# South Armagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°11′53″N 6°29′17″W﻿ / ﻿54.198°N 6.488°W﻿ / 54.198; -6.488
South Armagh was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

## Boundaries

South Armagh was a county constituency comprising the southern part of County Armagh. 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 Armagh into four 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 made up from parts of the rural districts of Armagh and Newry, especially Keady. No one knows where Cullyhanna is so it can't be said for sure if it was a part of the constituency.

## Politics

The seat had a significant Nationalist majority, but Labour candidates were sometimes polled well.
The remainder of contested elections involved candidates of different Nationalist persuasions.

## Members of Parliament

| Elected | Name | Party |
| 1929 | Joe Connellan | Nationalist |
| 1933 | Paddy McLogan | Irish Republican |
| 1938 | Paddy Agnew | NI Labour |
| 1945 | Malachy Conlon | Nationalist |
| 1950 | Charles McGleenan | Anti-Partition |
| 1958 | Edward George Richardson | Ind. Nationalist |
| 1958 | Edward George Richardson | Nationalist |
| 1969 | Paddy O'Hanlon | Ind. Nationalist |
| 1970 | Paddy O'Hanlon | SDLP |

## Election results

General Election 1929: South Armagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Joe Connellan | 4,292 | 53.7 | |
| | Ind. Nationalist | Patrick Donnelly | 3,694 | 46.3 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 598 | 7.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,986 | 48.8 | |
| | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) |
General Election 1933: South Armagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Republican | Paddy McLogan | 4,803 | 55.6 | New |
| | National League | Gerry Lennon | 2,211 | 25.6 | New |
| | Nationalist | Bernard O'Neill | 1,627 | 18.8 | −34.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,592 | 30.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,641 | 51.1 | +2.3 |
| | Irish Republican gain from Nationalist | Irish Republican gain from Nationalist | Swing | | |
At the 1938 Northern Ireland general election, Paddy Agnew was elected unopposed.
General Election 1945: South Armagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Malachy Conlon | 6,720 | 61.9 | New |
| | NI Labour | Paddy Agnew | 4,143 | 38.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,577 | 23.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,863 | 64.6 | N/A |
| | Nationalist gain from NI Labour | Nationalist gain from NI Labour | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 1949: South Armagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Malachy Conlon | 10,868 | 76.4 | +14.5 |
| | UUP | Isaac Hawthorne | 3,365 | 23.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,503 | 52.8 | +29.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,233 | 84.8 | +20.2 |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | | |
South Armagh by-election, 1950 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Anti-Partition | Charles McGleenan | 5,581 | 68.6 | New |
| | Irish Labour | Seamus MacKearney | 2,555 | 31.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,026 | 37.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,136 | 46.5 | −38.3 |
| | Anti-Partition gain from Nationalist | Anti-Partition gain from Nationalist | Swing | | |
At the 1953 Northern Ireland general election, Charles McGleenan was elected unopposed.
General Election 1958: South Armagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Nationalist | Edward George Richardson | 3,698 | 49.5 | New |
| | Independent Labour | Malachy Trainor | 2,306 | 30.8 | New |
| | Ind. Nationalist | James McParland | 1,470 | 19.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,392 | 18.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,474 | 43.1 | N/A |
| | Ind. Nationalist gain from Anti-Partition | Ind. Nationalist gain from Anti-Partition | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 1962: South Armagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Edward George Richardson | 8,049 | 64.4 | +14.9 |
| | UUP | Brian McRoberts | 2,981 | 23.8 | New |
| | Independent Labour | Malachy Trainor | 1,470 | 11.8 | −19.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,068 | 40.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,500 | 73.2 | +30.1 |
| | Nationalist gain from Ind. Nationalist | Nationalist gain from Ind. Nationalist | Swing | | |
General Election 1965: South Armagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Edward George Richardson | 5,223 | 88.5 | +24.1 |
| | Ind. Republican | Peter McSorley | 682 | 13.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,541 | 77.0 | +36.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,905 | 33.5 | −39.7 |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1969: South Armagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Nationalist | Paddy O'Hanlon | 6,442 | 51.2 | New |
| | Nationalist | Edward George Richardson | 4,332 | 34.5 | −54.0 |
| | NI Labour | Patrick J. Byrne | 1,794 | 14.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,110 | 16.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,568 | 69.3 | +35.8 |
| | Ind. Nationalist gain from Nationalist | Ind. Nationalist gain from Nationalist | Swing | | |