Lisnaskea (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54.254°N 7.441°W / 54.254; -7.441

Lisnaskea
Former County constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Lisnaskea shown within Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created	1929
Abolished	1973
Election method	First past the post

Lisnaskea was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It was located in County Fermanagh and included the namesake town of Lisnaskea.

Boundaries

Lisnaskea was a county constituency comprising the eastern part of County Fermanagh. It was created in 1929, 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. 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.^[1]

Politics

Lisnaskea had a unionist majority, but a substantial nationalist minority. The seat was consistently won by the Ulster Unionist Party candidate,^[1] and it was only contested on three occasions: in 1949 by a Nationalist candidate, in 1968 by Liberal and independent candidates and in 1969 by the People's Democracy and an independent Unionist candidate.^[2]

Members of Parliament

First Elected	Party		Name[2]
1929		UUP	Captain The 1st Viscount Brookeborough
1968		UUP	Captain John Brooke

Election results

At the 1929, 1933, 1938 and 1945 general elections, Captain Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Bt., was elected unopposed.^[2] From May 1943 to March 1963, Sir Basil (created Viscount Brookeborough in 1952) also served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.

General Election 10 February 1949: Lisnaskea^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Sir Basil Brooke	5,593	57.3	N/A
	Nationalist	John Carron	4,173	42.7	New
Majority			1,420	14.6	N/A
Turnout			9,766	87.1	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

At the 1953, 1958, 1962 and 1965 general elections, Lord Brookeborough (formerly Sir Basil Brooke) was elected unopposed.^[2]

1968 Lisnaskea by-election^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Captain John Brooke	4,428	50.3	N/A
	Independent	F. G. Patterson	3,270	37.2	New
	Ulster Liberal	Stanley Wynne	1,104	12.5	New
Majority			1,158	13.1	N/A
Turnout			8,802	83.0	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 24 February 1969: Lisnaskea^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Captain John Brooke	4,794	52.0	+1.7
	Ind. Unionist	J. D. A. Henderson	2,702	29.3	New
	People's Democracy	M. Carey	1,726	18.7	New
Majority			2,092	22.7	+9.6
Turnout			9,222	87.8	+4.8
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

• Parliament prorogued 30 March 1972 and abolished 18 July 1973

References

1. The Northern Ireland House of Commons, 1921-1972, Northern Ireland Elections
2. Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Counties: Fermanagh