Belfast Duncairn (UK Parliament constituency)

Belfast Duncairn
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1918 (1918)–1922 (1922)
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Belfast North
Created from	Belfast North

Duncairn, a division of Belfast, was a UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1922.

1 Boundaries and boundary changes
2 Politics
3 The First Dáil
4 Members of Parliament
5 Elections
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

Boundaries and boundary changes

This constituency comprised the eastern half of North Belfast, based on the then Duncairn ward of Belfast City Council.

Prior to the 1918 UK general election and after the dissolution of Parliament in 1922, the area was part of the Belfast North constituency.

Politics

The constituency was a strongly unionist area. There was no real chance of a republican or nationalist candidate being elected.

Carson was the Unionist leader in the House of Commons.

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 Belfast North.

Members of Parliament

Key to parties: U Irish Unionist 1918 – April 1921 and Ulster Unionist May 1921–1922.

From	To	Name (Party)	Born	Died
1918	1921	Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Henry Carson (U)	9 February 1854	22 October 1935
1921	1922	Thomas Edward McConnell (U)	7 April 1868	22 May 1938

Elections

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

General Election 14 December 1918: Belfast Duncairn
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Rt Hon Sir Edward Henry Carson	11,637	81.05	N/A
	Irish Parliamentary	William Hamilton Davey	2,449	17.06	N/A
	Sinn Féin	Dr Russell McNab	271	1.89	N/A
Majority			9,188	64.00	N/A
Turnout			19,085	75.23	N/A
	Irish Unionist gain from new seat		Swing	N/A

Carson appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and created Baron Carson

By-Election 23 June 1921: Belfast Duncairn
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Thomas Edward McConnell	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

References

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 III 1919–1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1979)
Information about boundaries of the constituency derived from the map of Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies (in force from 1921) and the wards included in the Belfast UK Parliament seats (in force 1922) for which see Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results 1921–1972, by Sydney Elliott (Political Reference Publications 1973) and Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1972) respective
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 4)