Armagh by-election, 1948

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The Armagh by-election was held on 5 March 1948, following the death of Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament William Allen.

Ulster Unionist Party Political party in Northern Ireland

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. Having gathered support in Northern Ireland during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the party governed Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. It was supported by most unionist voters throughout the conflict known as the Troubles, during which time it was often referred to as the Official Unionist Party (OUP). Between 1905 and 1972 its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, considered as part of the Conservative Party.

Contents

Allen had held the seat of Armagh since its recreation for the 1922 UK general election. He had often been elected without a contest; the last election at which he had faced an opponent was in 1935, where he had taken 67.6% of the vote against Charles McGleenan, an independent Irish republican candidate.

Armagh or County Armagh was a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983.

Candidates

The Ulster Unionists selected James Harden, a former major in the British Army who had acted as senior liaison officer to Montgomery from early 1944. In 1947, he had left the Army to manage his family estate in County Antrim. [1]

Major is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world.

British Army land warfare branch of the British Armed Forces of the United Kingdom

The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. As of 2018, the British Army comprises just over 81,500 trained regular (full-time) personnel and just over 27,000 trained reserve (part-time) personnel.

County Antrim Place in Antrim, Northern Ireland

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 3,046 square kilometres (1,176 sq mi) and has a population of about 618,000. County Antrim has a population density of 203 people per square kilometre or 526 people per square mile. It is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland, as well as part of the historic province of Ulster.

The Northern Ireland Labour Party had achieved some strong results in recent years, but had never stood in Armagh, and decided not to put forward a candidate for the by-election. [1]

The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987.

McGleenan was a founder member of the Irish Anti-Partition League, [2] and the organisation decided to make Armagh its first contest. It stood James O'Reilly, a farmer and a Nationalist Party member of Kilkeel Rural District Council. [3]

The Irish Anti-Partition League (APL) was a political organisation based in Northern Ireland which campaigned for a united Ireland from 1945 to 1958.

James O'Reilly, also known as Seamas O'Reilly, (1916–1992) was a nationalist politician in Ireland.

The Nationalist Party was the continuation of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), and was formed after partition, by the Northern Ireland-based members of the IPP.

Result

Harden won the by-election, taking 59.7% of the votes cast. O'Reilly took 40.3%, [4] the best result for any opposition candidate in the constituency.

Geoffrey Bing stated in Parliament that impersonation took place at one polling station on "a really large scale", and that two election agents who arrived to investigate were attacked by a mob of two hundred people. Harden, in response, noted that O'Reilly had agreed with him that, despite some incidents at the close of polling, the election was fair, and that he had seconded his vote of thanks to the returning officer. [5]

Harden held the seat without facing a further contest. He inherited a further estate in Pwllheli in 1954 and stood down as an MP, leading to the Armagh by-election, 1954. [1]

Armagh by-election, 1948
PartyCandidateVotes%±
UUP James Harden 36,200 59.7
Anti-Partition James O'Reilly 24,422 40.3
Majority 12,314 20.3
Turnout 60,622
UUP hold Swing

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Obituary: Major Richard Harden", Daily Telegraph , 27 October 2000
  2. ↑ Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons
  3. ↑ Brendan Lynn, Holding the Ground: The Nationalist Party in Northern Ireland, 1945 - 72 (1997), ISBN   1-85521-980-8
  4. ↑ "1948 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  5. ↑ CLAUSE 16.—(Returning officers.), Hansard , 20 April 1948
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