North Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency) explained

North Londonderry
Type:county
Parliament:uk
Year:1885
Abolished:1922
Seats:1
Previous:Coleraine and Londonderry
Next:Londonderry

North Londonderry was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland.

Boundaries and boundary changes

North Londonderry was a county constituency, officially titled the North Derry division of County Londonderry. It comprised the northern part of County Londonderry, defined as follows:[1]

The constituency returned one Member of Parliament. It was not affected by the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918. Prior to the 1885 United Kingdom general election and after the dissolution of Parliament in 1922 the area was part of the Londonderry constituency.

Politics

The constituency was a predominantly unionist area. Sinn Féin was easily beaten in 1918 and 1919.

The First Dáil

Sinn Féin contested the general election of 1918 on the platform that instead of taking up any seats they won in the United Kingdom Parliament, they would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin. In republican theory every MP elected in Ireland was a potential Deputy to this assembly. In practice only the Sinn Féin members accepted the offer.

The revolutionary First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 and last met on 10 May 1921. The First Dáil, according to a resolution passed on 10 May 1921, was formally dissolved on the assembling of the Second Dáil. This took place on 16 August 1921.

In 1921 Sinn Féin decided to use the UK authorised elections for the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland as a poll for the Irish Republic's Second Dáil. This area, in republican theory, was incorporated in a five-member Dáil constituency of Londonderry.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1885Henry MulhollandIrish Conservative
1895John AtkinsonIrish Unionist
1906Hugh BarrieIrish Unionist
1918Hugh AndersonIrish Unionist
1919Hugh BarrieIrish Unionist
1922Malcolm MacnaghtenUlster Unionist

Elections

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

Elections in the 1910s

Anderson resigns, prompting a by-election.

Elections in the 1920s

Barrie dies, prompting a by-election.

References

Sources

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://archive.org/stream/publicgeneralac01walegoog#page/n195/mode/2up Redistribution of Seats Act, Seventh Schedule - Part III - Ireland, County of Londonderry