Lower Falls (District Electoral Area)

Lower Falls District Electoral Area
Map showing Lower Falls wards within Belfast
Population	(2008 Estimate)
District	Belfast City Council
County	County Antrim
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	Belfast West
NI Assembly	Belfast West
List of places UK Northern Ireland Antrim

Lower Falls was one of the nine district electoral areas which existed in Belfast, Northern Ireland from 1985 to 2014. Located in the west of the city, the district elected five members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of Beechmount; Clonard; Falls; Upper Springfield; and Whiterock. Lower Falls formed part of the Belfast West constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament. The district, along with the neighbouring Upper Falls district took its name from the Falls Road, one of the main arterial routes in the west of the city.

History

Lower Falls was created for the 1985 local elections. The Falls and Clonard wards had previously been in Area F, with the remaining wards part of Area D. It was abolished for the 2014 local elections. The Falls and Clonard wards joined the Court District Electoral Area, while the remaining wards became part of a new Black Mountain District Electoral Area.

Wards

Map	Ward	Population (2011 Census)	Catholic	Protestant	Other	No Religion	Area	Density	NI Assembly	UK Parliament	Ref
1	Beechmount	5,485	90.8%	6.1%	0.6%	2.5%	0.84 km^2	6,530/km^2	Belfast West	Belfast West	[1]
2	Clonard	4,975	90.5%	6.4%	0.6%	2.6%	0.61 km^2	8,156/km^2	Belfast West	Belfast West	[2]
3	Falls	5,184	87.6%	7.5%	2.3%	2.6%	1.2 km^2	4,320/km^2	Belfast West	Belfast West	[3]
4	Upper Springfield	5,250	93.5%	4.6%	0.3%	1.6%	2.5 km^2	2,100/km^2	Belfast West	Belfast West	[4]
5	Whiterock	5,694	93.1%	4.7%	0.3%	1.8%	0.78 km^2	7,300/km^2	Belfast West	Belfast West	[5]
Lower Falls		26,588	91.1%	5.8%	0.3%	1.8%	5.93 km^2	4,484 /km^2	Belfast West	Belfast West

Councillors

Election	Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)
2011		Janice Austin (Sinn Féin)		Colin Keenan (SDLP)		Jim McVeigh (Sinn Féin)		Steven Corr (Sinn Féin)		Tom Hartley (Sinn Féin)
2005				Marie Moore (Sinn Féin)		Máire Cush (Sinn Féin)		Fra McCann (Sinn Féin)
2001		Margaret Walsh (SDLP)
1997						Seán McKnight (Sinn Féin)
1993		Mary Muldoon (SDLP)				Patsy McGeown (Sinn Féin)
1989				Joe Hendron (SDLP)		E Fitzsimons (Sinn Féin)				Seán McKnight (Sinn Féin)
1985		Will Glendinning (Alliance)						Seán Keenan (Sinn Féin)

2011 Elections

See also: Results of elections in 2011; 2005; 2001; 1997; 1993; 1989 and 1985.

Belfast City Council elections, 2011[6]
Party		Candidate	1st Pref
	Sinn Féin	Janice Austin	1,920
	Sinn Féin	Steven Corr	1,572
	Sinn Féin	Tom Hartley	1,561
	Sinn Féin	Jim McVeigh	1,497
	SDLP	Colin Keenan	1,000
	Sinn Féin	Breige Brownlee	813
	Éirígí	John McCusker	647
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	398
	Irish Republican Socialist	Jim Gorman	209
	Socialist Party	Pat Lawlor	148
Turnout			9,765
	Social Democratic and Labour gain from Sinn Féin

See also

• Belfast City Council
• Electoral wards of Belfast
• Local government in Northern Ireland
• Members of Belfast City Council

References

1. "Ward Information for Beechmount ward 95GG07". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
2. "Ward Information for Clonard ward 95GG18". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
3. "Ward Information for Falls ward 95GG21". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
4. "Ward Information for Upper Springfield ward 95GG46". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
5. "Ward Information for Whiterock ward 95GG48". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
6. Elections 2011: Lower Falls, Belfast City Council