Belfast Falls (Northern Ireland Parliament Constituency)
Belfast Falls | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland | |
Former constituency | |
Created | 1929 |
Abolished | 1973 |
Election method | First past the post |
Belfast Falls was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.
Boundaries
Belfast Falls was a borough constituency comprising part of western Belfast. It was created in 1929, when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland.
Belfast Falls was created by the division of Belfast West into four new constituencies. It was formed from the Falls ward and included the Falls Road. It survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament, until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.
Politics
The constituency was the most staunchly nationalist in Belfast. It was initially held by Nationalist Party members, then later by a variety of labour movement activists and members of smaller nationalist parties.
Members of Parliament
Election | Member | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1929 | Richard Byrne | Nationalist Party | ||
1933 | ||||
1938 | ||||
1942 | Eamon Donnelly | Independent Republican | ||
1945 | Harry Diamond | Socialist Republican Party | ||
1949 | ||||
1953 | ||||
1958 | Republican Labour Party | |||
1962 | ||||
1965 | ||||
1969 | Paddy Devlin | Northern Ireland Labour Party | ||
1970 | Social Democratic and Labour Party | |||
1973 | Constituency abolished |
Election results
(1921–72) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationalist | Richard Byrne | 6,941 | 55.8 | ||
NI Labour | Billy McMullen | 5,509 | 44.2 | ||
Majority | 1,432 | 11.6 | |||
Turnout | 12,450 | ||||
Nationalist win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationalist | Richard Byrne | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Nationalist hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationalist | Richard Byrne | 5,334 | 53.3 | N/A | |
NI Labour | John Glass | 4,667 | 46.7 | New | |
Majority | 667 | 6.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 10,001 | ||||
Nationalist hold | Swing | N/A |
- Death of Byrne
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ind. Republican | Eamon Donnelly | 4,595 | 54.8 | New | |
Nationalist | George McGouran | 1,971 | 23.5 | −29.8 | |
NI Labour | John Glass | 1,821 | 21.7 | −25.0 | |
Majority | 2,623 | 31.3 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 8,387 | ||||
Ind. Republican gain from Nationalist | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Socialist Republican | Harry Diamond | 5,016 | 42.9 | New | |
Federation of Labour | John Collins | 3,912 | 33.5 | New | |
Nationalist | James McGlade | 2,766 | 23.6 | +0.1 | |
Majority | 1,104 | 9.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 11,694 | ||||
Socialist Republican gain from Ind. Republican | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Socialist Republican | Harry Diamond | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Socialist Republican hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 7,510 | 73.1 | N/A | |
Independent Irish Labour | Seamus MacKearney | 2,761 | 26.9 | New | |
Irish Labour | Jack MacGougan | 1,361 | 11.8 | New | |
Majority | 4,749 | 46.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 11,632 | ||||
Republican Labour gain from Socialist Republican | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 7,510 | 73.1 | 0.0 | |
Independent Irish Labour | Seamus MacKearney | 2,761 | 26.9 | 0.0 | |
Majority | 4,749 | 46.2 | 0.0 | ||
Turnout | 10,271 | ||||
Republican Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 7,662 | 76.6 | +3.5 | |
Ind. Labour Group | John Joseph Brennan | 2,343 | 23.4 | New | |
Majority | 5,319 | 53.2 | +7.0 | ||
Turnout | 10,005 | ||||
Republican Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Republican Labour hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NI Labour | Paddy Devlin | 6,275 | 53.1 | New | |
Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 5,549 | 46.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 726 | 6.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 11,824 | N/A | |||
NI Labour gain from Republican Labour | Swing | N/A |
References
- ^ The Northern Ireland House of Commons, 1921-1972, Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Boroughs: Belfast