14% have Irish; 4% have Ulster Scots

FOURTEEN per cent of people over the age of three in Londonderry have some grasp of the Irish language whilst four per cent have some ability in Ulster Scots, the latest census figures have revealed.

Across the whole of the city 14,605 people had some level of Irish; 4,635 had some level of Ulster Scots. On the east bank alone - where 6,488 people said they had some Irish - the percentage was the same (14 per cent).

There was a greater percentage of people on the east bank who had some Ulster Scots (2,854 people; 6 per cent) than in the city generally.

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The greatest percentage of people with Ulster Scots on the east bank was in Caw (215 people; 9 per cent), and the greatest number was in Altnagelvin (364 people; 8 per cent). Intriguingly Altnagelvin had the exact same number of people with Irish as with Ulster Scots (364 each).

On the west bank the percentage of people with some Irish was once again unchanged with 8,117 people making 14 per cent but the percentage of people with Ulster Scots dipped to three per cent (1,781 people).

In the cityside the greatest number and percentage of people with Ulster Scots was to be found in the Strand ward (230 people; 6 per cent); followed by The Diamond (103 people; 5 per cent).

The biggest percentages of people with Irish on the cityside were in Ballynashallog (731 people; 23 per cent); and in the Strand (802 people; 22 per cent).

The areas with the biggest numbers of people with Irish were Culmore (1,452; 17 per cent); and Shantallow West (1,044 people; 17 per cent).