High Sheriff of Londonderry City
Encyclopedia
The High Sheriff of Londonderry City, or High Sheriff of Derry City, is the Sovereign's judicial representative in the city of Derry
. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff
became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford
in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court Writs.
While the office of High Sheriff ceased to exist in those Irish counties, which had formed the Irish Free State
in 1922, it is still present in the counties of Northern Ireland
.
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford
Provisions of Oxford
The Provisions of Oxford are often regarded as England's first written constitution ....
in 1258. Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court Writs.
History
The first (High) Shrivalties were established before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and date back to Saxon times. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. Despite however that the office retains his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in a county.While the office of High Sheriff ceased to exist in those Irish counties, which had formed the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
in 1922, it is still present in the counties of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
High Sheriffs
- 1725: George Crookshank
- 1748: William Kennedy
- 1849: James Johnson Clark, of Lugantogher Maghera
- 1904: John McFarland
- 1916–1923: Horace Bayer
- 1924: John Burns
- 1925: Robert Watson
- 1926: James Mark
- 1927: James Colhoun
- 1928: Joseph H. Welch
- 1929: Robert H. Smith
- 1930–1938: Basil McFarlandBasil McFarlandSir Basil Alexander Talbot McFarland, 2nd Baronet, CBE, ERD was a Northern Irish soldier, businessman and politician.The son of Sir John McFarland, 1st Baronet, he was a businessman, a Senator of Northern Ireland, Mayor of Londonderry , Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry and an Ireland rugby...
- 1939: Frederick Simmons
- 1940–1941: James Hamilton
- 1942–1945: John J. Buchanan
- 1946–1949: Arthur Harold Noble
- 1950–1952: Arthur William Richards
- 1953–1954: John James Hill
- 1955–1956: Samuel Reginald Cochrane
- 1957–1958: James Curry Hamilton
- 1959–1960: James Anderson Piggot
- 1961: Daniel McLean McDonald
- 1962–1963: Joseph Alexander Love Johnston
- 1964:
- 1965–1966: John Talbot McFarland
- 1967–1968: John Alexander Canning
- 1969: Adam R. Laurie
- 1970: Liam McCormick
- 1971: Thomas Fitzpatrick Cooke
- 1972: Ronald Marsden Harvey
- 1973–1974: D. J. T. Gilliland
- 1975: Henry Frederick Dougan Stevenson
- 1976: Francis Gerard Guckian
- 1977: Desmond Gilbert Cromie Whyte
- 1978: Brian Glancy
- 1979: Samuel John Black
- 1980: John Vance Arthur
- 1981: James Edward O'Donnell
- 1982: P. I. O'Doherty
- 1984: J. Hart
- 1985: A. O. Kennedy
- 2008: Eamon Gee
- 2009: Ian Crowe
- 2010: Hugh Christopher Hegarty