Infrastructure Minister Greenlights Derry-Londonderry Maritime Museum

The final approval has been granted for a new multimillion-pound museum, located at Londonderry’s Ebrington Square, which is designed to explore the city’s maritime heritage. On Thursday, Stormont’s Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd, formally approved the planning application for the Derry-Londonderry North Atlantic (DNA) Museum. O’Dowd commented, “This is great news for the city and wider region.” Derry City and Strabane District Council announced in February that it had secured the necessary £13m in funding for the project to move forward. Construction of the museum is scheduled to commence in the coming weeks at the city’s Ebrington site, marking it as the inaugural City Deal project in Northern Ireland to reach this phase. The anticipated opening is by autumn 2026. The museum is planned to include six galleries and an archive detailing the city’s extensive maritime history, notably covering the surrender of German U-boats at the conclusion of World War Two. This event occurred in May 1945, when approximately 60 German submarine crews surrendered at Lisahally, located on the outskirts of Derry. During WW2, the US Navy also maintained a base within the city. O’Dowd stated that the planning approval “is an important scheme which will continue the physical, economic and social regeneration of Ebrington Square, a key development site within the city”. He further remarked, “It will also create a new tourist attraction that will tell the story of Derry’s maritime history and be a welcome addition alongside the other recent developments in the Square.” According to O’Dowd, the planning approval additionally “secures the viable and long-term beneficial reuse of a number of listed buildings”. The public was given its initial glimpse of the proposed museum in June, during the Foyle Maritime Festival. Previously, plans for the museum had been delayed in 2018 due to Northern Ireland’s political stalemate.