- South Down (Assembly constituency)
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South Down
Northern Ireland Assembly
County constituencySouth Down shown within Northern Ireland First Used: 1973 Assembly Members: P. J. Bradley
Willie Clarke
John McCallister
Margaret Ritchie
Caitriona Ruane
Jim WellsDistricts: Down, Banbridge, Newry and Mourne South Down is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973. It usually shares boundaries with the South Down UK Parliament constituency, however the boundaries of the two constituencies were slightly different from 1983 to 1986 as the Assembly boundaries had not caught up with Parliamentary boundary changes and from 1996 to 1997 when members of the Northern Ireland Forum had been elected from the newly drawn Parliamentary constituencies but the 51st Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected in 1992 under the 1983–95 constituency boundaries, was still in session.
Members were then elected from the constituency to the 1975 Constitutional Convention, the 1982 Assembly, the 1996 Forum and then to the current Assembly from 1998.
The most high-profile MLA's for the constituency are Catriona Ruane the Minister for Education and Margaret Ritchie, the SDLP leader.
For further details of the history and boundaries of the constituency, see South Down (UK Parliament constituency).
Contents
Members
The six MLAs for the constituency elected in the 2007 election are:
- P. J. Bradley – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Willie Clarke – Sinn Féin
- John McCallister – Ulster Unionist Party
- Margaret Ritchie – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Caitriona Ruane – Sinn Féin
- Jim Wells – Democratic Unionist Party
The six MLAs for the constituency elected in the 2003 election were:
- P. J. Bradley – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Willie Clarke – Sinn Féin
- Dermot Nesbitt – Ulster Unionist Party
- Margaret Ritchie – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Caitriona Ruane – Sinn Féin
- Jim Wells – Democratic Unionist Party
In the 1998 election the six MLAs elected were:
- P. J. Bradley – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Eddie McGrady – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Mick Murphy – Sinn Féin
- Dermot Nesbitt – Ulster Unionist Party
- Eamonn O'Neill – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Jim Wells – Democratic Unionist Party
In the 1996 election to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum, 5 Forum members were elected from South Down. They were as follows:
- Hugh Carr – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Eddie McGrady – Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Mick Murphy – Sinn Féin
- Dermot Nesbitt – Ulster Unionist Party
- Margaret Ritchie – Social Democratic and Labour Party
In 1982 elections were held for an Assembly for Northern Ireland to hold the Secretary of State to account, in the hope that this would be the first step towards restoring devolution. South Down elected seven members as follows:
- William Brown Ulster Unionist Party
- Frank Feely Social Democratic and Labour Party
- George Graham Democratic Unionist Party
- Raymond McCullough Ulster Unionist Party
- Eddie McGrady Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Patrick O'Donoghue Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Jim Wells Democratic Unionist Party
Raymond McCullough died in 1985 and the resulting by-election, on 17 October 1985, was won by Jeffrey Donaldson, also Ulster Unionist Party.
In 1975 elections were held to a Constitutional Convention which sought (unsuccessfully) to generate a consensus on the future of the province. The seven members elected from South Down were:
- Peter Brush Ulster Unionist Party
- Brian Faulkner Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
- Frank Feely Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Cecil Harvey Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
- Herbert Heslip Ulster Unionist Party
- Eddie McGrady Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Patrick O'Donoghue Social Democratic and Labour Party
In 1973 elections were held to the Assembly set up under the Sunningdale Agreement. The seven members elected from South Down were:
- Ronald Broadhurst Ulster Unionist Party (pro-White Paper)
- Brian Faulkner Ulster Unionist Party (pro-White Paper)
- Frank Feely Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Cecil Harvey Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
- Herbert Heslip Ulster Unionist Party (anti-White Paper)
- Eddie McGrady Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Patrick O'Donoghue Social Democratic and Labour Party
Elections
Northern Ireland Assembly
2011 Assembly Election:South Down[1][2] Party Candidate % 1st Pref Count 1 Count 2 Count 3 Count 4 Count 5 Count 6 Count 7 Count 8 Count 9 SDLP Margaret Ritchie 20.4 8,506 -2545.00 Sinn Féin Caitriona Ruane 14.3 5,955 237.15 6,192.15 6,192.15 6,192.15 6,192.15 6,192.15 6,192.15 6,192.15 6,192.15 Democratic Unionist Jim Wells 12.5 5,200 81.84 5,284.84 72.72 5,354.56 49.72 5,404.28 1139.00 6,543.28 -582.28 Ulster Unionist John McCallister 10.6 4,409 71.92 4,480.92 143.96 4,624.88 88.89 4,714.77 968.13 5,679.90 559.70 6,329.60 6,329.60 6,329.60 -278.80 Sinn Féin Willie Clarke 9.3 3,882 76.95 3,957.95 34.55 3,992.50 101.65 4,094.15 7.31 4,101.46 1.74 4,103.20 2,674.00 6,777.20 -816.20 SDLP Karen McKevitt 9.0 3,758 580.79 4,318.79 113.92 4,432.71 242.62 4,675.33 27.10 4,702.43 4.64 4,707.27 135.86 4,842.93 434.35 5,277.28 70.18 5,347.46 Sinn Féin Naomi Bailie 7.3 3,050 100.44 3,150.44 10.62 3,161.06 144.40 3,305.46 1.31 3,306.77 1.74 3,308.51 -3,308.51 SDLP Eamon O'Neill 6.4 2,633 1,181.72 3,844.72 113.47 3959.19 264.58 4,222.77 28.58 4,251.35 8.12 4,259.47 189.99 4,449.46 376.68 4,826.14 56.84 4,882.98 UKIP Henry Reilly 5.6 2,332 21.39 2,353.29 20.31 2,373.70 25.24 2,398.94 -2,398.94 Green (NI) Cadogan Enright 2.7 1,107 120.28 1,227.28 11.47 1,238.75 -1,238.75 Alliance David Griffin 2.1 864 51.15 915.15 -915.15 The Quota was 5961 in 2011.
