South Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)

South Armagh
South Armagh
	Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
1885–1922
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Armagh
Created from	Armagh

South Armagh was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland which returned one Member of Parliament from 1885 to 1922, using the first past the post electoral system.

Boundaries and boundary changes

This constituency comprised the southern part of County Armagh.

From 1885 to 1918 the constituency was bounded to the north and north-west by Mid Armagh, to the south-west by South Monaghan, to the south by North Louth, to the south-east by the Borough of Newry and to the east by South Down. In 1918, that part of the constituency in the urban district of Newry was added to the South Down constituency. Between 1918 and 1922 the neighbouring seats were the same except that Louth was an undivided county constituency and Newry had been absorbed into South Down.

1885–1918: The barony of Orior Upper, and those parts of the baronies of Fews Lower, Fews Upper and Orior Lower not contained within the constituency of Mid Armagh.

1918–1922: That part of the existing South Armagh constituency comprised in the administrative county of Armagh.

Prior to the 1885 United Kingdom general election and from the dissolution of Parliament in 1922 the area was part of the Armagh constituency.

Politics

The constituency was a predominantly Nationalist area. In 1918 the Nationalists heavily defeated Sinn Féin.

The First Dáil

Sinn Féin contested the general election of 1918 on the platform that instead of taking up any seats they won in the United Kingdom Parliament, they would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin. In republican theory every MP elected in Ireland was a potential Deputy to this assembly. In practice only the Sinn Féin members accepted the offer.

The revolutionary First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 and last met on 10 May 1921. The First Dáil, according to a resolution passed on 10 May 1921, was formally dissolved on the assembling of the Second Dáil. This took place on 16 August 1921.

In 1921 Sinn Féin decided to use the UK authorised elections for the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland as a poll for the Irish Republic's Second Dáil. This constituency, in republican theory, was incorporated in a four-member Dáil constituency of Armagh.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Alexander Blane	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1891	Alexander Blane	Irish National League
	1892	Edward McHugh	Irish National Federation
	1900	John Campbell	Healyite Nationalist
	1906	William McKillop	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1909	Charles O'Neill	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1918	Patrick Donnelly	Irish Parliamentary Party
1922		Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 27 November 1885: South Armagh[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Alexander Blane	Unopposed
	Irish Parliamentary win (new seat)

General election 7 July 1886: South Armagh[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Alexander Blane	Unopposed
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 8 July 1892: South Armagh[1][2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Edward McHugh	3,439	59.91	N/A
	Irish Unionist	Caesar Litton Falkiner	2,242	39.06	New
	Irish National League	Alexander Blane	59	1.03	N/A
Majority			1,197	20.85	N/A
Turnout			5,681	76.30	N/A
Registered electors			7,523
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

General election 25 July 1895: South Armagh[1][2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Edward McHugh	3,378	62.87	+2.96
	Irish Unionist	Walter McMurrough Kavanagh	1,995	37.13	-1.93
Majority			1,383	25.74	+4.89
Turnout			5,373	74.07	-2.23
Registered electors			7,254
	Irish National Federation hold		Swing	+2.49

Butler Swing from Irish Unionist to Anti-Parnellite Nationalist

Elections in the 1900s

Seat vacant on dissolution due to the death of McHugh

General election 9 October 1900: South Armagh[1][2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Healyite Nationalist	John Campbell	1,646	56.62	+56.62
	Irish Parliamentary	Charles O'Neill	1,261	43.38	New
Majority			385	13.24	N/A
Turnout			2,907	40.65	-33.42
Registered electors			7,152
	Healyite Nationalist gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

General election 19 January 1906: South Armagh[1][2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William McKillop	Unopposed
	Irish Parliamentary gain from Healyite Nationalist

Death of McKillop

By-Election 5 November 1909: South Armagh[1][2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Charles O'Neill	3,160	66.00	N/A
	Irish Unionist	Richard Best	1,628	34.00	New
Majority			1,532	32.00	N/A
Turnout			4,788	68.17	N/A
Registered electors			7,024
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General election 22 January 1910: South Armagh[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Charles O'Neill	Unopposed
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General election 6 December 1910: South Armagh[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Charles O'Neill	2,890	74.24	N/A
	All-for-Ireland	Stephen Hugh Moynagh	1,003	25.76	N/A
Majority			1,887	48.48	N/A
Turnout			6,810	57.17	N/A
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

Death of O'Neill

By-Election 2 February 1918: South Armagh[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Patrick Donnelly	2,324	63.34	-10.90
	Sinn Féin	Patrick McCartan	1,305	35.57	'New
	Independent Unionist	Thomas Wakefield Richardson	40	1.09	New
Majority			1,019	27.77	-20.70
Turnout			6,345	57.83	+0.66
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 14 December 1918: South Armagh[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Patrick Donnelly	4,345	98.21	+34.87
	Sinn Féin	James Thomas McKee	79	1.79	-33.78
Majority			4,266	96.42	+68.65
Turnout			15,905	87.84	+30.01
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	+34.33

Butler Swing from Sinn Féin to Irish Nationalist

References

Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.

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 II 1886–1918, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1978)
Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume III 1919–1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1979)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 2)