Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Derry City Council's failure to have the city's name changed is expected to cost its ratepayers hundreds of thousands in legal costs and the reaction of most people on the streets yesterday following Mr Justice Weatherup's ruling was that it was money badly spent.

"We are Northern Ireland's second city and we are one of the most economically deprived areas in the UK and it's a joke that the ratepayers' money was spent on a divisive issue which will never be resolved. No matter what a judge decides, you'll still call it Derry or Londonderry, depending on which side of the fence you come from," said one businessman. "But don't name me because my customers come from both sides of that fence.