# South Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°08′42″N 6°17′49″W﻿ / ﻿54.145°N 6.297°W﻿ / 54.145; -6.297
South Down was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

## Boundaries

South Down was a county constituency comprising part of southern County Down. It was created 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. South Armagh was created by the division of Down into eight new constituencies. 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.
The seat was centred on the towns of Newry and Warrenpoint, and also included certain district electoral divisions of the rural districts of Kilkeel and Newry No. 1.

## Politics

The seat had a substantial nationalist majority, with nationalist candidates winning every election, excepting 1938, when no nationalist stood. In 1933 it elected Irish Prime Minister Éamon de Valera, though he did not sit in the Stormont Parliament.

## Members of Parliament

| Elected | Party | Name |
| 1929 | Nationalist | John Henry Collins |
| 1933 | Fianna Fáil | Éamon de Valera |
| 1938 | Ind. Unionist | James Brown |
| 1938 | UUP | James Brown |
| 1945 | Nationalist | Peter Murnoy |
| 1949 | Nationalist | Joe Connellan |
| 1967 | Nationalist | Max Keogh |

## Election results

General Election 1929: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | John Henry Collins | 5,637 | 77.6 | |
| | Independent Labour | W. F. Cunningham | 1,626 | 22.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,011 | 55.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,263 | 46.4 | |
| | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) |
General Election 1933: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Fianna Fáil | Éamon de Valera | 7,404 | 92.3 | New |
| | Irish Republican | T. G. McGrath | 622 | 7.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,782 | 84.6 | +29.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,026 | 49.7 | +3.3 |
| | Fianna Fáil gain from Nationalist | Fianna Fáil gain from Nationalist | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 1938: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | James Brown | 3,866 | 93.6 | New |
| | NI Labour | J. Byrne | 263 | 6.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,603 | 87.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,129 | 24.6 | −25.1 |
| | Ind. Unionist gain from Fianna Fáil | Ind. Unionist gain from Fianna Fáil | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 1945: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Peter Murnoy | 9,006 | 68.1 | New |
| | UUP | C. H. Mullan | 4,222 | 31.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,784 | 36.2 | −51.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,228 | 80.8 | +56.2 |
| | Nationalist gain from Ind. Unionist | Nationalist gain from Ind. Unionist | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 1949: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Joe Connellan | 9,478 | 70.2 | +2.1 |
| | UUP | Robert Harcourt | 4,032 | 29.8 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,446 | 40.4 | +4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,510 | 78.2 | −2.6 |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1953: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Joe Connellan | 6,449 | 47.7 | −22.5 |
| | UUP | J. Y. Thompson | 4,065 | 30.0 | +0.2 |
| | Irish Labour | T. J. Kelly | 3,016 | 22.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,384 | 17.7 | −22.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,530 | 74.4 | −3.8 |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1958: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Joe Connellan | 6,686 | 51.5 | +3.8 |
| | UUP | James Brown | 3,978 | 30.7 | +0.7 |
| | Irish Labour | T. J. Kelly | 2,316 | 17.8 | −4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,708 | 20.8 | +3.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,980 | 75.2 | +0.8 |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | | |
    At the 1962 Northern Ireland general election, Joe Connellan was elected unopposed.
General Election 1965: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Joe Connellan | 6,907 | 68.2 | N/A |
| | UUP | I. C. W. Hutchieson | 3,227 | 31.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,680 | 36.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,134 | 58.0 | N/A |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | N/A | |
South Down by-election, 1967 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Max Keogh | 8,598 | 74.3 | +6.1 |
| | UUP | J. Fisher | 2,971 | 25.7 | −6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,627 | 48.6 | −12.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,569 | 67.0 | +9.0 |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1969: South Down :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Max Keogh | 4,830 | 51.2 | −17.0 |
| | People's Democracy | F. N. Woods | 4,610 | 48.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 220 | 2.4 | −34.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,440 | 54.0 | −4.0 |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | | |