High Sheriff of Londonderry is a title and position which was created in 1900 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with Sir John Barre Johnson the first holder.
Initially an office for life, assigned by the sovereign, the high sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258.
[1] Besides his judicial importance, he has ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court writs.
[2] The first (high) shrivalties were established before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and date back to Saxon times.
[3] 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.