# Belfast Falls (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°35′31″N 5°57′47″W﻿ / ﻿54.592°N 5.963°W﻿ / 54.592; -5.963
Belfast Falls was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

## Boundaries

Belfast Falls was a borough constituency comprising part of western Belfast. 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.
Belfast Falls was created by the division of Belfast West into four new constituencies. It was formed from the Falls ward and included the Falls Road. It survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament, until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.

## Politics

The constituency was the most staunchly nationalist in Belfast. It was initially held by Nationalist Party members, then later by a variety of labour movement activists and members of smaller nationalist parties.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1929 | Richard Byrne | Nationalist Party |
| 1933 | Richard Byrne | Nationalist Party |
| 1938 | Richard Byrne | Nationalist Party |
| 1942 | Eamon Donnelly | Independent Republican |
| 1945 | Harry Diamond | Socialist Republican Party |
| 1949 | Harry Diamond | Socialist Republican Party |
| 1953 | Harry Diamond | Socialist Republican Party |
| 1958 | Harry Diamond | Republican Labour Party |
| 1962 | Harry Diamond | Republican Labour Party |
| 1965 | Harry Diamond | Republican Labour Party |
| 1969 | Paddy Devlin | Northern Ireland Labour Party |
| 1970 | Paddy Devlin | Social Democratic and Labour Party |
| 1973 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

## Election results

General Election 22 May 1929: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Richard Byrne | 6,941 | 55.8 | |
| | NI Labour | Billy McMullen | 5,509 | 44.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,432 | 11.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,450 | | |
| | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) | Nationalist win (new seat) |
General Election 30 November 1933: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Richard Byrne | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 9 February 1938: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Nationalist | Richard Byrne | 5,334 | 53.3 | N/A |
| | NI Labour | John Glass | 4,667 | 46.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 667 | 6.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,001 | | |
| | Nationalist hold | Nationalist hold | Swing | N/A | |
* Death of Byrne
By-election 2 April 1942: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Republican | Eamon Donnelly | 4,595 | 54.8 | New |
| | Nationalist | George McGouran | 1,971 | 23.5 | −29.8 |
| | NI Labour | John Glass | 1,821 | 21.7 | −25.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,623 | 31.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,387 | | |
| | Ind. Republican gain from Nationalist | Ind. Republican gain from Nationalist | Swing | | |
General Election 14 June 1945: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Socialist Republican | Harry Diamond | 5,016 | 42.9 | New |
| | Federation of Labour | John Collins | 3,912 | 33.5 | New |
| | Nationalist | James McGlade | 2,766 | 23.6 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,104 | 9.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,694 | | |
| | Socialist Republican gain from Ind. Republican | Socialist Republican gain from Ind. Republican | Swing | | |
General Election 10 February 1949: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Socialist Republican | Harry Diamond | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| | Socialist Republican hold | Socialist Republican hold | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 22 October 1953: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 7,510 | 73.1 | N/A |
| | Independent Irish Labour | Seamus MacKearney | 2,761 | 26.9 | New |
| | Irish Labour | Jack MacGougan | 1,361 | 11.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,749 | 46.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,632 | | |
| | Republican Labour gain from Socialist Republican | Republican Labour gain from Socialist Republican | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 20 March 1958: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 7,510 | 73.1 | 0.0 |
| | Independent Irish Labour | Seamus MacKearney | 2,761 | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,749 | 46.2 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,271 | | |
| | Republican Labour hold | Republican Labour hold | Swing | | |
General Election 31 May 1962: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 7,662 | 76.6 | +3.5 |
| | Ind. Labour Group | John Joseph Brennan | 2,343 | 23.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,319 | 53.2 | +7.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,005 | | |
| | Republican Labour hold | Republican Labour hold | Swing | | |
General Election 25 November 1965: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | Unopposed | N/A | N/A |
| | Republican Labour hold | Republican Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 24 February 1969: Belfast Falls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | NI Labour | Paddy Devlin | 6,275 | 53.1 | New |
| | Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 5,549 | 46.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 726 | 6.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,824 | | N/A |
| | NI Labour gain from Republican Labour | NI Labour gain from Republican Labour | Swing | N/A | |