Old Glendermott

Colonel John Mitchelburne: The Governor Who Saved a City and Wrote Its Story

In the quiet ground of Old Glendermott lies Colonel John Mitchelburne (1648–1721) – soldier, governor of Derry, and the man who turned history into theatre.

Mitchelburne was born in Sussex but made his name in Ireland. A seasoned soldier, he fought campaigns in Flanders, France, and Tangier before joining the defenders of Derry in 1689. When Governor Robert Lundy fled and Henry Baker died, Mitchelburne took command – first as deputy, then as governor – leading the city through the final months of the great siege.

He oversaw defences, planned for evacuation, and even raised gallows to keep order when starvation and despair threatened the city from within. His leadership was key to Derry’s survival as the “virgin city.”
After the war, Mitchelburne continued to fight – at the Boyne, Limerick, and Sligo – but also fought for recognition and pay (for his men), even spending time in prison for debt. In 1705 he published Ireland Preserv’d, a play about the siege in which he cast himself as the character ‘Granade.’ The play became a sensation, widely read and performed for decades, cementing the legend of Derry’s stand.

In 1718, he helped found the first Apprentice Boys of Derry club, raising the crimson flag over St. Columb’s Cathedral – a tradition that continues to this day.

Though buried at Old Glendermott rather than where his will requested, his epitaph calls him a “valiant soldier, faithful, pious and charitable.”

Mitchelburne not only defended Derry – he ensured that the story of its defiance would be told for generations.