James Harold McCusker (7 February 1940 – 12 February 1990) was a

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

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 ...

politician who served as the Deputy Leader of the UUP Assembly Group from 1982 to 1986.

Early life

The younger son of Jim and Lily McCusker (he had one older brother), he was born and raised in the heart of

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

. Educated at Lurgan Model Primary School,

Lurgan College Lurgan College is a selective, non-denominational, co-educational 14-19 Grammar School, situated in the town of Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. History In lieu of the establishment of Lurgan Model primary school in 1863, the town of Lu ...

and

Stranmillis University College Stranmillis University College is a university college of Queen's University Belfast. The institution is located on the Stranmillis Road in Belfast. It had students in . The school offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses. Hi ...

, before qualifying as a teacher. Before entering politics he worked in industry, latterly with Goodyear, in their Craigavon Plant.

Political career

He represented the Armagh constituency, and was first returned to the

British House of Commons 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 65 ...

at the February 1974 general election. He was returned again in October 1974 and in the 1979 election. In 1982 he topped the poll in Armagh in the Assembly election. At the 1983 general election, McCusker was returned for the new seat of Upper Bann. Alongside other Unionist MPs, he resigned his seat in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985, in order to contest his seat again at the ensuing by-election. He was returned again at the 1987 general election, which was to prove his last — he died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 1990, causing another by-election, which was won by future Ulster Unionist leader

David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He wa ...

Personal life

McCusker was an Orangeman and staunch Unionist. He was married, with 3 sons, Moore, James and Colin. His youngest son, Colin (who was 18 at the time of his father's death), ran for the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2011 polling 3,402 1st preference votes, but failed to get elected. He served on Craigavon Council from February 2012 – March 2015 (also Ulster Unionist) and was elected the last Mayor of Craigavon in June 2014. Colin was elected to the new Armagh City, Banbridge & Craogavon Borough Council under RPA in May 2014. Prior to his death from cancer in 1990, five days after his 50th birthday, McCusker was expected to rise further in the Ulster Unionist Party and British political scenes, due to his ability and popularity among his peers and the wider public. He was a member of the Methodist Church of Ireland (Lurgan circuit).

External links

* 1940 births 1990 deaths Deaths from cancer in Northern Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Armagh constituencies (since 1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Upper Bann Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986 Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 People from Portadown People educated at Lurgan College Alumni of Stranmillis University College {{NorthernIreland-UK-MP-stub