Down County Council

Last updated
Down County Council
Down arms.png
History
Founded1 April 1899
Disbanded1 October 1973
Succeeded by Ards Borough Council
Banbridge District Council
Belfast City Council
Castlereagh Borough Council
Craigavon Borough Council
Down District Council
Lisburn City Council
Newry and Mourne District Council
North Down Borough Council
Meeting place
Downpatrick Courthouse.JPG
Downpatrick Courthouse

Down County Council was the authority responsible for local government in County Down, Northern Ireland.

History

Down County Council was formed under orders issued in accordance with the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 which came into effect on 1 April 1899 for the administrative county of County Down. [1] [2] [3] Its area on establishment consisted of the judicial county of Down, except the portion of the city of Belfast and of the town of Lisburn; and so much of the judicial county of Armagh as comprised the portion of the town of Newry. [4] It was based at Downpatrick Courthouse throughout its existence. [5] [6]

The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 introduced proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) for the 1920 Down County Council election. [7] The area became part of Northern Ireland from 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. [8] PR-STV was abolished in Northern Ireland under the Local Government Act 1922, with a reversion to first-past-the-post for the 1924 Northern Ireland local elections, the first local elections held in the new jurisdiction. [9] [10]

It was abolished in accordance with the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 on 1 October 1973. [11]

References

  1. Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 , s. 1: Establishment of county councils ( 61 & 62 Vict.,c. 37 of 1898, s. 1 ). Enacted on 12 August 1898. Act of the UK Parliament .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book .
  2. Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, s. 124: Commencement of Act ( 61 & 62 Vict.,c. 37 of 1898, s. 124 ). Enacted on 12 August 1898. Act of the UK Parliament .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book .
  3. "Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (c. 37)" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk . The National Archives.
  4. "Orders declaring the boundaries of administrative counties and defining county electoral divisions". 27th Report of the Local Government Board for Ireland (Cmd.9480). Dublin: HMSO. 1900. pp. 257–259.
  5. "Mr. Walter Burns". Down Recorder. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  6. "No. 2132". The Belfast Gazette . 4 May 1962. p. 158.
  7. "Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 (c. 19)" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk . The National Archives.
  8. "Government of Ireland Act 1920 (c. 67): Section 1". legislation.gov.uk . The National Archives.
  9. "Act abolishes Proportional Representation". Decade of Centenaries. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  10. Buckland, Patrick (1980). "Who Governed Northern Ireland? The Royal Assent and the Local Government Bill 1922". Irish Jurist. 15 (2): 326–340. JSTOR   44013911.
  11. "Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2019.