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007 Party Candidate 1st Pref Result Count Sinn Féin Caitriona Ruane 6,334 Elected 7 SDLP Margaret Ritchie 5,838 Elected 8 SDLP P. J. Bradley 5,652 Elected 9 Democratic Unionist Jim Wells 5,542 Elected 10 Sinn Féin Willie Clarke 5,138 Elected 8 Ulster Unionist John McCallister 4,447 Elected 11 SDLP Michael Carr 2,972 Not elected 11 Sinn Féin Eamonn McConvey 2,662 Not elected 7 Democratic Unionist William Burns 2,611 Not elected 9 Green (NI) Ciaran Mussen 1,622 Not elected 6 UKIP Henry Reilly 1,229 Not elected 5 Alliance David Griffin 691 Not elected 4 Independent (Republican) Martin Cunningham 434 Not elected 4 UK Unionist Frederick Wharton 424 Not elected 4 Conservative Peter Bowles 391 Not elected 3 Labour Party NI Malachi Curran 123 Not elected 2 Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003 Party Candidate 1st Pref Result Count Democratic Unionist Jim Wells 6,789 Elected 1 Ulster Unionist Dermot Nesbitt 5,368 Elected 8 SDLP P. J. Bradley 5,337 Elected 4 Sinn Féin Caitriona Ruane 5,118 Elected 9 SDLP Margaret Ritchie 4,261 Elected 9 Sinn Féin Willie Clarke 4,083 Elected 9 SDLP Eamonn O'Neill 3,942 Not elected Ulster Unionist Jim Donaldson 2,885 Not elected Sinn Féin Eamonn McConvey 2,806 Not elected SDLP Marion Fitzpatrick 2,382 Not elected Green (NI) Raymond Blaney 799 Not elected NI Women's Coalition Trudy Miller 565 Not elected Alliance Neil Powell 489 Not elected UK Unionist Nelson Wharton 245 Not elected Independent Malachi Curran 162 Not elected Workers' Party Desmond O'Hagan 115 Not elected Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998 Party Candidate 1st Pref Result Count SDLP Eddie McGrady 10,373 Elected Sinn Féin Mick Murphy 6,251 Elected SDLP P. J. Bradley 5,571 Elected Ulster Unionist Dermot Nesbitt 5,480 Elected Democratic Unionist Jim Wells 4,826 Elected SDLP Hugh Carr 3,731 Not elected SDLP Eamonn O'Neill 3,582 Elected UK Unionist Frederick Wharton 2,576 Not elected Ulster Unionist Norman Hanna 1,939 Not elected NI Women's Coalition Anne Carr 1,658 Not elected Independent Unionist George Graham 1,562 Not elected Sinn Féin Garret O'Fachtna 1,520 Not elected Alliance Anne-Marie Cunningham 1,502 Not elected Labour Party NI Malachi Curran 498 Not elected Workers' Party Desmond O'Hagan 130 Not elected Independent Labour Patrick O'Connor 121 Not elected Natural Law Thomas Mullins 33 Not elected 1996 Forum
Successful candidates are shown in bold.[3]
Party Candidate(s) Votes Percentage SDLP Eddie McGrady
Hugh Carr
Margaret Ritchie
Marietta Farrell
John Doris20,220 43.2 Ulster Unionist Dermot Nesbitt
Frederick Wharton
Gerry Douglas
Albert Colmer
William Martin10,379 22.2 Sinn Féin Mick Murphy
Frank McDowell
Martin Gough
Deidre Clark6,142 13.1 Democratic Unionist William Alexander
John Finlay
William Burns5,060 10.8 Alliance Julian Crozier
Michael Healy1,685 3.6 Labour Coalition Malachi Curran
Patrick O'Connor
Edna Furey
James Masson
Michael Kearney927 2.0 Progressive Unionist George Graham
James McDonald497 1.1 NI Women's Coalition Bronagh Lawson
Claire Hannah
Lynn Carvill
Ursula Leahy464 1.0 Ulster Democratic Norma Coulter
Denis Paisley404 0.9 Green (NI) Maggie Burch
Eugene O'Shea
Christopher Busby251 0.6 Conservative Paul Megarity
Michael Henderson197 0.4 Workers' Party Marie O'Hagan
Eddie O'Hagan162 0.4 Ulster Independence Samuel Pollock
Stanley Watson
James McElrath130 0.3 Democratic Partnership William Leneghan
Sean O'Baoill117 0.2 Democratic Left Veronica McEneaney
Jim Ryan65 0.1 Natural Law Desmond Garrett
William McCarthy30 0.1 Independent Chambers George Chambers
Doreen Larmour18 0.0 1982
