As requested, below are the percentage changes at ward level in the Derry council area since the 2001 census. Much has been written and said regarding the exodus of protestants from the city side of Derry over the past 40 years. The interesting 
figures this time are the changes occuring on the east bank of the Foyle or the Waterside as it is known. I have separated these figures out and included actual numbers for ease of interpretation.
I look forward to those of you with better local knowledge filling in some of the details and reasons for this rapid pace of change. 
Clondermot is the obvious exception to the trend below and I am curious as to what’s happening in Ebrington. I presume the closure of the British Army base there explains the startling 25% swing?
| Waterside | C | P |
| 95MM01 Altnagelvin | 2.5% | -4.7% |
| 95MM07 Caw | 1.4% | -3.5% |
| 95MM08 Clondermot | -2.1% | 0.7% |
| 95MM14 Ebrington | 13.6% | -11.5% |
| 95MM19 Kilfennan | 5.6% | -8.1% |
| 95MM20 Lisnagelvin | 3.2% | -5.7% |
| 95MM29 Victoria | 5.1% | -7.7% |
| Percentage (Change) | 4.17% | -5.78% |
| Numbers (Change) | 1,209 | -1,797 |
| Total Numbers | 9,924 | 11,903 |
The full figures are below and reveal a similar trend to other constituencies. A slight fall in Catholic numbers in what are overwhelmingly nationalist wards and an increased greening of mixed and mostly unionist wards. In percentage terms there is a very marginal decrease in protestant numbers and no change in catholic numbers. The actual figures are: Catholic:80,340 (+1,157) Protestant:23,266 (-1,113).
| 95MM01 Altnagelvin | 2.5% | -4.7% |
| 95MM02 Ballynashallog | -2.8% | 2.3% |
| 95MM03 Banagher | -1.0% | -0.9% |
| 95MM04 Beechwood | -1.7% | 0.4% |
| 95MM05 Brandywell | -4.3% | 3.7% |
| 95MM06 Carn Hill | -4.5% | 3.8% |
| 95MM07 Caw | 1.4% | -3.5% |
| 95MM08 Clondermot | -2.1% | 0.7% |
| 95MM09 Claudy | 1.0% | -2.1% |
| 95MM10 Creggan Central | -2.8% | 2.4% |
| 95MM11 Creggan South | -1.4% | 1.1% |
| 95MM12 Crevagh | 0.7% | -1.2% |
| 95MM13 Culmore | -0.7% | 0.3% |
| 95MM14 Ebrington | 13.6% | -11.5% |
| 95MM15 Eglinton | 5.4% | -7.1% |
| 95MM16 Enagh | 3.9% | -7.5% |
| 95MM17 Foyle Springs | -2.4% | 1.3% |
| 95MM18 Holly Mount | -7.3% | 5.7% |
| 95MM19 Kilfennan | 5.6% | -8.1% |
| 95MM20 Lisnagelvin | 3.2% | -5.7% |
| 95MM21 New Buildings | 5.8% | -9.6% |
| 95MM22 Pennyburn | -2.0% | 1.0% |
| 95MM23 Rosemount | -5.3% | 2.8% |
| 95MM24 Shantallow East | -0.3% | 0.1% |
| 95MM25 Shantallow West | -1.3% | 0.8% |
| 95MM26 Springtown | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 95MM27 Strand | -8.9% | 4.1% |
| 95MM28 The Diamond | 0.1% | -2.2% |
| 95MM29 Victoria | 5.1% | -7.7% |
| 95MM30 Westland | -3.7% | 2.1% |
| Totals | 0% | -1% |
"We in coming days may be" 
What has stopped the growth of the nationalist population is the amount of Derry wans now living just across the county line in Donegal.
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Any idea if that’s middle class, near retirement C couples moving to Inishowen or could it be young singles having to choose between Northern and Southern Unemployment Benefit & Rent Allowance and choosing the better package even if it means living in Letterkenny much of the time. That could also explain drops in C pop in Strabane, Roslea, Newry etc.
They may still be living in Derry but obviously wouldn’t want to register their presence in a Census
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In my experiense it is in fact driven much more by young families whose parent(s) have decent jobs. Much of Derrys suburbs have simply spilled over he border, and so living out in Muff, or even as far away as Buncrana, one can very simply communte to your job in Derry. The housing stock in Donegal is in excellent condition due to the amount of building over the past 15 years, and prices are at an all time low. For families with young children it is also considered a nice lifestayle choice to bring them up in a more relaxed rural environment, with less trouble and crime and yet still within 15-30 minutes of their extended familes and their jobs in Derry. I know if I ever moved back (unlikely though that is) I would definitely be living in Donegal (though with it being so close I would of course consider that I had in fact moved home to Derry!).
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All these Nationalist families moving to Donegal is good news for the Revenue collectors in Dublin, not so good for nationalist political hopefuls trying to get the 6th Assembly seat in Derry:)
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Another good post, Dub.
Where to start? The trend towards suburban living affects Derry too (e.g. Culmore up 1000). One thing the figures do not show is what is happening in adjacent areas of Donegal. There is anectotal evidence that many Derry wans have opted for the quieter life.
There’s a sizable decline in poulation in most Cityside wards and the predominantly unionist parts of the Waterside, most notably Ebrington, which is now devoid of a British military presence and virtually 50:50 in terms of sectarian balance. What’s clear is that there’s been a Catholic drift to the Waterside. This is clearest in Enagh ward (Campsie, Maydown) where there’s been a lot of new building (+2425) and the Victoria ward, which includes the Gobnascale area (+850). The village of Eglinton has seen a 10% increase in population and now has a clear Catholic majority.
