Londonderry City (UK Parliament constituency)

Londonderry City
Londonderry City
Former borough constituency ; for the House of Commons
County	County Londonderry
Borough	Londonderry
1801–1922
Seats	1
Created from	Londonderry City (IHC)
Replaced by	Londonderry

Last updated August 25, 2025

Londonderry City was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the United Kingdom House of Commons, elected by the first past the post voting system.

Boundaries and boundary changes

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Londonderry (or Derry) in County Londonderry.^[a]

It was an original constituency represented in the first UK Parliament when the Acts of Union 1800 took effect on 1 January 1801, inheriting the boundaries and franchise of the Londonderry City constituency of the abolished Irish House of Commons. 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.

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 government it set up.

Members of Parliament

	Member	Party
1801 co-option	Henry Alexander	Tory
1802	Sir George Hill, Bt	Tory ^[1]
1830	Sir Robert Ferguson, Bt	Whig ^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]
1860 by-election	William McCormick	Conservative
1865	Lord Claud Hamilton	Conservative
1868	Richard Dowse	Liberal Party
1872 by-election	Charles Lewis	Conservative
1886	Justin McCarthy ^[6]	Irish Parliamentary Party
1892	John Ross	Unionist
1895	Edmund Vesey Knox	Irish Parliamentary Party
1899 by-election	Arthur John Moore	Irish Parliamentary Party
1900	James Hamilton	Unionist
1913 by-election	David Cleghorn Hogg	Liberal Party
1914 by-election	James Brown Dougherty	Liberal Party
1918	Eoin MacNeill	Sinn Féin
1922	Constituency abolished

Elections

The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Londonderry City^[7]^[2]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	258	73.5
	Tory	John Richard James Hart	87	24.8
	Whig	John Montgomery	6	1.7
Majority			171	48.7
Turnout			351	c. 54.0
Registered electors			c. 650
	Whig gain from Tory

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

By-election, 2 April 1831: Londonderry City^[7]^[2]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	202	76.5	+3.0
	Tory	John Richard James Hart	62	23.5	−1.3
Majority			140	53.0	+4.3
Turnout			264	c. 40.6	c. −13.4
Registered electors			c. 650
	Whig hold		Swing	+2.2

General election 1831: Londonderry City^[7]^[2]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	205	77.4	+3.9
	Whig	Conolly McClausland Lecky	60	22.6	N/A
Majority			145	54.8	+6.1
Turnout			265	40.8	c. −13.2
Registered electors			650
	Whig hold		Swing	+3.9

General election 1832: Londonderry City^[7]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	308	57.7	−19.7
	Tory	George Robert Dawson	226	42.3	New
Majority			82	15.4	−39.4
Turnout			534	87.4	+46.6
Registered electors			611
	Whig hold		Swing	−19.7

General election 1835: Londonderry City^[7]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	Unopposed
Registered electors			703
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Londonderry City^[7]^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	212	60.7
	Conservative	George Robert Dawson	137	39.3
Majority			75	21.4
Turnout			349	43.4
Registered electors			804
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Londonderry City^[7]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	Unopposed
Registered electors			742
	Whig hold

General election 1847: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,904
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	Unopposed
Registered electors			724
	Whig hold

General election 1857: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Robert Ferguson	Unopposed
Registered electors			825
	Whig hold

General election 1859: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Robert Ferguson	Unopposed
Registered electors			825
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

Ferguson's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 2 April 1860: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	William McCormick	326	45.6	*New*
	Liberal	Samuel MacCurdy Greer	307	42.9	N/A
	Liberal	George Skipton	82	11.5	N/A
Majority			19	2.7	N/A
Turnout			715	86.7	N/A
Registered electors			825
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

General election 1865: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Claud Hamilton	379	53.4	*N/A*
	Liberal	Samuel MacCurdy Greer	331	46.6	N/A
Majority			48	6.8	N/A
Turnout			710	81.1	N/A
Registered electors			876
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Dowse	704	54.0	+7.4
	Irish Conservative	Claud Hamilton	599	46.0	−7.4
Majority			105	8.0	N/A
Turnout			1,303	87.9	+6.8
Registered electors			1,483
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+7.4

Elections in the 1870s

Dowse was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 15 Feb 1870: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Dowse	680	53.5	−0.5
	Irish Conservative	Robert Baxter	592	46.5	+0.5
Majority			88	7.0	−1.0
Turnout			1,272	85.8	−2.1
Registered electors			1,483
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.5

Dowse resigned after being appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, causing a by-election.

