"Unity" was the political label for a series of electoral pacts by Irish nationalist, Irish Republican and socialist candidates in Northern Ireland elections in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It also contested elections as a party in its own right, electing six councillors in the 1973 local council elections in the Fermanagh and Dungannon areas, [1] although this was reduced to two members of Fermanagh council in the next election in 1977. [2]
The first victory came in 1969 in the Mid Ulster by-election which was won by 21-year old student Bernadette Devlin. [3] She held her seat in the 1970 general election, [4] when Fermanagh and South Tyrone was won by her colleague Frank McManus. [5] Both lost their seats in the February 1974 general election. [6] Bernadette would later go on to join the IRSP. [7]
In the October 1974 general election the spirit of Unity was revived, if not the name, when Frank Maguire won Fermanagh and South Tyrone as an agreed independent Republican. [8] He held the seat until his death in 1981. [9] In 1978 Unity merged with the remnants of the Nationalist Party to form the Irish Independence Party. [10]
Election | First-Preference Votes | FPv% | |
---|---|---|---|
1969 Mid Ulster by-election | 33,648 | 53.3% | |
Unity gain from UUP |
Election | First-Preference Votes | FPv% | ±% | Seats | Seats % | ±% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1966 United Kingdom general election | 14,645 | 2.5% | New | 0 / 12 | 0.00% | ![]() |
1970 United Kingdom general election | 140,930 | 18.1% | ![]() | 2 / 12 | 16.67% | ![]() |
Feb 1974 United Kingdom General Election | 17,593 | 2.4% | ![]() | 0 / 12 | 0.00% | ![]() |
Election | First-Preference Votes | FPv% | ±% | Seats | Seats % | ±% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1973 Northern Ireland local elections | 10,281 | 1.5% | New | 6 / 462 | 1.30% | New |
1977 Northern Ireland local elections | 5,528 | 1.0% | ![]() | 2 / 462 | 0.43% | ![]() |
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Josephine Bernadette McAliskey, usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish civil rights leader, and former politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1974.
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The United Ulster Unionist Party (UUUP) was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1975 and 1984.
Mid Ulster is a parliamentary constituency in the UK House of Commons. The current MP is Cathal Mallaghan, of Sinn Féin, who was first elected at the 2024 election.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP is Pat Cullen
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The by-election held in Fermanagh and South Tyrone on 9 April 1981 is considered by many to be the most significant by-election held in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It saw the first electoral victory for militant Irish republicanism, which the following year entered electoral politics in full force as Sinn Féin. The successful candidate was the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, who died twenty-six days later.
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Independent Republican was a political title sometimes used by Irish republicans when contesting elections in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Owen Gerard Carron is an Irish republican activist who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1981 to 1983.
Meredith Francis Maguire was an Irish Republican who became an Independent Member of the British Parliament. Born into an Irish Republican family, he was interned during his youth for Irish Republican Army activities; while he later opposed violence, he remained close to the Republican movement. He was running Frank's Bar, a public house in Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, when in October 1974 he was elected as a unity candidate to represent Fermanagh and South Tyrone. While not an abstentionist, Maguire's attendances at Westminster were infrequent and he never made a full speech, but he did cast some crucial votes to support the Labour government of the 1970s. He is famous for "abstaining in person" in the no confidence vote against the Callaghan government, which brought it down by a single vote.
The Mid Ulster by-election was held on 17 April 1969 following the death of George Forrest, the Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster. The two-way contest was unusual in featuring two female candidates.
Denis Haughey is a former Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland.
Patrick Aloysius Duffy, known as Paddy Duffy, was an Irish nationalist politician.
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The February 1974 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 28 February with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom.
The October 1974 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 10 October with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom.
Westminster Election, 10 October 1974 (one seat). Frank Maguire (Independent) 32,795 (51.8%)
On the Nationalist side, the Irish Independence Party emerged from the remnants of the old Nationalist Party and the Unity movement.