North Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)

North Armagh
North Armagh
Former county constituency ; for the House of Commons
1885–1922
Replaced by	Armagh
Created from	Armagh

Last updated July 24, 2022

North Armagh 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 and boundary changes

This constituency comprised the northern part of County Armagh.

1885–1922: The barony of Oneilland East, and that part of the barony of Oneilland West contained within the parishes of Clonfeacle, Drumcree, Killyman, Newry and Tartaraghan, the parish of Loughgall excluding the townlands of Drumnasoo and Turcarra, and the townlands of Annaboe, Annahugh, Ballintaggart, Ballyhagan, Ballytrue, Ballywilly, Bottlehill, Castleraw, Clonroot, Creenagh, Derryloughan, Drumard Primate, Kilmacanty, Kilmore, Kincon, Lissheffield, Lurgancot, Money and Tullymore in the parish of Kilmore.

Until 1918 it was bounded to the north-east by South Antrim, to the north-west by East Tyrone, to the west by South Tyrone, to the south by Mid Armagh and to the east by West Down. From 1918 to 1922 the adjoining constituencies were the same, except that North-East Tyrone replaced East Tyrone.

Prior to the 1885 United Kingdom general election and from the dissolution of Parliament in 1922 the area was part of the Armagh constituency.

Politics

The constituency was a predominantly Conservative then Unionist area. There were few contested elections. In 1918 the Unionists defeated Sinn Féin by about 3 to 1. This was the first contested election for the seat since a 1906 by-election.

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. Armagh North, in republican theory, was incorporated in a four-member Dáil constituency of Armagh.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Rt Hon. Edward James Saunderson	Conservative
	1891	Rt Hon. Edward James Saunderson	Irish Unionist
	1906 (b)	William Moore	Irish Unionist
	1917 (b)	William Allen	Irish Unionist
	May 1921	William Allen	Ulster Unionist
1922		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: North Armagh
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William Allen	10,239	78.2	*N/A*
	Sinn Féin	Ernest Blythe	2,860	21.8	New
Majority			7,379	56.4	N/A
Turnout			13,099	67.1	N/A
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

By-Election 22 November 1917: North Armagh
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William Allen	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

General election 6 December 1910: North Armagh
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William Moore	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

General election 18 January 1910: North Armagh
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William Moore	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

Elections in the 1900s

By-Election 16 November 1906: North Armagh^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William Moore	4,228	74.7	*N/A*
	Ind U	Lindsay Crawford	1,433	25.3	New
Majority			2,795	49.4	N/A
Turnout			5,661	74.9	N/A
Registered electors			7,555
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General election 16 January 1906: North Armagh^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Edward James Saunderson	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

General election 12 October 1900: North Armagh^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Edward James Saunderson	3,579	59.2	*N/A*
	Ind U	James Orr	2,468	40.8	New
Majority			1,111	18.4	N/A
Turnout			6,047	60.4	N/A
Registered electors			10,014
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

General election 16 July 1895: North Armagh^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Edward James Saunderson	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

General election 6 July 1892: North Armagh^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Edward James Saunderson	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

Elections in the 1880s

General election 9 July 1886: North Armagh^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward James Saunderson	4,570	73.1	+9.2
	Irish Parliamentary	James Williamson	1,677	26.8	New
Majority			2,893	46.3	+18.5
Turnout			6,247	78.6	-4.0
Registered electors			7,947
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 30 November 1885: North Armagh^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Edward James Saunderson	4,192	63.9
	Liberal	Thomas Shillington	2,373	36.1
Majority			1,819	27.8
Turnout			6,565	82.6
Registered electors			7,947
	Conservative win (new seat)

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.

Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.

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)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 2)

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[walker-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.

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