Bucking the sectarian trend is Hollymount, a semi-rural ward which includes parts of nationalist Prehen and parts of unionist Tullyally and New Buildings. It’s seen an increase of 1500 people, most of whom would seem to be Protestant. I’d assume this is down to the expansion around New Buildings (though interestingly the separate New Buildings ward, which also includes parts of Prehen, has seen a drop in population but a rise in the Catholic percentage of it).
Are Protestants returning to certain parts of the Cityside? The Strand ward has seen an increase of 4%, making it the only Cityside ward apart from The Diamond which is more than 10% Protestant. The Fountain estate however, continues its slow decline. There are now less Protestants in The Diamond ward than there are days in the year.
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I wonder are the Protestants moving into the Cityside, former residents who’ve always wanted to move back, Fountain folk getting out of the ghetto, more mixed relatioships happy to live in C areas or a random bunch following their jobs/education etc.
The phenonomen is also happening in W.Belfast, Newry, Strabane etc but it does seem more pronounced in Derry.
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I don’t fully know what these percentages relate to but if it is percentage change in number of protestants, then the fact there are very small numbers of protestants in these areas can result in quite large-looking percentage changes from only small absolute changes.
Anyhow, if it is protestants moving to the West Bank then that’s a good thing in my book, as a lot had moved out and I always thought that was a shame.
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Yes, it’s no bad thing that some Protestants are moving into the Strand and other W Bank wards. Many of the most hardline loyalists live in places like Carrickfergus where they really have to look hard to find their enemy. Whatever the final Political solution is, everybody is going to have to live together.
I’d stop short of being sympathetic to Protestant Unionists who moved out of the West Bank. They were the voters afterall, who kept voting in Unionists to continue the Gerrymander to their benefit.
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I’ve always hoped that more protestants could move back into the West Side. Clearly there were tense times in the past but it would be great to see a lot more protestants moving west of the Foyle. The present situation is unattractive. In general I would like to see a reduction of the number of communities where more than 80% are from one side – better for everyone to have more integrated communities
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Maybe you should join the Alliance Party and get a job on a quango.
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What are these percentages that you report? What is on the top line, and what is on the bottom line? Sorry to ask!
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Factual, what are you asking? can you be a bit more specific and who are you asking?
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For once I’m going off topic here: I suggest you read this by Brian Feeney:
http://belfastmediagroup.com/nationalist-majority-is-inevitable-for-north-belfast/
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What Feeney says about North Belfast has already come to pass in Derry. Unionist social engineering is doomed to fail.
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I’m going off topic as well new blog post by Enda on Endgame In Ulster.
http://endgameinulster.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/united-ireland-top-10-benefits.html
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Could you do Banbridge next, Dub.
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Foolishly haven’t been on your blog for a few days and you go and do one on the waterside.
Can totally vouch for the derry wans in donegal thread. Taking the piss almost. Anyone tell me how easy it is to vote from over the border?
I have been hanging around the strand ward a lot lately since I’ve been home. The number of Spanish I’ve met is impressive. I brought 6 of them to watch Derry vs Armagh a couple of weeks ago. And another two to see derry city vs drogheda. They’re all avid fans now! Interestingly they all live around the university whether they are students or not. My next anecdote kills two demographic birds with one stone. Firstly my best mate’s family have long gotten on from their upbringing around the bogside and now live in a self styled mansion near Fahan Co. Donegal, meanwhile their 4 storey house near the university is now been used to house 2 of their remaining sons, 2 Spanish, a glaswegian, a French and a donegal fella from ballyshannon. So there are simply more outsiders moving into the area. If their are protestants moving into this ward, it presumably is students into the halls of residence more than anything.
Back to the waterside, our last two tenants in the caw ward have been donegal people moving up for either business or the hospital. My immediate area of enagh certainly resembles a slow generational change. It’s historically the most mixed part of the city, but out of the families who have left (which is not many) they have all been Protestant or mixed families and have been replaced by Catholic families as far as I can tell. All that said, the main bulk of change here is clearly the new developments on the crescent link which were really only first being created 10 years ago. I’ve also met a couple of donegal people living here so it’s not one way.
Regarding Ebrington, as symbolic as the removal of the army base is, it has nothing to do with any changes here. The ward also includes the bottom of chapel road and violet street which were already Catholic areas at 100% capacity. So it must relate to the area around Clooney terrace which has always been more mixed than the other areas. While I still can’t put a reason on any change here, I recently met a hot lithuanian girl at a party who has the strongest derry accent ever. When i discovered she was getting a cab back to the waterside i went with her and discovered her living on Clooney terrace so whether she fills in as Catholic background or other is so far beyond me! Girls don’t devolve that information until you hit 2nd base, so I’ll keep up the research just for you BD!
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Lol,
Seriously, really good post Charlie, exactly the kind of info needed. You are aware however that we all wanna know how it goes with the Lithuanian ‘wan? 😉
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Wow, there’s pressure
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Charlie,
Ebrington ward has lost more than 900 people, 26% of population. Closure of barracks would seem the most plausible explanation for such a drop.
I’m guessing some of the Protestants moving into the Strand are connected to the university. A lot of students would have been away on census day so maybe there is more to it.
Good luck on you selfless mission to inform us further about Lithuania.
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