South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)

South Tyrone
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
1885–1922
Seats1
Created fromDungannon and County Tyrone
Replaced byFermanagh and Tyrone

South Tyrone was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland which returned one Member of Parliament from 1885 to 1922, using the first past the post electoral system.

Boundaries

From 1801 to 1885, County Tyrone returned two MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom sitting at the Palace of Westminster, with separate representation for the parliamentary borough of Dungannon. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Dungannon ceased to exist as a parliamentary borough and the parliamentary county was divided into four divisions: North Tyrone, Mid Tyrone, East Tyrone and South Tyrone.

Under the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918, following a boundary commission review, the parliamentary county lost a seat, leading to an expansion of the territory of South Tyrone.[1] Sinn Féin contested the 1918 general election on an abstentionist platform in its election manifesto pledging that instead of taking up any seats at Westminster, they would establish an 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, with South Tyrone's William Coote listed on the roll as "as láthair" [absent].[2]

1885–1918 The baronies of Clogher and Dungannon Lower, and that part of the barony of Dungannon Middle consisting of the parishes of Clonfeacle and Donaghmore.[3]
1918–1922 The rural district of Clogher, that part of the rural district of Cookstown consisting of the district electoral divisions of The Sandholes and Stewartstown, that part of the rural district of Dungannon not contained in the North East Tyrone constituency, that part of the rural district of Omagh consisting of the district electoral divisions of Carryglass, Derrybard, Dervaghroy, Draughton, Fallaghearn, Fintona, Seskinore and Tattymoyle, and the urban district of Dungannon.[4]

The Government of Ireland Act 1920 established the Parliament of Northern Ireland, which came into operation in 1921. The representation of Northern Ireland in the Parliament of the United Kingdom was reduced from 30 MPs to 13 MPs, taking effect at the 1922 United Kingdom general election. At Westminster, the three divisions of County Tyrone and the two divisions of County Fermanangh were replaced by a two-member county constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone. An eight-seat constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone was created for the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, which formed the basis in republican theory for representation in the Second Dáil after the 1921 election.[5] Three Sinn Féin representatives sat as TDs for the constituency, two of whom also represented constituencies in Southern Ireland.[6]

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1885 William O'Brien Nationalist
1886 Thomas Russell Liberal Unionist
1902 Russellite Unionist
1907 Liberal
Jan 1910 Andrew Horner Irish Unionist
1916 (b) William Coote Irish Unionist
May 1921 Ulster Unionist
1922 constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 5 December 1885: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary William O'Brien 3,435 50.4
Irish Conservative Somerset Henry Maxwell 3,382 49.6
Majority 53 0.8
Turnout 6,817 88.2
Registered electors 7,725
Irish Parliamentary win (new seat)
General election 17 July 1886: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Thomas Russell 3,481 50.7 +1.1
Irish Parliamentary William O'Brien 3,382 49.3 −1.1
Majority 99 1.4 N/A
Turnout 6,863 88.8 +0.6
Registered electors 7,725
Liberal Unionist gain from Irish Parliamentary Swing +1.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 13 July 1892: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Thomas Russell 3,468 52.8 +2.1
Liberal Thomas Alexander Dickson 3,096 47.2 New
Majority 372 5.6 +4.2
Turnout 6,564 92.8 +4.0
Registered electors 7,070
Liberal Unionist hold Swing
General election 24 July 1895: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Thomas Russell 3,239 51.5 −1.3
Ind. Nationalist Thomas Shillington 3,046 48.5 New
Majority 193 3.0 −2.6
Turnout 6,285 93.4 +0.6
Registered electors 6,730
Liberal Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General election 4 October 1900: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist Thomas Russell 2,499 48.0 −3.5
Ind. Nationalist Edward Charles Thompson 2,409 46.0 −2.5
Ind. Unionist Robert James Howard 303 5.8 New
Majority 90 2.0 −1.0
Turnout 5,211 83.8 −9.6
Registered electors 6,220
Liberal Unionist hold Swing
General election 25 January 1906: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Russellite Unionist Thomas Russell 2,954 52.5 +4.5
Irish Unionist Andrew Horner 2,671 47.5 −0.5
Majority 283 5.0 N/A
Turnout 5,625 94.0 +10.2
Registered electors 5,982
Russellite Unionist gain from Liberal Unionist Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General election 20 January 1910: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist Andrew Horner 3,054 52.4 +4.9
Liberal Thomas Russell 2,770 47.6 −4.9
Majority 284 4.8 N/A
Turnout 5,824 96.1 +2.1
Registered electors 6,059
Irish Unionist gain from Russellite Unionist Swing
General election 8 December 1910: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist Andrew Horner 2,962 52.7 +0.3
Liberal Robert Nathaniel Boyd 2,662 47.3 −0.3
Majority 300 5.4 +0.6
Turnout 5,624 92.8 −3.3
Registered electors 6,059
Irish Unionist hold Swing +0.3
By-election 28 February 1916: Tyrone South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist William Coote Unopposed
Registered electors 6,434
General Election 14 December 1918: South Tyrone
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist William Coote 10,616 56.9 +4.2
Sinn Féin Denis McCullough 5,437 29.1 New
Ind. Nationalist John Skeffington 2,602 13.9 New
Majority 5,179 27.8 N/A
Turnout 18,655 83.0 −9.8
Irish Unionist hold Swing

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 "T" (part 2)

Citations

  1. ^ Representation of the People Bill 1917: redistribution of seats: report. Boundary Commission (Ireland). 1917.
  2. ^ "3. An Rolla". Dáil Debates (in Irish). F (1). Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 January 1919. Retrieved 6 September 2025. Co. Thír Eoghain (theas)—Mr. Coote—as láthair
  3. ^ "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23), s. 8 and Seventh Schedule, Part III" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk.
  4. ^ "Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918 (7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 65), Fourth Schedule, Part I" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk.
  5. ^ "President's Statement. - Elections". Dáil Debates. F (1). Houses of the Oireachtas. 10 May 1921. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Appendix 19: Dáil Éireann: Extract from Minutes of Meeting on 16th August 1921: Copy of Roll". Dáil Debates. T (17). Houses of the Oireachtas.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 377–378, 397. ISBN 0901714127.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Tyrone_(UK_Parliament_constituency)