175 years ago this month Derry voted to found its own university, and Belfast attempted to steal it for itself
- Derry University Group
- Jul 1
- 1 min read
The Historian Séamus Breslin has unearthed a lengthy report (c.6500 words) from the Londonderry Journal of July 1850, in which the city’s corporation votes to establish ‘Mrs Magee’s College’, which is well worth the 45-minute read.
It would take 15 years before Magee College opened its doors, against fierce opposition from Belfast (as is documented in later reports on the October 1865 opening). And it would be 170 years before the Medical College envisaged by the 1850 corporators would be built.
A few takeaways from the article:
From day one, Belfast tried to leverage the money from Martha Magee’s bequest to its own coffers, and her executors were forced to intervene on Derry’s behalf.
The corporation and city community were unanimously behind the Derry plan on a cross-community basis.
The corporation fully realised the economic benefits a university would bring the entire North West region.
The corporation was unanimously dismissive of claims that a bigger administrative centre (i.e. Belfast) was necessary to oversee universities in smaller conurbations.
The corporation extended a welcome to Irish in the college - in marked contrast to the current campus today where no bilingual signage can be displayed.
Full article from July 31, 1850 available in PDF here:
