A Bright Future for Northern Ireland?

After forfeiting some of my precious clothes for my laptop in this weekend’s hand-luggage only trip to Derry, I didn’t even get a chance to get online!

It’s a shame because the girls of Derry are very trendy, and I ended up wishing I’d taken the dress that I was umming and arring over.

Interestingly, about 43% of Derry’s population are 35 and under, and that thanks to the city’s long tradition of shirt making, more than 60% of the community are female – the lucky men of Derry, hey?

In fact, despite the negative press that Derry still seems to get about it’s ‘troubles’, the over-riding feeling that I took from my weekend break was one of a chic, cultured and contemporary city.

Derry city centre by night

The annual jazz festival was a huge success. Every restaurant or bar that we visited had a singer or band entertaining, and the music varied from jazz to blues to ska.

Of course, there is still evidence of the conflict in Derry. There are areas of Protestant only or Catholic only living, but with both now freely able to walk around the city centre, and with tourists (like me) now able to feel safe in discovering all areas of the city – it seems that Derry is putting its past behind it, and looking to the future.

And here’s hoping it’s a bright one.

Find out more about Derry’s past and future at the Derry Visitor website.