"Unity" was the political label for a series of electoral pacts by Irish nationalist, Irish Republican and socialist candidates in Northern Ireland elections in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It also contested elections as a party in its own right, electing six councillors in the 1973 local council elections in the Fermanagh and Dungannon areas,[1] although this was reduced to two members of Fermanagh council in the next election in 1977.[2]
The first victory came in 1969 in the Mid Ulster by-election which was won by 21-year old student Bernadette Devlin.[3] She held her seat in the 1970 general election,[4] when Fermanagh and South Tyrone was won by her colleague Frank McManus.[5] Both lost their seats in the February 1974 general election.[6] Bernadette would later go on to join the IRSP. [7]
In the October 1974 general election the spirit of Unity was revived, if not the name, when Frank Maguire won Fermanagh and South Tyrone as an agreed independent Republican.[8] He held the seat until his death in 1981.[9] In 1978 Unity merged with the remnants of the Nationalist Party to form the Irish Independence Party.[10]
| Election | First-Preference Votes | FPv% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Mid Ulster by-election | 33,648 | 53.3% | |
| gain from UUP | |||
| 1966 United Kingdom general election | 14,645 | 2.5% | New | 0.00% | |||
| 1970 United Kingdom general election | 140,930 | 18.1% | 15.6% | 16.67% | 1 | ||
| Feb 1974 United Kingdom General Election | 17,593 | 2.4% | 15.7 | 0.00% | 2 |
| 1973 Northern Ireland local elections | 10,281 | 1.5% | New | 1.30% | New | ||
| 1977 Northern Ireland local elections | 5,528 | 1.0% | 0.5 | 0.43% | 4 |