By-election, 27 Nov 1872: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Charles Lewis	696	53.2	+7.2
	Liberal	Christopher Palles	522	39.9	−14.1
	Home Rule	Joseph Biggar	89	6.8	New
	Irish Conservative	Bartholomew McCorkell	2	0.2	N/A
Majority			174	13.3	N/A
Turnout			1,309	80.7	−7.2
Registered electors			1,622
	Irish Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.7

General election 1874: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Charles Lewis	744	51.0	+5.0
	Liberal	Bartholomew McCorkell	715	49.0	−5.0
Majority			29	2.0	N/A
Turnout			1,459	86.6	−1.3
Registered electors			1,685
	Irish Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.0

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Charles Lewis	964	52.4	+1.4
	Liberal	Adam Hogg	876	47.6	−1.4
Majority			88	4.8	+2.8
Turnout			1,840	91.8	+5.2
Registered electors			2,005
	Irish Conservative hold		Swing	+1.4

1885 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Charles Lewis	1,824	50.4	−2.0
	Irish Parliamentary	Justin McCarthy	1,792	49.6	New
Majority			32	0.8	−4.0
Turnout			3,616	93.2	+1.4
Registered electors			3,879
	Irish Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

1886 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Charles Lewis	1,781	50.0	−0.4
	Irish Parliamentary	Justin McCarthy	1,778	50.0	+0.4
Majority			3	0.0	N/A
Turnout			3,559	91.8	−1.4
Registered electors			3,879
	Irish Conservative hold		Swing	−0.4

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

Elections in the 1890s

1892 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	John Ross	1,986	50.3	+0.3
	Irish National Federation	Justin McCarthy	1,960	49.7	−0.3
Majority			26	0.6	+0.6
Turnout			3,946	94.8	+3.0
Registered electors			4,161
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	+0.3

1895 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Edmund Vesey Knox	2,033	50.5	+0.8
	Irish Unionist	John Ross	1,994	49.5	−0.8
Majority			39	1.0	N/A
Turnout			4,027	96.1	+1.3
Registered electors			4,191
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Unionist		Swing	+0.8

Knox resigns, triggering a by-election.

By-election, 1899: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Arthur John Moore	2,343	50.5	0.0
	Liberal Unionist	Emerson Herdman	2,301	49.5	0.0
Majority			42	1.0	0.0
Turnout			4,644	95.7	−0.4
Registered electors			4,855
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	0.0

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	James Hamilton	2,361	50.7	+1.2
	Irish Parliamentary	Arthur John Moore	2,294	49.3	−1.2
Majority			67	1.4	N/A
Turnout			4,655	92.1	−4.0
Registered electors			5,056
	Irish Unionist gain from Irish National Federation		Swing	+1.2

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.

By-election, 1903: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	James Hamilton	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

1906 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	James Hamilton	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	James Hamilton	2,435	50.6	*N/A*
	Irish Parliamentary	Shane Randolph Leslie	2,378	49.4	New
Majority			57	1.2	New
Turnout			4,813	95.0	N/A
Registered electors			5,068
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

December 1910 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	James Hamilton	2,415	51.1	+0.5
	Irish Parliamentary	Shane Randolph Leslie	2,310	48.9	−0.5
Majority			105	2.2	+1.0
Turnout			4,725	93.2	−1.8
Registered electors			5,068
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	+0.5

Hamilton becomes Duke of Abercorn, prompting a by-election.

By-election 1913: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Cleghorn Hogg	2,699	50.5	*New*
	Irish Unionist	Hercules Pakenham	2,642	49.5	−1.6
Majority			57	1.0	N/A
Turnout			5,341	97.6	+4.4
Registered electors			5,470
	Liberal gain from Irish Unionist		Swing	N/A

Hogg's death prompts another by-election.

By-election, 1914: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Brown Dougherty	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

1918 general election: Londonderry City^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Eoin MacNeill	7,335	50.7	*New*
	Irish Unionist	Robert Newton Anderson	7,020	48.5	−2.6
	Irish Parliamentary	William Hamilton Davey	120	0.8	−48.1
Majority			315	2.2	N/A
Turnout			14,475	86.5	−6.7
Registered electors			16,736
	Sinn Féin gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

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.

Footnotes

1 2 3 4 Farrell, Stephen. "Londonderry". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 234.
↑ Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1847). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 15. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 166.
↑ Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer: 1838. pp. 90–91.
↑ "Irish Members Return" . Northern Standard. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 6 October 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ Lewis was declared elected at the 1886 general election, but the result was overturned on petition, and the seat awarded to McCarthy
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Walker 1978.
↑ Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, Volume 50. 1843.

Notes

↑ There is a longstanding Derry/Londonderry name dispute. This article follows the approach that Derry refers to the city and County Londonderry refers to the county (outside of organisations' names, which may follow their own approaches).

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)

Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 227, 295–296, 361–362, 392. ISBN 0901714127.

Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume I 1832–1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1978). Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume II 1886–1918. The Harvester Press.
Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1979). 'Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume III 1919–1945. The Harvester Press.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 4 )