Iveagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Iveagh was a county constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1972. It comprised part of County Down.

Boundaries and History

The constituency was created as part of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, replacing the former UK Parliament constituency of South Down. It returned one member of parliament to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, elected by the first past the post electoral system.

Iveagh covered the rural area of southern County Down, roughly corresponding to the barony of Iveagh Upper, Upper Half. It included towns and villages such as Rathfriland, Hilltown, and Castlewellan. The constituency was abolished under the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, which took effect for the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election, being largely replaced by the new South Down constituency.

Politics

Iveagh was generally a Unionist stronghold, consistently returning Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) candidates. However, the Nationalist minority population ensured that Nationalist or anti-partition candidates often contested the seat, though without success.

Members of Parliament

The following members of parliament represented Iveagh:

• 1921-1929: James Craig (Ulster Unionist)
• 1929-1949: William Babington (Ulster Unionist)
• 1949-1969: Joseph Connellan (Ulster Unionist)
• 1969-1972: Herbert Heslip (Ulster Unionist)