1985 Limavady District Council election

Main article: Northern Ireland local elections, 1985

Elections to Limavady Borough Council were held on 15 May 1985 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used three district electoral areas to elect a total of 15 councillors.

1985 Limavady Borough Council election

15 May 1985 (1985-05-15)
All 15 seats to Limavady Borough Council 8 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party UUP SDLP Sinn Féin Seats won 7 4 2 Seat change 1 2 2   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party DUP Independent Irish Independence Seats won 2 0 0 Seat change 0 1 1

Election results

Limavady Borough Council Election Result 1985

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	UUP	7	1	0	1	46.7	39.4	4,666	2.2
	SDLP	4	0	1	1	26.7	32.9	3,899	1.3
	Sinn Féin	2	2	0	2	13.3	10.5	1,247	New
	DUP	2	0	0	0	13.3	9.7	1,148	6.7
	Independent	0	0	1	1	0.0	3.4	404	0.9
	Ind. Unionist	0	0	0	0	0.0	2.2	249	2.2
	Alliance	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.9	228	0.1

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes.

Districts summary

Results of the Limavady Borough Council election, 1985
by district

Ward	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
	UUP		SDLP		Sinn Féin		DUP		Others
Bellarena	38.9	2	47.4	2	0.0	0	13.7	1	0.0	0	5
Benbradagh	29.8	2	23.1	1	32.0	2	4.7	0	10.4	0	5
Limavady Town	49.3	3	28.2	1	0.0	0	10.6	1	11.9	0	5
Total	39.4	7	32.9	4	10.5	1	9.7	1	7.5	0	15

District results

Bellarena

1985: 2 x SDLP, 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP

Bellarena - 5 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	UUP	Robert Grant*	20.07%	793
	UUP	Stanley Gault*	18.85%	745
	SDLP	Arthur Doherty*	17.84%	705
	DUP	Ernest Murray*	13.66%	540	663.69
	SDLP	Thomas Mullan*	14.93%	590	594.18
	SDLP	Roy King*	14.65%	579	582.23
Electorate: 5,691   Valid: 3,952 (69.44%)   Spoilt: 75   Quota: 659   Turnout: 4,027 (70.76%)

Benbradagh

1985: 2 x UUP, 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x SDLP

Benbradagh - 5 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Sinn Féin	Michael McGonigle	22.58%	880
	UUP	David Robinson*	21.17%	825
	UUP	Max Gault*	8.62%	336	336	480.48
	SDLP	Lawrence Hegarty*	15.01%	585	598	598	599	811
	Sinn Féin	Michael Hasson	9.42%	367	564.6	564.6	565.6	598.42	624.42
	Independent	Denis Farren*	10.37%	404	412.06	413.32	413.74	464.78	549.78
	SDLP	James Brolly	8.11%	316	320.94	321.15	321.15
	DUP	John McKay	4.72%	184	184	208.99
Electorate: 5,653   Valid: 3,897 (68.94%)   Spoilt: 92   Quota: 650   Turnout: 3,989 (70.56%)

Limavady Town

1985: 3 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP

Limavady Town - 5 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SDLP	Barry Doherty*	22.22%	887
	UUP	Ronald Cartwright	19.94%	796
	UUP	John Dolan	19.34%	772
	UUP	Samuel Millar	9.99%	399	399.5	505.58	584.1	625.31	680.31
	DUP	George Robinson	6.71%	268	268	270.24	274.4	377.42	390.73	618.73
	SDLP	Brian McWilliams	5.94%	237	438.25	438.25	439.16	439.29	526.45	534.45
	Ind. Unionist	William Norris*	6.24%	249	249.75	261.27	270.24	281.82	314.99
	Alliance	John Mullan	5.71%	228	239.5	242.86	243.9	247.41
	DUP	Eric Caldwell	3.91%	156	156.5	159.86	165.45
Electorate: 5,758   Valid: 3,992 (69.33%)   Spoilt: 53   Quota: 666   Turnout: 4,045 (70.25%)