Roderick O'Connor was a nationalist politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

O'Connor was a solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

 and a director of the Ulster Herald

Ulster Herald

The Ulster Herald is a weekly newspaper based in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, known locally as The Herald.It is published by the North West of Ireland Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd...

series of newspapers. He became active in the Nationalist Party

Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)

The Nationalist Party† - was the continuation of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and was formed after partition, by the Northern Ireland-based members of the IPP....

 and sat on various boards in County Tyrone

County Tyrone

Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

.

O'Connor was elected at the Northern Ireland general election, 1949

Northern Ireland general election, 1949

-References:*-See also:*MPs elected in the Northern Ireland general election, 1949...

 for West Tyrone

West Tyrone (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

West Tyrone was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:West Tyrone was a county constituency comprising the western part of County Tyrone. It was created when the House of Commons Act 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland...

, and held his seat at each subsequent election, until the Parliament of Northern Ireland

Parliament of Northern Ireland

The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...

 was abolished in 1972. In 1958, he worked with Eddie McAteer

Eddie McAteer

Eddie McAteer was an nationalist politician in Northern Ireland.Born in Coatbridge, Scotland, McAteer's family moved to Derry in Northern Ireland while he was young. In 1930 he joined the Inland Revenue, where he worked until 1944. He then became an accountant and more actively involved in politics...

 to prevent the Nationalist Party becoming the official opposition at Stormont. When, in 1965, they finally accepted the role, O'Connor became the Opposition Chief Whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

 and the Shadow Minister of Home Affairs

Minister of Home Affairs (Northern Ireland)

The Minister of Home Affairs was a member of the Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland in the Parliament of Northern Ireland which governed Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1972...

. In 1969, he became the final Chairman of the Nationalist Party at Stormont.