John McQuade (9 August 1911 – 19 November 1984) was a

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politician. He was a professional boxer under the name of Jack Higgins. After serving with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in Dunkirk and

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, he was an

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 m ...

(UUP) member of

Belfast City Council 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 ...

from 1955 to 1972. He was a UUP Member of the

House of Commons of Northern Ireland The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the '' Government of Ireland Act 1920''. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished w ...

for Belfast Woodvale (

Greater Shankill The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast ...

) from 1965 to October 1971, when he resigned from the UUP and joined the Democratic Unionist Party. On 28 March 1972 (the last day the Parliament sat), he resigned his parliamentary seat in protest at the prorogation of the Parliament. In February 1972, in response to the escalating violence in Northern Ireland, he called for the British security forces to take over the town of

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and for the border with the

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to be closed, stating his belief that the

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controlled the

government of the Republic of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

. He contested the February and October 1974 Westminster elections unsuccessfully for Belfast West. He was elected as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Belfast North in 1979, aged 67, and served until 1983, when he retired. He died on 19 November 1984, aged 73.

References

Bibliography

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1979 *

External links

* 1911 births 1984 deaths Democratic Unionist Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (since 1922) UK MPs 1979–1983 Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast constituencies Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1965–1969 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1969–1973 Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 Ulster Protestant Action members British Army personnel of World War II {{Parliament-of-Northern-Ireland-member-stub