Hugh O'Doherty (died 10 March 1924) was an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. O'Doherty worked as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

. A supporter of

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1875 to 1891, Leader of the Home Rule Leag ...

, he was a founder member of the

Irish National League The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League ...

. Following Parnell's death, O'Doherty withdrew from politics until 1918, when he was elected to Derry Corporation as a Nationalist Party councillor. Later in 1918, his daughter drowned on the RMS ''Leinster''."Obituary: Mr Hugh C. O'Doherty", ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', 12 March 1924. In 1920, a nationalist majority emerged on the Londonderry Corporation, and O'Doherty was elected as the first nationalist and first

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Mayor of Derry, a post which carried with it membership of the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Se ...

. Although seen as a neutral candidate, acceptable to both the Nationalist Party group and to the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

grouping, his inaugural speech did little to allay the fears of the Unionist population of the city: "Ireland's right to determine her own destiny will come about whether the Protestants of Ulster like it or not".Bardon, Jonathon (2001), A History of Ulster, Belfast, The Blackstaff Press, pp. 466–469; ISBN 0-85640-764-X He ordered that the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

should not be flown from the Guildhall. He also campaigned for

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

to be included in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. In 1922, O'Doherty called a conference of all nationalists in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, in a first attempt to develop a common platform."Joint Action by Ulster Catholics", ''

'', 30 September 1922. O'Doherty's term as mayor ended in 1923, and he died the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odoherty, Hugh Year of birth missing 1924 deaths Irish solicitors Mayors of Derry Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Nationalist Party (Ireland) members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Lawyers from County Londonderry 20th-century Irish lawyers