Albert Horatio McElroy (14 February 1915 – 13 March 1975) was a

minister of religion In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidanc ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, McElroy studied at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, then at Manchester College in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(since 1996 known as

Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarianism, Unitarian students and move ...

). McElroy joined the

Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. William Walker stoo ...

(NILP), in which he acted as an ally of

Harry Midgley Henry Cassidy Midgley, PC (NI), known as Harry Midgley (1893 – 29 April 1957) was a prominent trade-unionist and politician in Northern Ireland. Born to a working-class Protestant family in Tiger's Bay, north Belfast, he followed his father into ...

, and was elected as party chair. He also became a local

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

. In 1942, Midgley split away to form the

Commonwealth Labour Party The Commonwealth Labour Party (CWLP) was a minor political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1942 by Harry Midgley, former leader of the Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP), in order to pursue his brand of labour unionism. ...

. McElroy followed, and he stood for the party in Ards at the

1945 Northern Ireland general election The 1945 Northern Ireland general election was held on 14 June 1945. The election saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, though they retained their majority. Mirroring the result across the rest of the UK in the 1945 UK general ...

. He was one of the more successful candidates, taking 41.5% of the vote, but was not elected. In 1947, Midgley disbanded the party and joined the

Ulster Unionists The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

. McElroy was the most prominent of a small group of members who instead returned to the NILP. At the

1950 UK general election The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first ever to be held after a full term of Labour government. The election was held on Thursday 23 February 1950, and was the first held following the abolition of plural voting and university con ...

, McElroy stood for the NILP in North Down, receiving 20.6% of the votes cast, taking him to a distant second place. He stood again in the 1951 general election, but fell back to 18.6%.North Down 1950-1970
, Northern Ireland Elections McElroy became the Minister of the 1st Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church in

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

in 1954, a post he held until his death. In the 1950s, McElroy left the NILP, and founded the

Ulster Liberal Party The Ulster Liberal Party was a liberal and non-sectarian political party in Northern Ireland linked to the British Liberal Party. The party was officially neutral on the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. Members expressed different vi ...

, of which he became leader. He stood for his new party at the

1958 Northern Ireland general election The 1958 Northern Ireland general election was called on 27 February by 1st Viscount Brookeborough to be held on 20 March 1958. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Uni ...

for the

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

seat, but was narrowly defeated, taking fifth place in the four-seat constituency. At the

1964 UK general election The 1964 United Kingdom general election was held on 15 October 1964, five years after the previous election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party, first led by Winston Churchill, had regained power. It resulted in the Conservatives, ...

, he stood in North Down, but was unable to match his performances for the NILP, taking only 6.2% of the votes cast. At the 1965 Stormont election, he was defeated in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

. McElroy's party colleague

Sheelagh Murnaghan Sheelagh Mary Murnaghan, (26 May 1924 – 14 September 1993) was an Ulster Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland at Stormont. Early life Sheelagh Mary Murnaghan was born on 24 May 1924 to Josep ...

was elected for Queen's University in 1961 and re-elected in 1965, so when a by-election arose the following year, McElroy stood. He was defeated in a close vote by the Ulster Unionist candidate. McElroy was active in the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

protests in the late 1960s, and spoke alongside Nationalist Party politicians such as Eddie McAteer and

Austin Currie Joseph Austin Currie (11 October 1939 – 9 November 2021) was an Irish politician who served as a Minister of State for Justice with responsibility for Children's Rights from 1994 to 1997. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West ...

."We Shall Overcome": The History of the Struggle for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland 1968
,

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcelroy, Albert 1915 births 1975 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of Harris Manchester College, Oxford British unionists Councillors in Northern Ireland Leaders of political parties in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Labour Party politicians Presbyterian ministers from Northern Ireland Socialists from Northern Ireland Politicians from Glasgow Scottish politicians Scottish socialists Scottish unionists Ulster Liberal Party politicians Commonwealth Labour Party politicians Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates