David McCarthy (1925 –14 July 1973) was a unionist

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

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, McCarthy studied at the Belfast Municipal College of Technology before working as a

quantity surveyor A quantity surveyor (QS) is a construction industry professional with expert knowledge on construction costs and contracts. Qualified professional quantity surveyors are known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) in the UK and Cer ...

. He was elected to

Ballymena Borough Council Ballymena Borough Council was the local authority of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. It merged with Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid and Ea ...

for the

Ulster Unionist Party 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 ...

in 1965, serving until 1973. By 1970, he was the manager of a building firm, and became the Chairman of the Ballymena

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

. In 1972, he was elected Chairman of the Mid Antrim Unionist Association, and, the following year, he was appointed as President of

Ballymena United F.C. Ballymena United Football Club is a semi-professional association football, football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the NIFL Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds wh ...

At the

1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. P ...

, he was elected in North Antrim. He went on holiday immediately after the election, and was killed in a car crash. Four of his five children were in the car at the time it crashed along with his wife Daphne, all sustained injuries but none too serious. The resulting by-election was won by

Clifford Smyth Clifford Smyth (born 1944) is a historian and former politician in Northern Ireland. Smyth stood for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in North Antrim in the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election, narrowly missing out on a seat. Following ...

of the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

.Ted Nealon, ''Ireland: A Parliamentary Directory, 1973-1974'', p.183

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, David 1925 births 1973 deaths Members of Ballymena Borough Council Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 Politicians from Belfast Ulster Unionist Party councillors Road incident deaths in Northern Ireland