South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)

UK former constituency infobox
Name = South Tyrone
Type = County
Year = 1885
Abolition = 1922
members = One

South Tyrone was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland.

Boundaries and Boundary Changes

This county constituency comprised the southern part of County Tyrone.

It returned one Member of Parliament 1885-1922.

Prior to the 1885 redistribution the area was part of the Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency). From 1922 it formed part of the Fermanagh and Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency).

Politics

The constituency was a majority unionist area. Sinn Féin and the Independent Nationalist candidate together polled about 2,500 votes less than the Unionist received in 1918.

The First Dáil

Sinn Féin contested the general election of 1918 on the platform that instead of taking up any seats they won in the United Kingdom Parliament, they would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin. In republican theory every MP elected in Ireland was a potential Deputy to this assembly. In practice only the Sinn Féin members accepted the offer.

The revolutionary First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 and last met on 10 May 1921. The First Dáil, according to a resolution passed on 10 May 1921, was formally dissolved on the assembling of the Second Dáil. This took place on 16 August 1921.

In 1921 Sinn Féin decided to use the UK authorised elections for the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland as a poll for the Irish Republic's Second Dáil. This area, in republican theory, was incorporated in an eight-member Dáil constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone.

Members of Parliament

"Key to parties: U Irish Unionist 1886-1921 and Ulster Unionist 1921-1922."

Elections

The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.

Election box begin
title=General Election 14 December 1918: South TyroneElection box candidate with party link
party = Irish Unionist Party
candidate = William Coote
votes = 10,616
percentage =
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Sinn Féin
candidate = Denis McCullagh
votes = 5,437
percentage =
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent Nationalist
candidate = John Skeffington
votes = 2,602
percentage =
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes =
percentage =
change = "N/A"Election box turnout
votes = 22,465
percentage =
change = "N/A"Election box hold with party link
winner = Irish Unionist Party
swing = "N/A"

References

*"Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922", edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
*"Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume II 1886-1918", edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1978)
*"Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume III 1919-1945", edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1979)

External links

* http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0
* http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html

ee also

* List of UK Parliament Constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland
* Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918
* MPs elected in the UK general election, 1918
* List of Dáil Éireann constituencies in Ireland (historic)
* Members of the 1st Dáil