Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)

For other constituencies of the same name, see Armagh (disambiguation).

Armagh
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1922–1983
Replaced by	Newry and Armagh and Upper Bann
Created from	Mid Armagh, North Armagh and South Armagh
1801–1885
Replaced by	Mid Armagh, North Armagh and South Armagh

Armagh or County Armagh was a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983.

The Act of Union 1800 provided for the Parliament of Ireland to be merged with the Parliament of Great Britain, to form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The 300 seats in the Irish House of Commons were reduced to 100 Irish members in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The thirty-two Irish counties retained two seats in Parliament.

Members of Parliament

From	To	Name (Party)	Born	Died
1801	1807	Hon. Archibald Acheson (NP,T)	1 August 1776	27 March 1849
1801	1802	Robert Camden Cope (NP)	c. 1771	5 December 1818
1802	1807	Hon. Henry Caulfeild (W)	29 July 1779	4 March 1862
1807	1815	William Brownlow (T)	1 September 1755	10 July 1815
1807	1820	William Richardson (T)	c. 1749	c. 1820
1815	1818	Hon. Henry Caulfeild (W)	29 July 1779	4 March 1862
1818	1832	Charles Brownlow (T,W)	17 April 1795	30 April 1847
1820	1830	Hon. Henry Caulfeild (W)	29 July 1779	4 March 1862
1830	1847	Viscount Acheson (W,L)	20 August 1806	15 June 1864
1832	1868	Sir William Verner, 1st Bt (C)	25 October 1782	20 January 1871
1847	1857	James Molyneux Caulfeild (L)	6 October 1820	12 January 1892
1857	1864	Maxwell Charles Close (C)	1827	1903
1864	1874	Sir James Matthew Stronge, Bt (C)	25 November 1811	11 March 1885
1868	1873	Sir William Verner, 2nd Bt (C)	4 April 1822	10 January 1873
1873	1880	Edward Wingfield Verner (C)	1 October 1830	21 June 1899
1874	1885	Maxwell Charles Close (C)	1827	1903
1880	1885	James Nicholson Richardson (L)	1846	1921

Election		Member	Party
1922		constituency recreated
	1922	Sir W.J. Allen	Ulster Unionist
	1948 by-election	James Richard Edwards Harden	Ulster Unionist
	1954 by-election	C W Armstrong	Ulster Unionist
	1959	John Maginnis	Ulster Unionist
	Feb 1974	Harold McCusker	Ulster Unionist
1983		constituency abolished

Politics and history of the constituency

The union took effect on 1 January 1801. There was no new election for the members of the 1st Parliament of the United Kingdom, as the House of Commons was composed of members elected to the previous Parliaments of Ireland and Great Britain. The constituencies consisted of the whole of County Armagh, excluding the part in the Parliamentary borough constituency of Armagh City.

Catholics were excluded from taking Irish seats in Parliament from 1691 until 1829. See Catholic emancipation for further details.

Catholics, who were otherwise qualified to vote, had to take various oaths before doing so; under Acts of 1691 and 1703. An Act of 1727 prohibited "papists" from voting at all. They were not again permitted to qualify to vote until 1793.

Before 1885 there was a restrictive property based franchise. In 1829 the traditional county 40 shilling freehold landowning qualification was changed to a £10 qualification (which was an increase to five times the previous level). It was not until the householder franchise was introduced for county elections, in the electoral reforms which took effect in 1885, that most (but not all) adult males became voters.

In these circumstances most Members of Parliament came from a limited number of Protestant aristocratic and gentry families. There were few contested elections.

In the first half century or so after the union this constituency was fairly evenly balanced between Whig/Liberal and Tory/Conservative parties. Thereafter the area became more Conservative.

The constituency was represented by two MPs from 1801 until 1885, and by one MP from 1922 until 1983. In 1885, it was split into Mid Armagh, North Armagh and South Armagh.

