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Unity (Northern Ireland)

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"Unity" was the political label for a series of electoral pacts by Irish nationalist, Irish Republican and socialist candidates in Northern Ireland elections in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It also contested elections as a party in its own right, electing six councillors in the 1973 local council elections in the Fermanagh and Dungannon areas,[1] although this was reduced to two members of Fermanagh council in the next election in 1977.[2]

The first victory came in 1969 in the Mid Ulster by-election which was won by 21-year old student Bernadette Devlin.[3] She held her seat in the 1970 general election,[4] when Fermanagh and South Tyrone was won by her colleague Frank McManus.[5] Both lost their seats in the February 1974 general election.[6] Bernadette would later go on to join the IRSP. [7]

In the October 1974 general election the spirit of Unity was revived, if not the name, when Frank Maguire won Fermanagh and South Tyrone as an agreed independent Republican.[8] He held the seat until his death in 1981.[9] In 1978 Unity merged with the remnants of the Nationalist Party to form the Irish Independence Party.[10]

Election Results

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By-election

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Election First-Preference Votes FPv%
1969 Mid Ulster by-election 33,648 53.3%
Unity gain from UUP

General elections

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Westminster
Election First-Preference Votes FPv% ±% Seats Seats % ±%
1966 United Kingdom general election 14,645 2.5% New
0 / 12
0.00% Steady
1970 United Kingdom general election 140,930 18.1% Increase 15.6%
2 / 12
16.67% Increase 1
Feb 1974 United Kingdom General Election 17,593 2.4% Decrease 15.7
0 / 12
0.00% Decrease 2

Local elections

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Election First-Preference Votes FPv% ±% Seats Seats % ±%
1973 Northern Ireland local elections 10,281 1.5% New
6 / 462
1.30% New
1977 Northern Ireland local elections 5,528 1.0% Decrease 0.5
2 / 462
0.43% Decrease 4

References

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  1. ^ "Local Government Elections 1973". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Local Government Elections 1973 - 1981: Fermanagh". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Bernadette Devlin Wins Election". RTÉ Archives. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  4. ^ "1970 Westminster Elections". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1950-1970". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Hard‐Line Protestants Win 11 of the 12 Northern Ireland Seats". The New York Times (published 2 March 1974). 1 March 1974. p. 10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  7. ^ Holland, Kitty (22 November 2016). "Bernadette McAliskey: 'I am astounded I survived. I made mad decisions'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1973-1982". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024. Westminster Election, 10 October 1974 (one seat). Frank Maguire (Independent) 32,795 (51.8%)
  9. ^ "Frank Maguire, Ulster M.P., Dies; Helped Defeat Callaghan in 1979". The New York Times. 6 March 1981. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Local Government Elections 1981". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024. On the Nationalist side, the Irish Independence Party emerged from the remnants of the old Nationalist Party and the Unity movement.