Mayor of Derry City and Strabane

The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council is an honorary position bestowed upon a Citizen of Derry City & Strabane District in Northern Ireland, who is in practice a member of Derry and Strabane District Council, chosen by their peers on the council to serve a one-year term.^[1] The mayor is the chairperson of the council as well as the city's first citizen. The current Mayor is Ruairí McHugh of Sinn Féin. The current Deputy Mayor is Alderman Niree McMorris of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council
Derry City Coat of Arms
Incumbent Ruairí McHugh since 3 June 2024
Appointer	Derry and Strabane District Council
Term length	One year
Inaugural holder	John Rowley
Formation	1604 (as Provost) 1613 (as Mayor)
Deputy	Niree McMorris
Website	Council Website

The district was created in 2015 by the merger of two existing councils. The previous post of Mayor of Derry, more formally Lord Mayor of Londonderry, has a long history. A provost, Sir Henry Docwra, was appointed in the initial city charter of 1604 by James I. In 1613, this post was replaced with that of governor, or mayor, with John Rowley being the first to serve.^[2] The City charter of 1665 which provided:

And further we will, and by these presents for us our heirs and successors do grant and ordain, that for ever hereafter there be and shall be within the city of Londonderry aforesaid one of the more honest and discreet citizens of the said city, or of the more honest and discreet inhabitants within the liberty of the same, in form hereafter in these presents mentioned, from time to time to be elected, who shall be and called the mayor of the said city.^[3]

During much of its history, it has been held by unionists (largely due to the practice of gerrymandering),^[4] but in recent years, the majority of mayors have been Irish nationalists, reflecting the majority of the city's population.

From 1921 until 1969, the Lord Mayor was automatically entitled to a seat in the Senate of Northern Ireland.

List of mayors

17th century

From	To	Name		Party
1615		John Vaughan
1617		Sir John Vaughan
1618		John Wray
1620	1621	Jesse Smith
1625		H Vaughan
1629		Sir John Vaughan
1631		William Gage
1636		Thomas Hammond
1639		Peter Benson
1641		James Vaughan
1643		Sir Robert Stewart[5]
1644		Colonel Audley Mervyn
1646		Sir Charles Coote
1653		Henry Finch
1654		Ralph King
1655	1656	John Handford
1657		John Elwin
1658		Samuel Dawson (died in office)
1659		John Westgate
1660		Luke Ash
1662		William Gardner
1664		Colonel John Gorges
1670		Thomas Skipton
1671		Hugh Edwards
1672	1674	Samuel Norman
1675	1676	Gervais Squire
1677		Colonel William Cecil
1678	1680	Thomas Moncrieff
1681	1682	John Campsie
1683		Alexander Tomkins
1684		James Hobson
1685	1686	John Campsie
1687		Andrew Coningham (died in office)
1688		John Campsie
1690		Gervais Squire
1691		Alexander Lecky
1692		William Squire (died in office)
1693		James Lenox
1694		Henry Long
1695		Alexander Lecky
1696		Henry Ash
1697		James Lenox
1698		Horace Kennedy
1699		Gervais Squire
1700		Edward Brooks

18th century

From	To	Name
1701		Thomas Moncrieff[6]
1702		Robert Shannon[6]
1703	1704	Samuel Leeson[6]
1705		Henry Ash[6]
1706		George Tomkins[6]
1707		Charles Norman[6]
1708		Thomas Lecky[6]
1709		Thomas Ash[6]
1710		Samuel Leeson[6]
1711		Robert Norman[6]
1712		John Wotton[6]
1713		Alexander Tomkins[6]
1714		John Wotton[7]
1769	1770	Robert Fairly[8]
1771		Adam Schoales[7]
1772		Hugh Hill[7]
1773		William Lecky[7]
1774	1775	Charles M'Manus[7]
1776		Thomas Bateson[7]
1777		John Coningham[7]
1778		John Ferguson[7]
1779		George Ash
1780	1781	Thomas Lecky[7]
1782		Robert Fairly[7]
1783	1784	John Coningham[7]
1785	1786	Squire Lecky[7]
1787	1788	John Coningham[7]
1789		Squire Lecky[7]
1790	1791	Eneas Murray[7]
1792	1793	Stephen Bennett[7]
1794	1795	George Kennedy[7]
1796	1797	Andrew Ferguson[7]
1798	1799	John Darcus[7]
1800	1801	William Walker[7]

