Armagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°20′53″N 6°39′22″W / 54.348°N 6.656°W

Armagh
Former County Constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Armagh shown within Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created	1921
Abolished	1929
Election method	Single transferable vote

Armagh was a county constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 - 1929. It returned four MPs, using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation.

Boundaries

Armagh consisted of the entirety of County Armagh. In 1929, the constituency was divided into the Central, Mid, North and South Armagh constituencies.^[1]

Politics

Armagh had a slight Unionist majority, but this was fairly evenly balanced with a Nationalist minority. In both general elections, two Unionists were elected, alongside one Nationalist and one Republican.

Members of Parliament

From	To	Party		Name	Born	Died
1921	1925		UUP	Richard Best	1872	23 February 1939
1921	1922		Sinn Féin	Michael Collins	16 October 1890	22 August 1922
1921	1929		UUP	David Graham Shillington	10 December 1872	22 January 1944
1921	1925		Nationalist	John Dillon Nugent	1869	1 March 1940
1925	1929		Republican	Eamon Donnelly	1877	29 December 1944
1925	1929		Nationalist	John Henry Collins	3 March 1880	12 June 1952
1925	1929		UUP	John Clarke Davison	19 April 1879	19 February 1946

Elections

24 May 1921 General Election: Armagh (4 seats)
Party		Candidate	% 1st Pref	Count 1	Count 2
	UUP	Richard Best	34.36	15,988
	Sinn Féin	Michael Collins[2]	27.20	12,656
	UUP	David Graham Shillington	20.91	9,730
	Nationalist	John Dillon Nugent	14.74	6,857	6,960
	Sinn Féin	Frank Aiken	2.80	1,301	1,329
Electorate: 53,977   Valid: 46,532   Quota: 9,307   Turnout: 86.2%

• Collins died on 22 August 1922; his seat remained vacant at dissolution.

3 April 1925 General Election: Armagh (4 seats)
Party		Candidate	% 1st Pref	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3
	UUP	Richard Best	37.50	15,969
	UUP	David Graham Shillington	24.83	10,575
	Republican	Eamon Donnelly	13.57	5,788	5,823	5,838
	Nationalist	John Henry Collins	12.38	5,272	5,354	5,393
	Nationalist	John Dillon Nugent	11.72	4,991	5,063	5,116
Electorate: 54,082   Valid: 42,595   Quota: 8,520   Turnout: 78.8%

• Appointment of Best as Lord Justice of Appeal

Armagh by-election, 1925
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	John Clarke Davison	22,390	79.20	N/A
	Unbought Tenants	W. R. Todd	5,880	20.80	N/A
Majority			16,510	58.40	N/A
Turnout			54,082	52.3	-26.5
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

References

1. Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election results: Constituency Boundaries
2. In the Irish elections, 1921 Sinn Féin candidates contested the elections on the basis that, if they won, they would not take seats in the devolved Parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland but would become part of a revolutionary assembly in Dublin known as the Second Dáil. Michael Collins used his mandate to attend the 2nd Dáil in Dublin.

See also

• Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results 1921-1972, compiled and edited by Sydney Elliott (Political Reference Publications 1973)