Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
Nationalist Party | |
---|---|
Founded | 1918 |
Dissolved | 1977 |
Preceded by | Irish Parliamentary Party |
Merged into | Irish Independence Party |
Ideology | Irish nationalism |
Colours | Green |
The Nationalist Party (Irish: An Páirtí Náisiúnach)[1] was the continuation of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), and was formed after the partition of Ireland, by the Northern Ireland-based members of the IPP.
History
Despite conventionally being referred to as a single organisation, the party long existed only as a loose network of small groups, generally operating in a single constituency. Its candidates for both Westminster and Stormont elections were selected by conventions organised on a constituency basis. These arrangements changed in 1966, when a single organisation covering the whole of Northern Ireland was established.[2]
The Nationalist Party did not enter the first House of Commons of Northern Ireland despite winning six seats in the 1921 general election. Leader Joe Devlin took his seat shortly after the 1925 general election and his colleagues followed gradually by October 1927.[3] Intermittently thereafter the party engaged in further periods of abstention, to protest against the "illegal" partition of Ireland. In 1965, it agreed to become the official opposition party in the House of Commons.[4][5]
This was one of the catalysts of the
The party developed a reputation for being disorganised and being little more than a collection of elected members with their own local machines. Many calls were made for the party to develop an overall organisation but it fell apart in the late 1960s.
Leaders
- Joseph Devlin 1918–1934
- Thomas Joseph Campbell 1934–1945
- James McSparran 1945–1958
- Joseph Francis Stewart 1958–1964
- Eddie McAteer 1964–1969
- Roderick O'Connor 1969–1972
Following the abolition of Stormont, Eddie McAteer became the effective party leader, while his son Fergus McAteer gradually assumed greater importance.
Electoral performance
- See United Kingdom House of Commons
This chart shows the electoral performance of the Nationalist Party in elections to the
Election | Seats won | ± | Position | First Pref votes | % | Government | Leader |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1921 | 6 / 52
|
3rd | 60,577 | 11.8% | Abstention | Joseph Devlin | |
1925 | 10 / 52
|
4 | 2nd | 91,452 | 23.8% | Opposition | Joseph Devlin |
1929 | 11 / 52
|
1 | 2nd | 34,069 | 11.7% | Opposition | Joseph Devlin |
1933 | 9 / 52
|
2 | 2nd | 22,269 | 11.7% | Opposition | Joseph Devlin |
1938 | 8 / 52
|
1 | 2nd | 16,167 | 4.9% | Opposition | T. J. Campbell |
1945 | 10 / 52
|
2 | 2nd | 32,546 | 9.1% | Opposition | T. J. Campbell |
1949 | 9 / 52
|
1 | 2nd | 101,445 | 26.8% | Opposition | James McSparran |
1953 | 7 / 52
|
2 | 2nd | 27,796 | 10.8% | Opposition | James McSparran |
1958 | 7 / 52
|
2nd | 36,013 | 14.9% | Opposition | Joe Stewart
| |
1962 | 9 / 52
|
2 | 2nd | 45,860 | 15.1% | Opposition | Joe Stewart
|
1965 | 9 / 52
|
2nd | 26,748 | 8.2% | Opposition | Eddie McAteer | |
1969 | 6 / 52
|
3 | 2nd | 42,315 | 7.6% | Opposition | Eddie McAteer |
See also
References
- St Mary’s University College. Belfast. Archived from the original(PDF) on 18 December 2019.
- ISBN 0900178000.
- S2CID 156001157.
- ISBN 9781317875185. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ a b "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1968". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
- ^ Lynn, Brendan. "CAIN: Politics: Lynn, B. (1997), Holding the Ground the Nationalist Party in Northern Ireland, 1945–1972". CAIN. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ "CAIN: Abstracts of Organisations – 'I'". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.