North Tyrone (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°49′23″N 7°28′05″W / 54.823°N 7.468°W

North Tyrone
Former County Constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
North Tyrone shown within Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created	1929
Abolished	1972
Election method	First past the post

North Tyrone was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Boundaries

North Tyrone was a county constituency comprising the northern part of County Tyrone. It was created when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland. North Tyrone was created by the division of Fermanagh and Tyrone into eight new constituencies, of which five were in County Tyrone. The constituency survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.

The seat was dominated by the town of Strabane, and also included parts of the rural districts of Castlederg, Omagh, and Strabane.^[1]

Politics

The constituency was consistently won by members of the Ulster Unionist Party. Nationalists from various groups contested the seat on two occasions, twice winning more than 40% of the vote, and an independent and two members of minor parties also stood. The remaining elections were uncontested.^[2]

Members of Parliament

Year		Member[2]	Party
	1929	William Thomas Miller	Ulster Unionist
	1930	James Gamble	Ulster Unionist
	1943	Thomas Lyons	Ulster Unionist
	1969	William Fyffe	Ulster Unionist

Election results

At the Northern Ireland general election, 1929, James Gamble was elected unopposed.^[2]

At the 1930 by-election and the Northern Ireland general election, 1933, James Gamble was elected unopposed.^[2]

General Election 1938: North Tyrone[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	James Gamble	7,508	65.7	N/A
	Ind. Unionist Association	T. Elliot	3,912	34.3	N/A
Majority			3,596	31.4	N/A
Turnout				66.1	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

At the 1943 by-election and the Northern Ireland general election, 1945, Thomas Lyons was elected unopposed.^[2]

General Election 1949: North Tyrone[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Thomas Lyons	8,107	54.4	N/A
	Nationalist	B. V. McBride	6,728	45.6	N/A
Majority			1,289	8.8	N/A
Turnout				86.6	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

At the 1953, 1958, and 1962 Northern Ireland general elections, Thomas Lyons was elected unopposed.^[2]

General Election 1965: North Tyrone[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Thomas Lyons	9,304	74.9	N/A
	New Ireland Movement	L. T. O'Kane	3,111	25.1	N/A
Majority			6,193	48.8	N/A
Turnout				67.2	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1969: North Tyrone[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Fyffe	8,290	53.7	-21.2
	National Democratic	D. McLaughlin	6,596	42.7	N/A
	Independent	L. T. O'Kane	559	3.6	N/A
Majority			1,694	11.0	-37.8
Turnout				85.7	+18.5
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

References

1. Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election results: Constituency Boundaries
2. Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Counties: Tyrone