Download or read book A History of County Derry written by Seán McMahon and published by Gill. This book was released on 2004 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: County Derry dates from the time of the Plantation of Ulster, when lands to the west of the now extinct county of Coleraine were joined to it to form the modern county. It is bounded conveniently by Lough Foyle to the west, the Sperrin Mountains to the south and the River Bann to the east.Sean McMahon's history starts with a consideration of the county's topography. The hills at the south and centre have tended to cut off the Foyle Basin from the east and cause the gaze of Derry City to turn towards Donegal and the west. Likewise, the east of the county around Coleraine tends to look east towards Antrim, Belfast and Scotland. The east-west division is also marked by a preponderance of Protestant population in the east and Catholic in the west.The earliest discovered settlement in all of Irish history - Mount Sandel on the lower Bann - is in the county. It dates to almost 6,000 B.C.