19th century

From	To	Name		Party
1802		R. G. Hill[7]
1803		John Darcus[7]
1804	1805	R. Murray[7]
1806	1807	William Walker[7]
1808	1809	Thomas Lecky[7]
1810	1811	Thomas Scott[7]
1812	1813	John Curry[7]
1814	1815	Marcus S. Hill[7]
1816	1817	William Alexander[7]
1818	1819	William Scott[7]
1820	1821	Sir John Maginnis[7]
1822	1823	John Dysart[7]
1824	1825	John Rea[7]
1826	1827	Richard Young[7]
1828	1829	Conolly Skipton[7]
1830		Sir R.A. Ferguson (resigned), then J. Dysart[7]
1831		Richard Young[7]
1832	1833	George Hill[7]
1834	1835	Joshua Gillespie[7]
1836	1837	Thomas P. Kennedy[7]
1838	1839	Sir Robert Bateson, Bt[7]
1840	1841	Joseph E. Miller[7]
1842	1843	Conolly Lecky[9]
1843	1845	William Haslett[9]
1845	1846	John Munn[9]
1846	1847	Daniel Baird[9]
1847		Alexander Lindsay[9]
1859	1862	Bartholomew McCorkell JP[9]
1868	1869	Sir Edward Reid[10]		Conservative
1875	1877	Sir William Miller, MD[11]		Conservative
	1883	Henry Darcus
?	1887?	(Sir) Thomas Lecky[12]
1888	1889	Sir William Miller		Conservative
1898	1899	Sir John Barr Johnston
1899	1900	Sir William McLearn		Irish Unionist

20th century

From	To	Name		Party
1901	1902	Sir Francis Henry Miller		Irish Unionist
1908	1911	John McFarland		Irish Unionist
1911	1912	Matthew Anderson Ballantine		Irish Unionist
1912	1913	John McFarland		Irish Unionist
1913	1915	William McLearn		Irish Unionist
1915	1920	Robert Newton Anderson		Irish Unionist
1920	1923	Hugh O'Doherty		Nationalist
1923	1925	Maxwell Scott Moore		UUP
1925	1927	John Gilbert Magee		UUP
1927	1929	James Hamilton		UUP
1929	1935	Dudley McCorkell		UUP
1935	1939	James McElmunn Wilton		UUP
1939	1940	Basil McFarland		UUP
1940	1945	Frederick James Simmons		UUP
1945	1950	Basil McFarland		UUP
1950	1952	Gerald Stanley Glover		UUP
1952	1954	Samuel Orr		UUP
1954	1957	Samuel Sydney Dowds		UUP
1957	1961	John Gordon Colhoun		UUP
1961	1963	Gerald Stanley Glover		UUP
1963	1968	Albert Anderson		UUP
1968	1969	William Beatty		UUP
1969	1973	Post vacant - council replaced by interim development commission
1973	1974	Raymond McClean		SDLP
1974	1975	Jack Allen		UUP
1975	1976	Ivor Canavan		Alliance
1976	1977	James Hegarty		Nationalist
1977	1978	Hugh Doherty		SDLP
1978	1979	Thomas M. Craig		UUP
1979	1980	Pat Devine		SDLP
1980	1981	Marleen Jefferson		UUP
1981	1982	Joe Fegan		SDLP
1982	1983	William O'Connell		SDLP
1983	1984	Len Green		SDLP
1984	1985	John Tierney		SDLP
1985	1986	John McNickle		SDLP
1986	1987	Noel McKenna		SDLP
1987	1988	James Guy		Ind. Unionist
1988	1989	Annie Gallagher		SDLP
1989	1990	Tony Carlin		SDLP
1990	1991	David Davis		Ind. Unionist
1991	1992	Mary Bradley		SDLP
1992	1993	William Hay		DUP
1993	1994	Annie Courtney		SDLP
1994	1995	James Guy		Ind. Unionist
1995	1996	John Kerr		SDLP
1996	1997	Richard Dallas		UUP
1997	1998	Martin Bradley		SDLP
1998	1999	Joe Millar		DUP
1999	2000	Pat Ramsey		SDLP

21st century

From	To	Name		Party
2000	2001	Cathal Crumley		Sinn Féin
2001	2002	Mildred Garfield		DUP
2002	2003	Kathleen McCloskey		SDLP
2003	2004	Shaun Gallagher		SDLP
2004	2005	Gearóid Ó hEára		Sinn Féin
2005	2006	Lynn Fleming		Sinn Féin
2006	2007	Helen Quigley		SDLP
2007	2008	Drew Thompson		DUP
2008	2009	Gerard Diver		SDLP
2009	2010	Paul Fleming		Sinn Féin
2010	2011	Colum Eastwood		SDLP
2011	2012	Maurice Devenney		DUP
2012	2013	Kevin Campbell		Sinn Féin
2013	2014	Martin Reilly		SDLP
2014	2015	Brenda Stevenson		SDLP
2015	2016	Elisha McCallion		Sinn Féin
2016	2017	Hilary McClintock		DUP
2017	2018	Maolíosa McHugh		Sinn Féin
2018	2019	John Boyle		SDLP
2019	2020	Michaela Boyle		Sinn Féin
2020	2021	Brian Tierney		SDLP
2021	2022	Graham Warke		DUP
2022	2023	Sandra Duffy		Sinn Féin
2023	2024	Patricia Logue		Sinn Féin
2024	-	Lilian Seenoi-Barr		SDLP