South Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

South Down
Former County constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created	1929
Abolished	1972
Election method	First past the post

South Down was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Boundaries

South Down was a county constituency comprising part of southern County Down. 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. South Armagh was created by the division of Down into eight new constituencies. 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 centred on the towns of Newry and Warrenpoint, and also included parts of the rural districts of Kilkeel and Newry No. 1.

Politics

The seat had a substantial nationalist majority, with nationalist candidates winning every election, excepting 1938, when no nationalist stood.

Members of Parliament

Elected	Party		Name
1929 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #32cd32;" data-sort-value="Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)" |	Nationalist	John Henry Collins
1933 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #66BB66;" data-sort-value="Fianna Fáil" |	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera
1938 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #aadfff;" data-sort-value="Independent Unionist" |	Ind. Unionist	James Brown
1938 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #48A5EE;" data-sort-value="Ulster Unionist Party" |	UUP
1945 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #32cd32;" data-sort-value="Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)" |	Nationalist	Peter Murnoy
1949 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #32cd32;" data-sort-value="Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)" |	Nationalist	Joe Connellan
1967 style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #32cd32;" data-sort-value="Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)" |	Nationalist	Max Keogh

Election results

General Election 1929: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	John Henry Collins	5,637	77.6	N/A
	Independent Labour	W. F. Cunningham	1,626	22.4	N/A
Majority			4,011	55.2	N/A
Turnout				46.4	N/A
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1933: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Fianna Fáil	Éamon de Valera	7,404	92.3	N/A
	Irish Republican	T. G. McGrath	622	7.7	N/A
Majority			6,782	84.6	+29.4
Turnout				49.7	+3.3
	Fianna Fáil gain from Nationalist		Swing	N/A

General Election 1938: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Unionist	James Brown	3,866	93.6	N/A
	NI Labour	J. Byrne	263	6.4	N/A
Majority			3,603	87.2	+2.2
Turnout				24.6	−25.1
	Ind. Unionist gain from Fianna Fáil		Swing	N/A

General Election 1945: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	Peter Murnoy	9,006	68.1	N/A
	UUP	Charles Heron Mullan	4,222	31.9	N/A
Majority			4,784	36.2	−51.0
Turnout				80.8	+56.2
	Nationalist gain from Ind. Unionist		Swing	N/A

General Election 1949: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	Joe Connellan	9,478	70.2	+2.1
	UUP	Robert Harcourt	4,032	29.8	−2.1
Majority			5,446	40.4	+4.2
Turnout				78.2	−2.6
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1953: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	Joe Connellan	6,449	47.7	−22.5
	UUP	J. Y. Thompson	4,065	30.0	+0.2
	Irish Labour	T. J. Kelly	3,016	22.3	N/A
Majority			2,384	17.7	−22.7
Turnout				74.4	−3.8
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1958: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	Joe Connellan	6,686	51.5	+3.8
	UUP	James Brown	3,978	30.7	+0.7
	Irish Labour	T. J. Kelly	2,316	17.8	−4.5
Majority			2,708	20.8	+3.1
Turnout				75.2	+0.8
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A

At the Northern Ireland general election, 1962, Joe Connellan was elected unopposed.

General Election 1965: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	Joe Connellan	6,907	68.2	N/A
	UUP	I. C. W. Hutchieson	3,227	31.8	N/A
Majority			3,680	36.4	N/A
Turnout				58.0	N/A
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A

South Down by-election, 1967

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	Max Keogh	8,598	74.3	+6.1
	UUP	J. Fisher	2,971	25.7	−6.1
Majority			5,627	48.6	−12.2
Turnout				67.0	+9.0
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1969: South Down

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist	Max Keogh	4,830	51.2	−17.0
	People's Democracy	F. N. Woods	4,610	48.8	N/A
Majority			220	2.4	−34.0
Turnout				54.0	−4.0
	Nationalist hold		Swing	N/A