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West Tyrone (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°31′19″N 7°30′00″W / 54.522°N 7.500°W / 54.522; -7.500
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54°31′19″N 7°30′00″W / 54.522°N 7.500°W / 54.522; -7.500

West Tyrone
Former County constituency
for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
West Tyrone shown within Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created1929
Abolished1973
Election methodFirst past the post

West Tyrone was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Boundaries

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West Tyrone was a county constituency comprising the western part of County Tyrone. It was created when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland. West Tyrone was created by the division of Fermanagh and Tyrone into eight new constituencies, of which five were in County Tyrone. The constituency survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.

The seat was dominated by the town of Omagh, and also included parts of the rural districts of Castlederg and Omagh.[1]

Politics

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The constituency was consistently won by members of the Nationalist Party. Members of the Ulster Unionist Party contested the seat on three occasions, thrice winning more than 40% of the vote each time. The remaining elections were uncontested.[2]

Members of Parliament

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Year Member[2] Party
1929 Alex Donnelly Nationalist Party
1949 Roderick O'Connor Nationalist Party

Election results

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At the 1929, 1933, 1938 and 1945 Northern Ireland general elections, Alex Donnelly was elected unopposed.[2]

General Election 1949: West Tyrone[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nationalist Roderick O'Connor 7,859 59.3 N/A
UUP T. McClay 5,396 40.7 New
Majority 2,463 18.6 N/A
Turnout 13,255 84.3 N/A
Nationalist hold Swing N/A

At the 1953 Northern Ireland general election, Roderick O'Connor was elected unopposed.[2]

General Election 1958: West Tyrone[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nationalist Roderick O'Connor 6,750 53.7 N/A
UUP A. Stewart 5,813 46.3 New
Majority 937 7.4 N/A
Turnout 12,563 81.9 N/A
Nationalist hold Swing N/A
General Election 1962: West Tyrone[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nationalist Roderick O'Connor 7,371 55.8 +2.1
UUP J. C. Fyffe 5,843 44.2 −2.1
Majority 1,528 11.6 +4.2
Turnout 13,214 87.0 +5.1
Nationalist hold Swing

At the 1965 and 1969 Northern Ireland general elections, Roderick O'Connor was elected unopposed.[2]

References

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