Brian McRoberts
Brian J. H. McRoberts (May 1931 – 1983) was a solicitor and unionist politician in Northern Ireland.
McRoberts studied at the Armagh Royal School,[1] then at Queen's University Belfast, where he was active in the Unionist Society with Bob Cooper and Stratton Mills.[2]
McRoberts' first political contest came when he stood unsuccessfully for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in South Armagh at the 1962 Northern Ireland general election.[1] He next stood for the UUP in Belfast West at the 1970 general election,[1] when he was described by opponent Gerry Fitt as "one of the most reactionary candidates to contest Belfast West".[3] His campaign headquarters were bombed on the election day, although there were no injuries.[4] He was again unsuccessful in the election, although he took 47.2% of the vote.[5]
McRoberts was involved in controversy when his secretary, Emily Roberts, obtained a newly built three-bedroom council house in Dungannon, despite being unmarried and only nineteen years old, and while many Roman Catholic families had been waiting for housing for years.[6]
In his spare time, McRoberts was a prominent member of the Masonic Order.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1970, p.50
- ^ Michael McKeown, The Greening of a Nationalist, p.6
- ^ Michael A. Murphy, Gerry Fitt: A Political Chameleon, p.150
- ^ "Headquarters Damaged", Reading Eagle, 18 June 1970, p.29
- ^ "West Belfast 1950-1970", Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ Hansard, Vols.70-71, p.339
- ^ Fortnight, Issues 190-205, p.5