A new seat was created in 1922 when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut. The seat consisted of the entirety of County Armagh. In 1983 most of it became part of the Newry and Armagh constituency, with part going to Upper Bann.

From its inception Armagh had a unionist majority, though by the 1970s the nationalist vote was in the mid 30s%.

In 1951, it was one of the last four seats to be uncontested in a UK general election, and in 1954 it saw the last uncontested by-election in the UK.

In 1974 the Ulster Unionist Party repudiated the Sunningdale Agreement and so did not reselect the pro Sunningdale MP, John Maginnis. Instead they ran Harold McCusker, who held the seat until 1983. He was then elected for Upper Bann, which contained part of Armagh.

For the history of the area post 1983, please see Newry and Armagh and Upper Bann.

Elections

In two-member elections the bloc voting system was used. Voters could cast a vote for one or two candidates, as they chose. The two candidates with the largest number of votes were elected.

In by-elections, to fill a single seat, the first past the post system applied.

There was no election in 1801. The representatives of the county in the former Parliament of Ireland became members of the 1st Parliament of the United Kingdom.

After 1832, when registration of voters was introduced, a turnout figure is given for contested elections. In two-member elections, when the exact number of participating voters is unknown, this is calculated by dividing the number of votes by two. To the extent that voters did not use both their votes this will be an underestimate of turnout. If the electorate figure is unknown the last known electorate figure is used to provide an estimate of turnout.

Where a party had more than one candidate in one or both of a pair of successive elections change is calculated for each individual candidate, otherwise change is based on the party vote.

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Harold McCusker	31,668	48.5
	SDLP	Seamus Mallon	23,545	36.1
	DUP	Davy Calvert	5,634	8.6
	Republican Clubs	Thomas Moore	2,310	3.5
	Alliance	William Ramsay	2,074	3.2
Majority			8,123	12.5
Turnout			65,231	70.1
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Harold McCusker	37,518	60.0
	SDLP	Seamus Mallon	19,855	31.8
	Republican Clubs	Malachy McGurran	5,138	8.2
Majority			17,663	28.3
Turnout			62,511	68.6
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Harold McCusker	33,194	53.7
	SDLP	Paddy O'Hanlon	18,090	29.3
	Alliance	Robin Glendinning	4,983	8.1
	Republican Clubs	Thomas Moore	4,129	6.7
	Unity	Hugh Lewis	1,364	2.2
Majority			15,104	24.5
Turnout			61,760	68.4
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	John Maginnis	37,667	55.3
	Unity	Hugh Lewis	21,696	31.9
	NI Labour	Erskine Holmes	8,781	12.9
Majority			15,971	23.4
Turnout			68,144	78.4
	UUP hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	John Maginnis	34,687	72.0
	Independent Republican	Charles McGleenan	13,467	28.0
Majority			21,220	44.1
Turnout			48,154	63.3
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	John Maginnis	35,223	65.0
	Independent Republican	John Lynch	12,432	23.0
	NI Labour	Samuel Ewart	6,523	12.0
Majority			22,791	42.1
Turnout			54,178	73.0
	UUP hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	John Maginnis	40,325	85.5
	Sinn Féin	John Lynch	6,823	14.5
Majority			33,502	71.1
Turnout			47,148	64.2
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	C. W. Armstrong	38,617	64.4
	Sinn Féin	Tomás Mac Curtain	21,363	35.6
Majority			17,254	28.8
Turnout			59,980	82.7
	UUP hold		Swing

At the Armagh by-election, 1954, C. W. Armstrong was elected unopposed. This was the last unopposed Parliamentary election anywhere in the UK.

