Lisnaskea (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°15′14″N 7°26′28″W / 54.254°N 7.441°W / 54.254; -7.441
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54°15′14″N 7°26′28″W / 54.254°N 7.441°W / 54.254; -7.441

Lisnaskea
Former County constituency
for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Lisnaskea shown within Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created1929
Abolished1972
Election methodFirst past the post

Lisnaskea was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It was located in County Fermanagh and included the namesake town of Lisnaskea.

Boundaries[edit]

Lisnaskea was a county constituency comprising the eastern part of County Fermanagh. It was created in 1929, 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. 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.[1]

Politics[edit]

Lisnaskea had a unionist majority, but a substantial nationalist minority. The seat was consistently won by the Ulster Unionist Party candidate,[1] and it was only contested on three occasions: in 1949 by a Nationalist candidate, in 1968 by Liberal and independent candidates and in 1969 by the People's Democracy and an independent Unionist candidate.[2]

Members of Parliament[edit]

First Elected Party Name[2]
1929 Ulster Unionist Captain The 1st Viscount Brookeborough
1968 Ulster Unionist Captain John Brooke

Election results[edit]

At the 1929, 1933, 1938 and 1945 general elections, Captain Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Bt., was elected unopposed.[2] From May 1943 to March 1963, Sir Basil (created Viscount Brookeborough in 1952) also served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

General Election 10 February 1949: Lisnaskea[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Sir Basil Brooke 5,593 57.3 N/A
Nationalist John Carron 4,173 42.7 New
Majority 1,420 14.6 N/A
Turnout 9,766 87.1 N/A
Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A

At the 1953, 1958, 1962 and 1965 general elections, Lord Brookeborough (formerly Sir Basil Brooke) was elected unopposed.[2]

1968 Lisnaskea by-election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Captain John Brooke 4,428 50.3 N/A
Independent F. G. Patterson 3,270 37.2 New
Ulster Liberal Stanley Wynne 1,104 12.5 New
Majority 1,158 13.1 N/A
Turnout 8,802 83.0 N/A
Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A
General Election 24 February 1969: Lisnaskea[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Captain John Brooke 4,794 52.0 +1.7
Ind. Unionist J. D. A. Henderson 2,702 29.3 New
People's Democracy M. Carey 1,726 18.7 New
Majority 2,092 22.7 +9.6
Turnout 9,222 87.8 +4.8
Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A
  • Parliament prorogued 30 March 1972 and abolished 18 July 1973

References[edit]