Londonderry City was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

in Northern Ireland. It returned one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) to the

United Kingdom House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

, elected by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

voting system.

Boundaries and boundary changes

This constituency was the

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Londonderry (or Derry) in

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

. It was an original constituency represented in the first UK Parliament when the

Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...

took effect on 1 January 1801, inheriting the boundaries and franchise of the Londonderry City constituency of the abolished

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

. In 1922 it was combined with North Londonderry and South Londonderry, to form the Londonderry county constituency.

Politics

After the extension of the franchise in 1885, the constituency was one of the most marginal seats in Ireland. There were many close elections.

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

won in 1918. The MP (best known in Irish history as Professor

Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill ( ga, Eoin Mac Néill; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Ce ...

) was also returned by

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

. As MacNeill did not take his seat in the

he could not choose which constituency he would represent and arrange a by-election in the other. He played an active role in the

First Dáil The First Dáil ( ga, An Chéad Dáil) was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919 to 1921. It was the first meeting of the unicameral parliament of the revolutionary Irish Republic. In the December 1918 election to the Parliament of the Unite ...

and in the government it set up.

Members of Parliament

Elections

The elections in this constituency took place using the

electoral system.

Elections in the 1830s

On petition, Ferguson's election was declared void, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Ferguson's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

Dowse was appointed

Solicitor-General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On ra ...

, requiring a by-election. Dowse resigned after being appointed

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). The Irish Court of Exchequer was a mirror of the equivalent court in England and was one of the four courts which sat in the buildin ...

, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

On petition, Lewis was unseated. McCarthy was named as MP on 25 October.

Elections in the 1890s

Knox resigns, triggering a by-election.

Elections in the 1900s

* Results are compared to the 1895 election, not the by-election. Hamilton is appointed

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Ma ...

, prompting a by-election in which he stood unopposed.

Elections in the 1910s

Hamilton becomes

Duke of Abercorn The title Duke of Abercorn () is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refe ...

, prompting a by-election. Hogg's death prompts another by-election. * Results are compared to the December 1910 election, not the later by-elections. *In common with other Sinn Féin MPs, Eoin MacNeill abstained from Westminster and took his seat as a TD in the

. He was also elected for the

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

Footnotes

Notes

References

*''The Parliaments of England'' by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973) *''Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume I 1832–1885'', edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976) * * *