"Unity" was the political label for a series of electoral pacts by Irish nationalist, Irish Republican and socialist candidates in Northern Ireland elections in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It also contested elections as a party in its own right, electing six councillors in the 1973 local council elections in the Fermanagh and Dungannon areas,[1] although this was reduced to two members of Fermanagh council in the next election in 1977.[2]
The first victory came in 1969 in the Mid Ulster by-election which was won by 21-year old student Bernadette Devlin.[3] She held her seat in the 1970 general election,[4] when Fermanagh and South Tyrone was won by her colleague Frank McManus.[5] Both lost their seats in the February 1974 general election.[6] Bernadette would later go on to join the IRSP. [7]
In the October 1974 general election the spirit of Unity was revived, if not the name, when Frank Maguire won Fermanagh and South Tyrone as an agreed independent Republican.[8] He held the seat until his death in 1981.[9] In 1978 Unity merged with the remnants of the Nationalist Party to form the Irish Independence Party.[10]
Election Results
editBy-election
edit| Election | First-Preference Votes | FPv% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Mid Ulster by-election | 33,648 | 53.3% | |
| Unity gain from UUP | |||
General elections
edit| Election | First-Preference Votes | FPv% | ±% | Seats | Seats % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 United Kingdom general election | 14,645 | 2.5% | New | 0 / 12
|
0.00% | 
|
| 1970 United Kingdom general election | 140,930 | 18.1% |  15.6%
|
2 / 12
|
16.67% | 1
|
| Feb 1974 United Kingdom General Election | 17,593 | 2.4% |  15.7
|
0 / 12
|
0.00% | 2
|
Local elections
edit| Election | First-Preference Votes | FPv% | ±% | Seats | Seats % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 Northern Ireland local elections | 10,281 | 1.5% | New | 6 / 462
|
1.30% | New |
| 1977 Northern Ireland local elections | 5,528 | 1.0% | 0.5
|
2 / 462
|
0.43% | 4
|
References
edit- ^ "Local Government Elections 1973". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Local Government Elections 1973 - 1981: Fermanagh". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Bernadette Devlin Wins Election". RTÉ Archives. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "1970 Westminster Elections". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1950-1970". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Hard‐Line Protestants Win 11 of the 12 Northern Ireland Seats". The New York Times (published 2 March 1974). 1 March 1974. p. 10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ Holland, Kitty (22 November 2016). "Bernadette McAliskey: 'I am astounded I survived. I made mad decisions'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1973-1982". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
Westminster Election, 10 October 1974 (one seat). Frank Maguire (Independent) 32,795 (51.8%)
- ^ "Frank Maguire, Ulster M.P., Dies; Helped Defeat Callaghan in 1979". The New York Times. 6 March 1981. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Local Government Elections 1981". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
On the Nationalist side, the Irish Independence Party emerged from the remnants of the old Nationalist Party and the Unity movement.
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