Londonderry (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°55′19″N 6°57′11″W / 54.922°N 6.953°W / 54.922; -6.953

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

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

Boundaries

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Londonderry was created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and consisted of the entirety of County Londonderry, including the County Borough of Londonderry. The House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 divided the constituency into five constituencies elected under first past the post: City of Londonderry, Foyle, Mid Londonderry, North Londonderry and South Londonderry.[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 Eoin MacNeill, who was also elected for the National University of Ireland, was the only MP elected for Londonderry to sit as a TD in Dáil Éireann.[3]

Politics

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Londonderry was a predominantly Unionist area with a substantial Nationalist minority, electing three Unionists, one Nationalist and one Sinn Féin member in 1921 and three Unionists and two Nationalists in 1925.

Members of Parliament

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Election MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
MP
(Party)
1921 Robert Newton Anderson
(UUP)
Dehra Chichester
(UUP)
John Martin Mark
(UUP)
George Leeke
(Nationalist)
Eoin MacNeill
Sinn Féin
1925 Basil McGuckin
(Nationalist)

Elections results

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1921 General Election: Londonderry (5 seats)
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
UUP Robert Newton Anderson 24.9 13,466          
Sinn Féin Eoin MacNeill 22.0 11,866          
UUP Dehra Chichester 16.1 8,709 12,544        
UUP John Martin Mark 15.1 8,155 8,764 8,801 12,280    
Nationalist George Leeke 11.7 6,298 6,315 6,483 6,543 6,550 7,710
Sinn Féin J. Walsh 7.4 4,020 4,022 6,519 6,521 6,521 6,980
Nationalist H. W. Shields 2.7 1,474 1,478 1,643 1,647 1,647  
Electorate: 62,111   Valid: 53,988   Quota: 8,999   Turnout: 86.9%  
1925 General Election: Londonderry (5 seats)
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Nationalist George Leeke 27.2 13,671        
UUP Robert Newton Anderson 24.0 12,085        
UUP John Martin Mark 17.5 8,804        
UUP Dehra Chichester 16.4 8,261 8,288 11,969    
Republican C. MacWhinney 11.0 5,546 5,701 5,705 5,749 5,756
Nationalist Basil McGuckin 3.9 1,973 7,071 7,080 7,171 7,184
Electorate: 63,174   Valid: 50,340   Quota: 8,391   Turnout: 79.7%  

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.