] Artists

• Willie Doherty - Visual artist twice nominated for the Turner Prize

[edit] Authors

• Willie Carson - Photo-journalist and author
• Joyce Cary - Author, two of his novels were made into films: The Horse's Mouth (1958) starring Sir Alec Guinness and Mister Johnson (1990)
• Seamus Deane - Writer
• Richard Doherty - Catholic Unionist/Royal Ulster Constabulary reservist, writer, military historian
• Seamus Heaney - Irish poet, writer and lecturer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995
• Nell McCafferty - Journalist, playwright, civil rights campaigner and feminist
• Eamonn McCann - Journalist, civil rights campaigner and socialist

[edit] Musicians

• Phil Coulter - Songwriter who wrote The Town I Loved So Well
• Nadine Coyle - Singer from Girls Aloud
• Peter Cunnah - Lead singer with 1990s pop outfit D:ream
• Dana - Won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970, later became a politician
• Neil Hannon - Lead singer of The Divine Comedy
• Josef Locke - Tenor singer, popular in the 1940s and 1950s
• Johnny McCauley - Singer/songwriter, founder of the "Country & Irish" sound who penned "Pretty Little Girl From Omagh", "Hometown On The Foyle" and many more
• Cahir O'Doherty - Musician in bands Fighting with Wire, Jetplane Landing and Seafood
• Feargal Sharkey - Lead singer of The Undertones and current chairman of the Live Music Forum

[edit] Politicians

• Gregory Campbell - Democratic Unionist Party Member of Parliament for East Londonderry
• Nigel Dodds - Democratic Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Belfast North
• Mark Durkan - Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Member of Parliament for Foyle (the Derry area)
• William Hay - Democratic Unionist Party, Speaker of the Northern Assembly & MLA for Foyle
• John Hume - Nobel Peace Prize and Gandhi Peace Prize recipient, former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and former MP for Foyle 1983-2005
• Martin McGuinness - Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and Sinn Féin MP for Mid Ulster

[edit] Scientists

• William Taylor Whan - Botanist

[edit] Sportspeople

• Liam Ball - Olympic swimmer
• John Duddy - Boxer, current holder of the IBA World Middleweight Title and the WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Title
• Darron Gibson - Footballer, Republic of Ireland international and Manchester United player, currently on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.. Also, first man from Derry to represent the Republic of Ireland national football team.
• Charlie Nash - Boxer, former European and British lightweight champion
• Martin O'Neill - OBE recipient, former manager of Celtic Football Club, and current manager of Aston Villa F.C.

[edit] Other

• Charlotte Coyle - Plus-size model
• John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence - Soldier and administrator in 19th century India and Viceroy of India
• Mark McFadden - Television journalist