Antrim (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°57′04″N 6°12′29″W / 54.951°N 6.208°W / 54.951; -6.208

Antrim
Former County constituency
for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Antrim shown within Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created1921
Abolished1929
Election methodSingle transferable vote

Antrim was a county constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1929. It returned seven MPs, using proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

Boundaries

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Antrim was created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and consisted of the administrative County Antrim (that is, excluding those parts of the historic county within the County Borough of Belfast). The House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 divided the constituency into seven constituencies elected under first past the post: Antrim Borough, Bann Side, Carrick, Larne, Mid Antrim, North Antrim and South Antrim.[1]

Second Dáil

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In May 1921, Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the self-declared Irish Republic run by Sinn Féin, passed a resolution declaring that elections to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland would be used as the election for the Second Dáil.[2] All those elected were on the roll of the Second Dáil, but as no Sinn Féin MP was elected for Antrim, it was not represented there.[3]

Politics

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Antrim had a Unionist majority, with some pockets of Nationalist support. In 1921, six Unionists and one Nationalist were elected, while in 1925, there were five unionists, one Nationalist and one member of the Unbought Tenants Association elected.

Members of Parliament

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Election MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
1921 John Milne Barbour
(UUP)
Hugh O'Neill
(UUP)
George Boyle Hanna
(UUP)
Robert Crawford
(UUP)
Robert Dick Megaw
(UUP)
John Fawcett Gordon
(UUP)
Joseph Devlin
(Nationalist)
1925 George Henderson
(Unbought Tenants)
Thomas Stanislaus McAllister
(Nationalist)

Election results

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24 May 1921 General Election: Antrim (7 seats)
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
UUP John Milne Barbour 22.18 17,735        
UUP Hugh O'Neill 20.86 16,681        
UUP George Boyle Hanna 15.74 12,584        
Nationalist Joseph Devlin 11.82 9,448 9,469 9,499 9,528 9,560
UUP Robert Dick Megaw 10.41 8,326 8,991 11,979    
UUP Robert Crawford 7.47 5,976 11,958      
Sinn Féin Louis Joseph Walsh 6.19 4,951 4,958 4,973 4,988 5,028
UUP John Fawcett Gordon 3.71 2,967 3,890 7,507 10,029  
Sinn Féin Joseph Connolly 1.60 1,281 1,424 1,461 1,485 1,511
Electorate: 93,566   Valid: 79,949   Quota: 9,994   Turnout: 85.5%  
3 April 1925 General Election: Antrim (7 seats)
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
UUP John Milne Barbour 20.99 13,499        
UUP Hugh O'Neill 19.56 12,579        
Nationalist Thomas Stanislaus McAllister 18.44 11,857        
UUP Robert Crawford 11.37 7,310 11,369      
UUP George Boyle Hanna 10.14 6,524 7,216 8,720    
Unbought Tenants George Henderson 7.57 4,866 4,908 4,994 8,712  
UUP Robert Dick Megaw 6.78 4,362 4,643 6,217 6,271 6,469
UUP John Fawcett Gordon 5.16 3,318 3,703 5,078 5,123 8,254
Electorate: 98,278   Valid: 64,315   Quota: 8,040   Turnout: 65.4%  

References

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  1. ^ Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election results: Constituency Boundaries
  2. ^ "Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 10 May 1921 - PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT. - ELECTIONS". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  3. ^ "APPENDIX 19 DÁIL ÉIREANN". Houses of the Oireachtas. 16 August 1921. Retrieved 20 February 2019.