West Down (UK Parliament constituency)

West Down was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland.

Boundaries and Boundary Changes

This county constituency comprised the western part of County Down

County Down

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

. There was a boundary change altering 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,...

(MP) from 1885 to 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 was strongly unionist in 1918, when 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...

only polled 1,725 votes. Two subsequent by-elections produced unopposed returns for the Unionist candidates.

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.

From	To	Name (Party)	Born	Died
1885	1898	Lord Arthur William Hill Lord Arthur William Hill Colonel Lord Arthur William Hill PC, DL, JP , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Conservative politician. He served three times as Comptroller of the Household between 1885 and 1898 in the Conservative administrations headed by Lord Salisbury.-Background:Hill was a younger son of Arthur Hill, 4th... (U)	28 July 1846	13 January 1931
1898	1905	Arthur Hill Arthur Hill (politician) Major Arthur Hill was a British soldier and Unionist politician.A member of the Hill family headed by the Marquess of Downshire, he was the only child of Lord Arthur Hill by his first wife Annie Nisida Denham Cookes, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel George Denham Cookes... (U)	30 December 1873	27 June 1913
1905	1907	Harry Liddell Harry Liddell Harry Liddell was a British politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for West Down in 1905, resigning in 1907 by becoming Steward of the Manor of Northstead.-References:... (U)	1866	8 July 1931
1907	1908	Lord Arthur William Hill Lord Arthur William Hill Colonel Lord Arthur William Hill PC, DL, JP , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Conservative politician. He served three times as Comptroller of the Household between 1885 and 1898 in the Conservative administrations headed by Lord Salisbury.-Background:Hill was a younger son of Arthur Hill, 4th... (U)	28 July 1846	13 January 1931
1908	1918	William John MacGeagh MacCaw (U)	1850	3 March 1928
1918	1921	Daniel Martin Wilson Daniel Martin Wilson The Hon. Daniel Martin Wilson BA KC was an Irish politician and judge.He was born in Limerick, the son of Rev. David Wilson, and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and at Trinity College, Dublin.... (U)	1862	5 January 1932
1921	1922	Thomas Browne Wallace Thomas Browne Wallace Thomas Browne Wallace was the Member of Parliament for West Down, 1921–1922.-Life:He was son of Robert Smyths Wallace, of Dromore, and was admitted a solicitor in 1887. A Unionist, he elected forWest Down on July 14, 1921.-References:... (U)	28 January 1865	28 April 1951
1922	1922	Hugh Hayes Hugh Hayes Hugh Hayes was a unionist politician in Ireland.Hayes lived in Lurgan. A Presbyterian, he qualified as a solicitor in 1882. He was active in the Irish Unionist Party, and by 1907 was the honorary secretary of the West Down Unionist Registration Association... (U)		5 September 1928

Elections

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

Wilson appointed Recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...

of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

Wallace appointed Chief Clerk to the High Court of Northern Ireland

External links

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