We are all familiar with the old Londonderry/Derry argument for the name of Londonderry/Derry/Stroke City/Legenderry/Daire Calgaich/Daire Coluimb Chille/Doire etc but now there is a new spin on things.
The historic Londonderry Arms Hotel in Carnlough has been bought over, and the new owners have changed the name to The Harbourview Hotel.
Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in the usual arguments over the name.
Those against, say it snubs the history of this 176 year old hotel. Those for, say it is time to modernise and give it a new lease of life.
Here is the spin from the hotel:
In 1848 to be precise, Frances Ann Vane Tempest, Marchioness of Londonderry, had a coaching inn built on this site at Carnlough facing the harbour. Here weary travellers could rest and refresh themselves as they made their way along the difficult coast road.
The inn’s reputation for a warm welcome and fine traditional hospitality saw the business prosper and grow. Soon, instead of breaking their journey there, travellers were making the inn their destination.
The Vane Tempest estate subsequently passed down through generations and at one point it – and the inn – was inherited by Winston Churchill. His framed deeds of ownership are still on display.
In 1947 the Londonderry Arms, as the hotel was now called, was acquired by the O’Neill family. They would maintain almost 80 years of unbroken stewardship, setting exceptional standards of quality and service.
In 2024 the hotel changed hands for only the second time in its long history. A new chapter began. The past remains present but there is change too. Ireland’s first destination whiskey hotel has arrived.
While I am usually in the Derry camp for the name of our second city, I don’t see the merit of changing the name of such a historic hotel, especially to something bland and generic. Many people have pointed out that you can’t even see the Harbour from the hotel.
In marketing terms, a good back story is gold dust. The Yanks especially love the connections to Royalty and Winston Churchill; to bin all that provenance seems like a terrible business decision to me. While Carnlough is a majority catholic town, I never heard of local people having an issue with the name. Can any locals confirm if it’s been an issue in the past?
Google the Harbourview Hotel, and you get a gazillion results from all over the world. Google Londonderry Arms, and you get one. Speaking with my marketing expert hat on, this name change will cost them big down the line with lost SEO and increased online marketing spend.
Still, it is good that someone is investing in the hotel and bringing it up to date, so best of luck to them. Check out their new site here…
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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