Blood, sweat and tears are what the owner of Derry City Bus Tours, Ciarán Devine, says went into launching his bus tour company. After years of fighting to get the business off the ground, he now says it has changed his life.

You might have seen a red‑and‑white vintage bus driving around Derry, packed with smiling tourists as they explore the city in style, learning its history and soaking in the atmosphere.

What you might not know is the journey it took to get that bus on the road. We spoke with Ciarán Devine about the stops along the way to creating Derry City Bus Tours.

Before venturing into tourism, Ciarán worked in garages around Derry as a mechanic before seeking a change in life and moving into the care sector.

placeholder image — Ciarán Devine. (Photo: Mickey Rooney)

Here, he said, he discovered his love of working with people.

In 2018, Ciarán got a job with Visit Derry.

“I found a pure passion for tourism and a love for Derry, for the people and the history. I love talking to people and telling them about the city,” he said.

Derry once had a sightseeing tour bus before Covid, but afterwards the city was left without one.

“A lot of visitors asked us if we had a city tour bus and we had to turn around and tell them no. It was disappointing, especially for folk who can’t walk far. The streets of Derry can be a lot of steep hills,” said Ciarán.

Ciarán went back to education and completed a Tourism Management degree at North West Regional College.

After graduating, the bus came to him.

He said: “I knew there was a gap in the market. I just typed ‘buses’ into eBay and this beautiful vintage bus popped up, red and white. I saw it and thought that’s for Derry, the red‑and‑white candy stripes jumped out at me. I saw it, fell in love, and that was it.”

What he found was a 1951 Leyland Tiger PS1/1, a post‑war survivor from Jersey Motor Transport’s original 1951 fleet.

Ciarán created a business plan with North West Enterprise and asked his father for a loan to put a deposit on the bus while he waited for approval for a business loan.

When the bus arrived in 2024 he spent two years working on it.

“I spent the last two years restoring the bus myself. I rented a garage and did all the work myself, paintwork, mechanical stuff, everything. Blood, sweat and tears. It’s been a journey,” said Ciarán.

Derry City Bus Tours now takes passengers on a one‑hour‑and‑fifteen‑minute tour around the cityside and waterside, with tour guides explaining the history along the way.

The bus, nicknamed The Little Red Bus, pulls its name from Amelia Earhart’s nickname for her Lockheed Vega 5B airplane.

“It has changed my life in so many ways, so many highs and so many lows,” said Ciarán. “It’s been an emotional journey. In the last few years things have been difficult. I lost my best friend, and then in the last few months I lost my mammy. Life is such a rollercoaster. Where I am now with the business, it just brings so much joy and happiness to me.”

You can book a tour here: https://derrycitybustours.com/