54°36′04″N7°17′28″W / 54.601°N 7.291°W /54.601; -7.291
| Mid Tyrone | |
|---|---|
| FormerCounty constituency for theParliament of Northern Ireland | |
.svg) Mid Tyrone shown withinNorthern Ireland | |
| Former constituency | |
| Created | 1929 |
| Abolished | 1973 |
| Election method | First past the post |
Mid Tyrone was a constituency of theParliament of Northern Ireland.
Mid Tyrone was acounty constituency comprising the central part ofCounty Tyrone. It was created when theHouse of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introducedfirst-past-the-post elections throughoutNorthern Ireland. Mid Tyrone was created by the division ofFermanagh 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 wastemporarily suspended in 1972, and thenformally abolished in 1973.
The seat was made up from parts of therural districts ofCookstown,Omagh,Clogher andStrabane.[1]
County Tyrone had five Stormont MPs from 1929 until 1972. The seats in theNorth andSouth of the county were Unionist, the constituency covering theEast could be considered marginal, whilst those in theWest and centre of the county were nationalist. Unionists contested the constituency three times with varying degrees of success. At the first attempt in1949, the Nationalist outpolled them two to one; in1958 on a relatively low turn-out they came through the middle to win the seat with 48.7% of the vote. Defending the seat in1962, this fell back to 38.6% (although the overall unionist vote numerically rose by 8), and the thenNationalistTom Gormley was elected.[2]
The remainder of contested elections involved candidates of different nationalist persuasions.
| (1921–72) |
At the1929,1933 and1938 general elections,Hugh McAleer was elected unopposed. McAleer died in 1941.
At the1941 by-election and1945 general election,Michael McGurk was elected unopposed. McGurk died in 1948.
At the1948 by-election,Edward McCullagh was elected unopposed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationalist | Edward McCullagh | 8,113 | 66.9 | N/A | |
| UUP | F. G. Patterson | 4,018 | 33.1 | New | |
| Majority | 4,095 | 33.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 12,131 | 83.9 | N/A | ||
| Nationalisthold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-Partition | Liam Kelly | 4,178 | 55.3 | New | |
| Nationalist | Edward McCullagh | 3,376 | 44.7 | −22.2 | |
| Majority | 802 | 10.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 7,554 | 55.1 | −28.8 | ||
| Anti-Partitiongain fromNationalist | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Alexander Blevins | 3,949 | 48.7 | New | |
| Independent | Tom Gormley | 3,013 | 37.1 | New | |
| Nationalist | F. McConnell | 1,149 | 14.2 | −30.5 | |
| Majority | 802 | 10.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 8,111 | 63.3 | +8.2 | ||
| UUPgain fromAnti-Partition | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationalist | Tom Gormley | 6,297 | 61.4 | +47.2 | |
| UUP | Alexander Blevins | 3,957 | 37.1 | −11.6 | |
| Majority | 2,340 | 22.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 10,254 | 81.9 | +18.6 | ||
| Nationalistgain fromUUP | Swing | ||||
At the1965 general electionTom Gormley was elected unopposed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationalist | Tom Gormley | 5,149 | 63.2 | N/A | |
| People's Progressive Party | P. J. McDonald | 2,992 | 36.8 | New | |
| Majority | 2,157 | 26.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 8,141 | 69.1 | N/A | ||
| Nationalisthold | Swing | N/A | |||