North Derry was a parliament constituency in Ireland which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on the electoral system of first past the post from 1885 to 1922.
Politics
The constituency was a predominantly unionist area. Sinn Féin was easily beaten in 1918 and 1919.
Boundaries
Prior to 1885, County Londonderry returned two MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom sitting at the Palace of Westminster. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the parliamentary county was divided into the divisions of North Derry and South Derry.[1] The parliamentary borough of Coleraine lost its separate representation.[2]
North Derry was defined as:
The
baronies of—
Kennaught,
North East Liberties of Coleraine,
North West Liberties of Londonderry, and
Tirkeeran,
and so much of the barony of Coleraine, as comprises the parishes of—Dunboe, Formoyle, Killowen, and Macosquin,
and in the parish of Aghadowey the townlands of—Ballinrees, Ballybritain, Ballycaghan, Ballyclough, Ballydevitt, Ballylintagh, Ballymenagh, Ballynacally Beg, Ballynacally More, Ballywillin, Clintagh, Collins, Craigmore, Crevolea, Craiglea Glebe, Crosseanley Glebe, Crossmakeever, Culdrum, Drumsteeple, Glencurb, Keely, Killeague, Kiltest, Knockaduff, Lisnamuck, Managher, Mayboy, Meavemanougher, Meencraig, Moneybrannon, Mullan, Scalty, and Shanlongford.
It was not affected by the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918.[3] Sinn Féin contested the 1918 general election on an abstentionist platform that instead of taking up any seats at Westminster, they would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin. All MPs elected to Irish seats were invited to participate in the First Dáil convened in January 1919, but no members outside of Sinn Féin did so.[4]
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 established the Parliament of Northern Ireland, which came into operation in 1921. The representation of Northern Ireland at Westminster was reduced from 30 MPs to 13 MPs, taking effect at the 1922 United Kingdom general election. At Westminster, Londonderry City, North Derry and South Derry were combined to form the single-seat county constituency of Londonderry.[5] A five-seat constituency of Londonderry was created for the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, which formed the basis in republican theory for representation in the Second Dáil.[6]
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
Anderson resigns, prompting a by-election.
Elections in the 1920s
Barrie dies, prompting a by-election.
See also
References
Sources
- Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
- Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1978). Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume II 1886–1918. The Harvester Press.
- Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1979). Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume III 1919–1945. The Harvester Press.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 4)
Citations