East Down (UK Parliament constituency)

East Down was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland.

Boundaries and Boundary Changes

This county constituency comprised the eastern part of County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

. There was a boundary change reducing the size of this division in 1918, when the new Mid Down

Mid Down (UK Parliament constituency)

Mid Down was a UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the British House of Commons 1918–1922.-Boundaries and Boundary Changes:...

constituency was created.

It returned one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

1885–1922.

Prior to the United Kingdom general election, 1885

United Kingdom general election, 1885

-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

and after the dissolution of Parliament in 1922 the area was part of the Down

Down (UK Parliament constituency)

Down was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland. It was a two member constituency and existed in two periods, 1801-1885 and 1922-1950.-Boundaries:1801-1885: The whole of County Down, excluding the Boroughs of Downpatrick and Newry....

constituency.

Politics

The constituency had an anti-unionist majority in 1918, but its support was split fairly evenly between Nationalist

Irish Parliamentary Party

The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...

and Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

candidates. An attempt at a limited electoral pact broke down in this constituency. In a first past the post election this situation produced a minority Unionist win.

The First Dáil

Sinn Féin

contested the general election of 1918

Irish (UK) general election, 1918

The Irish general election of 1918 was that part of the 1918 United Kingdom general election that took place in Ireland. It is seen as a key moment in modern Irish history...

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

First Dáil

The First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...

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

Second Dáil

The Second Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919–1922 Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected in 1921...

. 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

Irish Republic

The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...

's Second Dáil

Second Dáil

. This area, in republican theory, was incorporated in an eight-member Dáil constituency of Down

Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Down was a county constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 - 1929. It returned eight MPs, using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation.-Boundaries:...

Members of Parliament

Key to parties: U Irish Unionist 1886–1921 and Ulster Unionist 1921–1922.

Election		Member	Party
	1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918Representation of the People Act 1884Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	Richard William Blackwood Ker	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
	1886 United Kingdom general election, 1886 -Seats summary:-See also:MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*...	Richard William Blackwood Ker	Unionist Irish Unionist Party The Irish Unionist Alliance was a Unionist party founded in Ireland in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian and Parnellite Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton...
	1890 by-election	James Alexander Rentoul	Unionist Irish Unionist Party The Irish Unionist Alliance was a Unionist party founded in Ireland in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian and Parnellite Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton...
	1902 by-election	James Wood	Russellite Unionist Russellite Unionist The Russellite group, were the followers of Thomas Wallace Russell an Irish political leader of the early twentieth century.Russell was the Liberal Unionist MP for South Tyrone. He and some followers left the party in February 1904. They favoured a policy of compulsory land purchase...
	1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906 -Seats summary:-See also:MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:**-References:F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...	James Craig James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, PC, PC , was a prominent Irish unionist politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland...	Unionist Irish Unionist Party The Irish Unionist Alliance was a Unionist party founded in Ireland in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian and Parnellite Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton...
	1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...	David Douglas Reid	Unionist Irish Unionist Party The Irish Unionist Alliance was a Unionist party founded in Ireland in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian and Parnellite Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton...
1922 United Kingdom general election, 1922 The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...		constituency abolished

Elections

The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.

External links

http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0
http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html