Londonderry YMCA was formed on the 9th December 1856 by 12 members of the 3rd Derry Presbyterian Church on Great James Street.
Where It All Began
Londonderry YMCA was formed on the 9th December 1856 by 12 members of the 3rd Derry (Great James Street) Presbyterian Church. They had a room in the theatre on the corner of London Street and Artillery Street. Its door opened onto the street opposite Widows Row so for that time the YMCA became known as “Widows Row”.
On 14th November 1867, the first purpose built YMCA in Europe was opened on the East Wall, the current site of the Millennium Forum. Through two world wars, Londonderry YMCA played an important role in supporting the welfare of troops both within the city and beyond. The YMCA continued to thrive at the East Wall. Many who joined the movement had spiritual, community, youth and sporting interests. By the 1970’s, the East Wall headquarters was showing its age and required significant modernisation. From 1971 to 1973, three bombs were planted in the East Wall building in what was to become known as ‘the troubles’.
Following this, the difficult decision was made to shore up the building and move Londonderry YMCA out of the city centre. It wasn’t until 1984 that Londonderry YMCA officially opened its new headquarter building at Drumahoe. It was the belief that Londonderry YMCA still had a significant and valuable role in bringing forward the youth, community and sporting people to a better place that kept the trustees driven during this time. The development of the sporting activities and youth programmes quickly followed the opening of the new site. The football, under Institute Football Club, YMCA rugby and cricket used the impressive 19 acre playing fields along the banks of the Faughan. The establishment of a full-time youth programme and community development initiatives brought a strong Northwest base to the organisation.
Where We Are Now
In more recent times, the catastrophic floods of August 2017 resulted in the loss of the principal resource for Londonderry YMCA’s sporting narrative. March 2020 brought a global pandemic. Despite the challenges, our commitment to young people and the community never deviated. In October 2021, the retirement of the long-term General Secretary altered the organisations leadership significantly. The Board of Directors have appointed a new General Secretary who began the process of reviewing the strategic direction of Londonderry YMCA Ltd after this prolonged period of change.
From the review, our vision, mission and values were born and the strategic priorities for the organisation were identified. These underpin the foundations upon which Londonderry YMCA is built and maintains responsiveness to the needs of the community we serve.