Belfast Duncairn (UK Parliament constituency)
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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 The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...
from 1918 to 1922, using the first past the post electoral system.


Boundaries and boundary changes

The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918 from an area which had been in the Belfast North constituency. It comprised the eastern half of North Belfast, and contained the then Duncairn ward and the north-eastern part of the then Clifton ward of
Belfast Corporation Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...
lying north and east of a line commencing at a point in the western boundary of the ward opposite the middle of Old Park Road proceeding along the middle of Old Park Road to its junction with Mountview Street, then along the middle of Mountview Street to its junction with Manor Street, then northwards along the middle of Manor Street to its junction with Cliftonville Road, then south-eastwards along the middle of Cliftonville Road to the ward boundary in Duncairn Street . It was in use at the 1918 general election only, and under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 its area was again part of the Belfast North constituency, with effect at the 1922 general election.


Politics

The constituency was a strongly unionist area. Carson was the Unionist leader in the House of Commons. His chief opponent was Major William Hamilton Davey, recently returned from France following the armistice. A barrister in civilian life, Major Davey stood for Home Rule and retained his deposit. During the course of the campaign Carson mistakenly referred to Major Davey as a 'Sinn Féiner' which led to damages being awarded to Major Davey in his subsequent action for slander.


First Dáil

After the 1918 election, Sinn Féin invited all those elected for constituencies in Ireland to sit as TDs in
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
rather than in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. All those elected for Irish constituencies were included in the roll of the Dáil but only those elected for Sinn Féin sat in the First Dáil. In May 1921, the Dáil passed a resolution declaring that elections to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland would be used as the election for the Second Dáil and that the First Dáil would be dissolved on the assembly of the new body. The area of Belfast Duncairn would then have been represented in the Dáil by the four-seat constituency of Belfast North, which also returned no representatives for Sinn Féin.


Members of Parliament


Elections

*''Carson appointed a
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...
and created Baron Carson''


See also

*
List of UK Parliament Constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Act of Union 1800 from 1 January 1801. On 6 December 1922, the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom, with Northern Ireland remaining as part of the United Kingd ...
* List of MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election * Historic Dáil constituencies


References

* * *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) respectively *


External links


The Irish General Election of 1918
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belfast Duncairn (Uk Parliament Constituency) Duncairn Dáil constituencies in Northern Ireland (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1922