Londonderry City was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, representing the city of Derry in County Londonderry. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the United Kingdom House of Commons on the electoral system of the first past the post.

Boundaries The parliamentary borough of Londonderry was granted representation in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom under the Acts of Union 1800 which took effect on 1 January 1801. It inherited the boundaries and franchise of the Londonderry City constituency of the abolished Irish House of Commons.

A report on the constituency was conducted in December 1831, proposing a new boundary. The Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 defined the boundaries of the parliamentary borough as:

Under the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868, its boundaries were extended to include all of the municipal borough of Londonderry. It was not affected by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 or the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918.

The Government of Ireland Act 1920 established the Parliament of Northern Ireland, which came into operation in 1921. The representation of Northern Ireland in the Parliament of the United Kingdom was reduced from 30 MPs to 13 MPs, taking effect at the 1922 United Kingdom general election. Londonderry City, North Londonderry and South Londonderry were combined to form the single-seat county constituency of Londonderry.

Politics After the extension of the franchise under the Representation of the People Act 1884, the constituency was one of the most marginal seats in Ireland.

Sinn Féin won in 1918. The MP, Professor Eoin MacNeill, was also returned for National University of Ireland. As MacNeill did not take his seat in the United Kingdom House of Commons 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 and in the Ministry of Dáil Éireann.

Members of Parliament ElectionMPParty 1801 co-option Henry Alexander 1802 Sir George Hill, Bt 1830 Sir Robert Ferguson, Bt 1860 by-election William McCormick 1865 Lord Claud Hamilton 1868 Richard Dowse 1872 by-election Charles Lewis 1886 Justin McCarthy 1892 John Ross 1895 Edmund Vesey Knox 1899 by-election Arthur John Moore 1900 James Hamilton 1913 by-election David Cleghorn Hogg 1914 by-election James Brown Dougherty 1918 Eoin MacNeill 1922 Constituency abolished

Elections

The elections in this constituency were conducted on the electoral system of first past the post.

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, requiring a by-election.

Dowse resigned after being appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, 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, prompting a by-election in which he stood unopposed.

Elections in the 1910s

Hamilton becomes Duke of Abercorn, 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 First Dáil. He was also elected for the National University.

See also List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland List of MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election Historic Dáil constituencies

Sources 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)

References