South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)

South Tyrone
South Tyrone
Former county constituency ; for the House of Commons
1885–1922
Replaced by	Fermanagh and Tyrone
Created from	Dungannon and Tyrone

Last updated July 25, 2022

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 and Boundary Changes

This county constituency comprised the southern part of County Tyrone.

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

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.

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.

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

The constituencies in the 1918 Westminster election, including South Tyrone, also served as the constituencies of the First Dáil, established by Sinn Féin as the parliament of its self-proclaimed Irish Republic. While in theory all Irish Westminster MPs were entitled to sit in the Dáil, in practice only Sinn Féin members attended, and South Tyrone's William Coote was listed on the roll as "as láthair" [absent].^[1] The Second Dáil used the single transferable vote constituencies of the 1921 home rule elections, in which the territory previously in South Tyrone was part of the eight-member House of Commons of Northern Ireland constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone.

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	William Coote	Ulster Unionist
1922		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 5 December 1885: Tyrone South^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Parliamentary	William O'Brien	3,435	50.4
	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^[2]
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^[2]
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	N/A

General election 24 July 1895: Tyrone South^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Thomas Russell	3,239	51.5	−1.3
	Independent 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	N/A

Elections in the 1900s

General election 4 October 1900: Tyrone South^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Thomas Russell	2,499	48.0	−3.5
	Independent Nationalist	Edward Charles Thompson	2,409	46.0	-2.5
	Ind U	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	N/A

General election 25 January 1906: Tyrone South^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Russellite Unionist	Thomas Russell	2,954	52.5	*New*
	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	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election 20 January 1910: Tyrone South^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Andrew Horner	3,054	52.4	+4.9
	Liberal	Thomas Russell	2,770	47.6	New
Majority			284	4.8	N/A
Turnout			5,824	96.1	+2.1
Registered electors			6,059
	Irish Unionist gain from Russellite Unionist		Swing	N/A

General election 8 December 1910: Tyrone South^[2]
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^[2]
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	*N/A*
	Sinn Féin	Denis McCullough	5,437	29.1	New
	Independent Nationalist	John Skeffington	2,602	13.9	New
Majority			5,179	27.8	N/A
Turnout			18,655	83.0	N/A
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

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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

↑ "An Rolla [the roll]". First Dáil proceedings (in Ga). 21 January 1919. col.10. Retrieved 12 September 2016. Co. Thír Eoghain (theas)—Mr. Coote—as láthair
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.