Assembly Election – 20 October 1982 Party Candidate Count 1 Count 2 Count 3 Count 4&5† Count 6 Count 7 Count 8 Count 9 Count 10 Count 11 SDLP Frank Feely 7391 7391 7391 7391 SDLP Eddie McGrady 7313 7636 SDLP Patrick O'Donoghue 5916 6252 6440 6449 6455 8181 Ulster Unionist Raymond McCullough 5802 5808 5809 5903 6451 6458 6471 6497 9553 Ulster Unionist William Brown 5220 5227 5234 5441 7593 7593 7593 7593 Democratic Unionist George Graham 4075 4081 4082 5366 5533 5543 5548 5552 6518 7596 Ulster Unionist William Coulter 3787 3794 3795 3828 4490 4497 4508 4663 Democratic Unionist Jim Wells 3779 3783 3783 5361 5474 5488 5503 5505 5663 5937 Alliance Patrick Forde 3646 3999 4027 4047 4148 4346 4707 4709 4879 5101 Ulster Unionist William Martin 3562 3567 3568 3798 Democratic Unionist Ethel Smyth 3495 3507 3508 Sinn Féin Cyril Toman 3393 3772 3795 3805 3806 Workers' Party Thomas Moore 1676 Electorate=93261, valid=59055, spoiled=2137, quota=7382 - †The fifth count involved the transfer of Feely's surplus of nine votes. After rounding up, the value of his ballot papers was zero so this count produced the same result as the fourth count.
1975
Party Candidate 1st Pref Result Count SDLP Frank Feely 9,730 Elected Vanguard Cecil Harvey 8,843 Elected SDLP Eddy McGrady 7,257 Elected SDLP Patrick O'Donoghue 6,657 Elected Ulster Unionist Herbert Heslip 6,380 Elected Ulster Unionist Peter Brush 6,293 Elected Unionist Party NI Brian Faulkner 6,035 Elected Democratic Unionist David Herron 3,752 Not elected Alliance Anthony Williamson 1,612 Not elected Alliance Denys Rowan-Hamilton 1,509 Not elected Republican Clubs Raymond Blaney 1,002 Not elected Unionist Party NI Ronald Broadhurst 994 Not elected Republican Clubs Gerard O'Hanlon 680 Not elected 1973
Party Candidate 1st Pref Result Count Ulster Unionist Brian Faulkner 16,287 Elected SDLP Eddy McGrady 7,870 Elected SDLP Frank Feely 6,857 Elected Vanguard Cecil Harvey 5,006 Elected SDLP Patrick O'Donoghue 4,322 Elected Democratic Unionist David Herron 4,016 Not elected Ulster Unionist Herbert Heslip 3,838 Elected Independent Rory McShane 2,785 Not elected Independent Nationalist James O'Reilly 2,000 Not elected Ulster Unionist William Martin 1,996 Not elected Ulster Unionist Ronald Broadhurst 1,515 Elected Alliance Anthony Williamson 1,489 Not elected Alliance Michael O'Shea 1,475 Not elected Alliance Denys Rowan-Hamilton 1,316 Not elected Independent Arthur Doran 653 Not elected Republican Clubs Noel Collins 648 Not elected Republican Clubs Edward O'Hagan 612 Not elected National Front William Annett 591 Not elected Republican Clubs Samuel Dowling 499 Not elected Liberal Berkley Farr 263 Not elected References
- ^ South Down, UTV
- ^ http://www.eoni.org.uk/south_down_result_sheet.pdf
- ^ 1996 Candidates – South Down, Northern Ireland Elections
Northern Ireland Assembly Assembly
Committees Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister · Agriculture and Rural Development · Culture, Arts and Leisure · Education · Employment and Learning · Enterprise, Trade and Investment · Environment · Finance and Personnel · Health, Social Services and Public Safety · Regional Development · Social DevelopmentConstituencies Belfast East · Belfast North · Belfast South · Belfast West · East Antrim · East Londonderry · Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Foyle · Lagan Valley · Mid Ulster · Newry and Armagh · North Antrim · North Down · South Antrim · South Down · Strangford · Upper Bann · West TyroneParties Elections Procedure See also Good Friday Agreement · St Andrews AgreementCategories:- Constituencies of the Northern Ireland Assembly
- Politics of County Down
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