Belfast Area F
Area F was one of the eight district electoral areas (DEA) which existed in Belfast, Northern Ireland from 1973 to 1985. Containing the inner parts of west and south Belfast, the district elected six members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of Clonard; Cromac; Donegall; Falls; Grosvenor; and Saint George's wards. Most of the DEA formed part of the Belfast West constituency, with a small part in Belfast South.
History
The area was created for the 1973 local government elections. It contained the whole of the former Saint George's ward, centred on the Sandy Row area. It also contained smaller sections of the former Cromac, Falls, Saint Anne's and Smithfield wards. It was abolished for the 1985 local government elections. The depopulated Falls and Grosvenor wards were merged to form a single Falls ward, which, together with Clonard, formed part of the new Lower Falls DEA. The Donegall ward, which was renamed Blackstaff in 1985, became part of the Balmoral DEA. The Cromac and Saint George's wards were merged to form the Shaftsbury ward, which became part of the new Laganbank DEA.
Results
1973
| Belfast F[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | |
| UUP | H. Fletcher | 3,441 | |
| UUP | James Stewart | 3,320 | |
| SDLP | Paddy Devlin | 2,242 | |
| DUP | William Spence | 1,190 | |
| UUP | T. G. Murphy | 1,000 | |
| Republican Clubs | John Sullivan | 735 | |
| Republican Clubs | S. O'Hare | 700 | |
| Republican Clubs | Dornan | 560 | |
| Republican Clubs | Sean Flynn | 538 | |
| SDLP | Owen Allen | 475 | |
| Alliance | Maureen Smyth | 370 | |
| NI Labour | Magee | 232 | |
| SDLP | Desmond Gillespie | 230 | |
| Alliance | Woods | 230 | |
| NI Labour | W. Ritchie | 165 | |
| Republican Labour | Clarke | 129 | |
| Communist Party | Betty Sinclair | 110 | |
| Republican Labour | McKenna | 72 | |
| Republican Labour | Marron | 29 | |
| Turnout | 16,390 | ||
1977
| Belfast F[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | |
| SDLP | Owen Allen | 1,886 | |
| UUP | James Stewart | 1,681 | |
| Republican Clubs | Jim Sullivan | 1,099 | |
| UUP | Harry Fletcher | 1,081 | |
| Alliance | Will Glendinning | 1,077 | |
| DUP | Billy Dickson | 949 | |
| SDLP | T. Lappin | 899 | |
| DUP | J. H. Parkes | 525 | |
| UUP | T. G. Murphy | 369 | |
| Republican Clubs | S. O'Hare | 306 | |
| Communist Party | James Stewart | 115 | |
| Turnout | 11,040 | ||
| Alliance gain from Ulster Unionist | |||
1981
| Belfast F[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | |
| DUP | Billy Dickson | 1,913 | |
| Irish Republican Socialist | Sean Flynn | 1,639 | |
| Workers' Party | J. Sullivan | 1,002 | |
| DUP | Eric Smyth | 952 | |
| SDLP | Owen Allen | 898 | |
| Alliance | Will Glendinning | 844 | |
| UUP | James Stewart | 719 | |
| SDLP | H. G. Fitzmaurice | 719 | |
| UUP | L. Cust | 638 | |
| UUP | H. Fletcher | 621 | |
| SDLP | Mary Smyth | 389 | |
| SDLP | T. Lappin | 227 | |
| Alliance | Paul Maguire | 215 | |
| Turnout | 11,428 | ||
| Democratic Unionist gain from Ulster Unionist | |||
| Irish Republican Socialist gain from Republican Clubs | |||
1984 by-election
The by-election was held after Flynn, the IRSP councillor, was disqualified for non-attendance.[2] It was the second seat on Belfast City Council that Sinn Féin won, following a by-election win in Area D in June 1983.
| Area F by-election, 28 March 1984 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Count 1 | Count 2 | Count 3 | Count 4 | Count 5 | ||||
| Sinn Féin | Sean McKnight | 2981 | 3027 | 3216 | 3216 | 3624 | ||||
| DUP | Clarke Gibson | 1843 | 1846 | 1849 | 3098 | 3559 | ||||
| UUP | H. Fletcher | 1608 | 1609 | 1610 | ||||||
| Alliance | Pip Glendinning | 1079 | 1246 | 1883 | 2060 | |||||
| SDLP | Sean Mullan | 1040 | 1153 | |||||||
| Workers' Party | Gerry McCann | 691 | ||||||||
References
- The Local Government Elections 1973–1981: Belfast, Northern Ireland Elections
- Belfast Telegraph, 30 March 1984, p1-4