Nationalist Party of Northern Ireland
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The Nationalist Party () was the continuation of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), and was formed after the partition of Ireland, by the Northern Ireland-based members of the IPP.


History

Despite conventionally being referred to as a single organisation, the party long existed only as a loose network of small groups, generally operating in a single constituency. Its candidates for both Westminster and Stormont elections were selected by conventions organised on a constituency basis. These arrangements changed in 1966, when a single organisation covering the whole of Northern Ireland was established. The Nationalist Party did not enter the first House of Commons of Northern Ireland despite winning six seats in the 1921 general election. Leader
Joe Devlin Joseph or Joe Devlin may refer to: * Joseph Devlin (1871–1934), Irish journalist and nationalist politician * Joe Devlin (American football) (born 1954), American football offensive tackle * Joe Devlin (footballer) (born 1927), retired Scottish ...
took his seat shortly after the 1925 general election and his colleagues followed gradually by October 1927. Intermittently thereafter the party engaged in further periods of
abstention Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with ...
, to protest against the "illegal" partition of Ireland. In 1965, it agreed to become the official opposition party in the House of Commons. This was one of the catalysts of the
civil rights movement in Northern Ireland The Northern Ireland civil rights movement dates to the early 1960s, when a number of initiatives emerged in Northern Ireland which challenged the inequality and discrimination against ethnic Irish Catholics that was perpetrated by the Ulster Pro ...
. The party became involved in the
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
civil rights march in October 1968, which ended in violence amidst allegations of
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
. As a result, the party withdrew from its role as
official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...
on 15 October 1968, following the controversy of two weeks earlier. The party developed a reputation for being disorganised and being little more than a collection of elected members with their own local machines. Many calls were made for the party to develop an overall organisation but it fell apart in the late 1960s. Earlier, many members had formed the National Democratic Party (NDP) after attempts at reform failed. The NDP merged into the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) at that party's foundation in 1970 and many remaining nationalists followed them. One of the Nationalist Party's last electoral contests was the 1973 election for the Assembly created as part of the Sunningdale Agreement. The lack of success in that election meant that the inevitable outcome was obvious, although a handful of councillors were elected to Omagh District Council and Derry City Council in
1973 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. ...
and
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
. In October 1977, the party merged with Unity to form the Irish Independence Party which also included non-aligned
republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
. Although it was successful for a while in capturing the Republican vote, it faded from view due to the rise of Sinn Féin in the early 1980s.


Leaders

* Joseph Devlin 1918–1934 * Thomas Joseph Campbell 1934–1945 * James McSparran 1945–1958 *
Joseph Francis Stewart Joseph Francis Stewart (1889 – 6 May 1964) was an Irish nationalist politician. After growing up in Dungannon, where he studied at the Christian Brothers' School, Stewart worked as a wine merchant and became active in the Irish Parliamentary Pa ...
1958–1964 * Eddie McAteer 1964–1969 * Roderick O'Connor 1969–1972 Following the abolition of Stormont, Eddie McAteer became the effective party leader, while his son Fergus McAteer gradually assumed greater importance.


Electoral performance

:See
Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) election results This article lists the Nationalist Party of Northern Ireland's election results in UK parliamentary elections. Summary of general election performance Election results 1922 general election 1923 general election 1929 general election ...
for results in the United Kingdom House of Commons This chart shows the electoral performance of the Nationalist Party in elections to the
Northern Ireland House of Commons 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 wit ...


See also

*
List of Nationalist Party MPs (Ireland) This is a list of Nationalist Party MPs. It includes all Members of Parliament elected to the British House of Commons representing the Nationalist Party (Ireland) since 1918. Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons are not listed. ...


References

{{Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Irish nationalist organisations Political parties established in 1918 Political parties disestablished in 1977 Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland 1918 establishments in Ireland 1977 disestablishments in Northern Ireland