Queen's University of Belfast was a

university constituency A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters a ...

of the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore o ...

from 1921 until 1969. It returned four MPs, using

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

by means of the

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

. In 1969 the constituency was abolished under the reforms carried out by the

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as with governor ...

Terence O'Neill Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC (NI) (10 September 1914 – 12 June 1990), was the fourth prime minister of Northern Ireland and leader (1963–1969) of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). A moderate unionist, who sought ...

Franchise

The constituency was created by the

Government of Ireland Act 1920 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5 c. 67) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill ...

and its four MPs were elected by the graduates of

Queen's University of 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 = ...

Second Dáil

In May 1921,

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 r ...

, the parliament of the self-declared

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...

run by

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

, passed a resolution declaring that

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

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 The Second Dáil () was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected ...

. All those elected were on the roll of the Second Dáil, but as no Sinn Féin MP was elected for Queen's University, it was not represented there.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 1920s

:At the

1925 Northern Ireland general election The 1925 Northern Ireland general election was held on 3 April 1925. It was the second election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, although they maintained their large majority. This ...

, John Campbell,

Robert James Johnstone Sir Robert James Johnstone (1872–1938) was a Northern Ireland physician and politician. Life He was born at Greenisland, County Antrim on 4 January 1872, the son of Charles Johnstone, a farmer, and his wife Mary McCreavy. He studied at the Belf ...

, Hugh Morrison and John Hanna Robb were elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1930s

:At the

1935 Queen's University of Belfast by-election Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

Arthur Brownlow Mitchell Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

was elected unopposed. :At the

1938 Queen's University of Belfast by-election Queen's University of Belfast was a university constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 until 1969. It returned four MPs, using proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. In 1969 the constituency w ...

Howard Stevenson Howard H. Stevenson (June 27, 1941) is the Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. ''Forbes'' magazine described him as Harvard Business School's "lion of entrepreneurship" in a 2011 article. Howard is credited w ...

was elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1940s

:At the

1942 Queen's University of Belfast by-election Queen's University of Belfast was a university constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 until 1969. It returned four MPs, using proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. In 1969 the constituency w ...

William Lyle William Lyle (30 March 1871 – 2 August 1949) was a Northern Irish medical doctor and Ulster Unionist Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for a few years in his 70s. Career Lyle was a graduate of Queen's Uni ...

was elected unopposed. :At the

1943 Queen's University of Belfast by-election Queen's University of Belfast was a university constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 until 1969. It returned four MPs, using proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. In 1969 the constituency w ...

John W. Renshaw John W. Renshaw (28 December 1877 – 12 October 1955) was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland. Born in Newry, Renshaw studied at the Newry Intermediate School, Queen's College, Galway and Queen's College, Belfast, before becoming a teach ...

was elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

:At the

1965 Northern Ireland general election The 1965 Northern Ireland general election was held on 25 November 1965. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. This was the last election in Northern Irel ...

, Harold McClure,

Elizabeth Maconachie Elizabeth Hamill Maconachie OBE, known as Bessie Maconachie, was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland. Maconachie studied at Queen's University Belfast, then worked as a schoolteacher. At the 1953 Northern Ireland general election, she was ...

, Sheelagh Murnaghan and Charles Stewart were elected unopposed.

References

Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: University
{{County Antrim constituencies Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies established in 1921 1969 disestablishments Constituencies of the Northern Ireland Parliament Queen's University Belfast Constituencies of the Northern Ireland Parliament in Belfast University constituencies in the United Kingdom Dáil constituencies in Northern Ireland (historic)