At the 1950 and 1951 UK general elections, James Harden was elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1940s

Armagh by-election, 1948

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	James Harden	36,200	59.7
	Anti-Partition	James O'Reilly	24,422	40.3
Majority			12,314	20.3
Turnout			60,622
	UUP hold		Swing

At the 1945 UK general election, William Allen was elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Allen	34,002	67.6
	Independent Republican	Charles McGleenan	16,284	32.4
Majority			17,718	35.2
Turnout			50,286	73.3
	UUP hold		Swing

At the 1931 UK general election, William Allen was elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Allen	29,966	67.4	-3.8
	Liberal	William Todd	13,052	32.6	n/a
Majority			13,914	34.8	-7.5
Turnout			40,018	60.2	-14.8
	UUP hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1924: Armagh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Allen	29,021	71.2
	Sinn Féin	James McKee	11,756	28.8
Majority			17,265	42.3
Turnout			40,777	75.0
	UUP hold		Swing

At the 1922 and 1923 UK general elections, William Allen was elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 9 April 1880: Armagh (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Nicholson Richardson	2,738	28.98	+9.68
	Conservative	Maxwell Charles Close	2,654	28.09	-11.93
	Conservative	St John T. Blacker	2,275	24.08	+24.08
	Conservative	Sir William Edward Hercules Verner, Bt	1,781	18.85	+18.85
Turnout			6,937	68.10	+6.57

Elections in the 1870s

General Election 7 February 1874: Armagh (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Wingfield Verner	3,527	40.69	N/A
	Conservative	Maxwell Charles Close	3,469	40.02	N/A
	Liberal	Frederick William McBlaine	1,673	19.30	N/A
Turnout			7,044	61.53	N/A

At the Armagh by-election, 1873, Edward Wingfield Verner was elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1860s

At the 1868 UK general election, James Matthew Stronge and William Verner were elected unopposed.

At the 1865 UK general election, Stronge and a different William Verner were elected unopposed.

At the Armagh by-election, 1864, Stronge was elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1850s

At the 1859 UK general election, Maxwell Charles Close and Verner were elected unopposed.

General Election 16 April 1857: Armagh (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maxwell Charles Close	940	50.16	N/A
	Conservative	Sir William Verner, Bt	928	48.52	N/A
	Liberal	James Molyneux Caulfeild	6	0.32	N/A
Turnout			5,596	33.49	N/A

At the 1852 UK general election, Verner and James Molyneux Caulfeild were elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1840s

At the 1847 UK general election, Verner and Caulfeild were elected unopposed.

At the 1841 UK general election, Verner and Viscount Acheson were elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1830s

At the 1832, 1835 and 1837 UK general elections, Verner and Acheson were elected unopposed.

At the 1830 and 1831 UK general elections, Acheson and Charles Brownlow were elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1820s

General Election 29 June 1826: Armagh (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Hon. Henry Caulfeild	2,897	35,84	N/A
	Whig	Charles Brownlow	2,563	31.70	N/A
	Tory	William Verner	1,894	23.43	N/A
	Tory	John Ynyr Burgess	730	9.03	N/A

At the 1820 UK general election, Charles Brownlow and Henry Caulfeild were elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1810s

General Election 10 July 1818: Armagh (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Charles Brownlow	1,839	38.53	N/A
	Tory	William Richardson	1,673	35.05	N/A
	Whig	Hon. Henry Caulfeild	1,261	26.42	N/A

At the Armagh by-election, 1815, Henry Caulfeild was elected unopposed.

At the 1812 UK general election, Richardson and William Brownlow were elected unopposed.

Elections in the 19th century

At the 1807 UK general election, Richardson and Brownlow were elected unopposed.

At the Armagh by-election, 1807, Brownlow was elected unopposed.

At the 1802 and 1806 UK general elections, Archibald Acheson and Henry Caulfeild were elected unopposed.

Archibald Acheson and Robert Camden Cope were co-opted as non-partisans in 1801.

References

• The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), second edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
• Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results 1921-1972, compiled and edited by Sydney Elliott (Political Reference Publications 1973)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 2)

External links

• http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0
• http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html
• http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1923/en/act/pub/0012/index.html
• For the exact definition of Northern Ireland Parliament constituency boundaries see http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/boundaries.html