- North Antrim (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
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Coordinates: 55°07′16″N 6°19′44″W / 55.121°N 6.329°W
North Antrim
Parliament of Northern Ireland
County constituency
North Antrim shown within Northern Ireland Created: 1929 Abolished: 1973 Election Method: First past the post North Antrim was a constituency of the Northern Ireland House of Commons.
The House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland), 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections for 48 single-member constituencies (including Antrim North).
This constituency was one of seven county divisions in Antrim, so it was smaller than the UK Parliament seat. From 1969 there were nine county divisions in Antrim, but the changes in the vicinity of Belfast did not affect the boundaries of this division.
It comprised (in terms of local government units existing in 1929) parts of the rural districts of Ballycastle and Ballymoney together with the whole of the urban districts of Ballycastle, Ballymoney and Portrush.
It returned one member of Parliament from 1929 until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.
Contents
Politics
County Antrim (except for parts of Belfast) is a strongly unionist area. There has never been the slightest chance of a republican or nationalist candidate being elected in a single-member Antrim county constituency, however the boundaries were drawn. Antrim North has not been an exception.
At the Northern Ireland general election of 1929 the new Antrim North division was the scene of a reasonably close Unionist/Liberal contest (less than a 20% majority). However this was the last appearance of a Liberal candidate for the Northern Ireland Parliament constituency, which became an extremely safe Unionist seat for the rest of its existence.
Members of Parliament
Year Party Name 1929 Ulster Unionist Robert John Lynn 1945 Ulster Unionist William Victor McCleery 1958 Ulster Unionist Phelim O'Neill Note: After the prorogation of the Parliament in 1972, O'Neill joined the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland.
Elections
Northern Ireland 1921–72 
This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Northern Ireland 1921–72
The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.
General Election 22 May 1929: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Robert John Lynn 6,584 59.76 N/A Liberal R. N. Boyd 4,433 40.24 N/A Majority 2,151 19.52 N/A Turnout 17,591 62.63 N/A Ulster Unionist gain from new seat Swing N/A General Election 30 November 1933: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Robert John Lynn Unopposed N/A N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 9 February 1938: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Robert John Lynn 8,194 64.67 N/A Progressive Unionist R. N. Boyd 4,477 35.33 N/A Majority 3,717 29.33 N/A Turnout 18,221 69.54 N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 14 June 1945: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Robert John Lynn 9,264 73.47 +8.80 Labour (NI) A. Stewart 3,345 26.53 +26.53 Majority 5,919 46.94 +17.61 Turnout 19,304 65.32 -4.22 Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A - Death of Lynn
North Antrim by-election, 1945 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist William Victor McCleery Unopposed N/A N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 10 February 1949: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist William Victor McCleery Unopposed N/A N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 22 October 1953: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist William Victor McCleery Unopposed N/A N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A - Seat vacant on dissolution (death of McCleery)
General Election 20 March 1958: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Phelim O'Neill Unopposed N/A N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 31 May 1962: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Phelim O'Neill Unopposed N/A N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 25 November 1965: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Phelim O'Neill Unopposed N/A N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 24 February 1969: Antrim North Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Phelim O'Neill 9,142 73.83 N/A Protestant Unionist J. Wylie 3,241 26.17 N/A Majority 5,901 47.65 N/A Turnout 19,611 63.14 N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A - Parliament prorogued 30 March 1972 and abolished 18 July 1973
References
- Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results 1921-1972, compiled and edited by Sydney Elliott (Political Reference Publications 1973)
External links
- http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0
- http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html
- For more information about the Northern Ireland House of Commons see http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/stormont.html
Parliament of Northern Ireland constituencies 1921–1929 1929–1973Antrim Antrim Borough · Bannside · Carrick · Larkfield (from 1969) · Larne · Mid Antrim · Newtownabbey (from 1969) · North Antrim · South AntrimArmagh Belfast East Belfast North Belfast South Belfast West Down Ards · Bangor (from 1969) · East Down · Iveagh · Lagan Valley (from 1969) · Mid Down · Mourne · North Down · South Down · West DownFermanagh and Tyrone Londonderry Queen's University Queen's University (to 1969)Categories:- Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies established in 1929
- Constituencies of the Northern Ireland Parliament
- Historic constituencies in County Antrim
- Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies disestablished in 1973
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