# Armagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°20′53″N 6°39′22″W﻿ / ﻿54.348°N 6.656°W﻿ / 54.348; -6.656
Armagh was a county constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1929. It returned four MPs, using proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

## Boundaries

Armagh was created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and consisted of the entirety of County Armagh. The House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 divided the constituency into four constituencies elected under first past the post: Central, Mid, North and South Armagh constituencies.

## Second Dáil

In May 1921, Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the self-declared Irish Republic run by Sinn Féin, passed a resolution declaring that elections to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland would be used as the election for the Second Dáil. All those elected were on the roll of the Second Dáil, but Michael Collins, who was also elected for Cork Mid, North, South, South East and West, was the only MP elected for Armagh to sit as a TD in Dáil Éireann.

## Politics

Armagh had a slight Unionist majority, but this was fairly evenly balanced with a Nationalist minority. In both general elections, two Unionists were elected, alongside one Nationalist and one Republican.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | MP (Party) | MP (Party) | MP (Party) | MP (Party) | MP (Party) | MP (Party) | MP (Party) |
| 1921 | | Michael Collins (Sinn Féin) | John Dillon Nugent (Nationalist) | | Richard Best (UUP) | | David Graham Shillington (UUP) |
| 1922 | vacant | vacant | | John Dillon Nugent (Nationalist) | | Richard Best (UUP) | | David Graham Shillington (UUP) |
| 1925 | | Eamon Donnelly (Republican) | John Henry Collins (Nationalist) | | Richard Best (UUP) | | David Graham Shillington (UUP) |
| 1925 by | | Eamon Donnelly (Republican) | John Henry Collins (Nationalist) | | John Clarke Davison (UUP) | | David Graham Shillington (UUP) |

## MPs' lifespans

| Name | Born | Died |
| Richard Best | 11 December 1869 | 23 February 1939 |
| Michael Collins | 16 October 1890 | 22 August 1922 |
| David Graham Shillington | 10 December 1872 | 22 January 1944 |
| John Dillon Nugent | 22 December 1869 | 1 March 1940 |
| Eamon Donnelly | 19 July 1877 | 29 December 1944 |
| John Henry Collins | 3 March 1880 | 12 June 1952 |
| John Clarke Davison | 19 April 1875 | 19 February 1946 |

## Elections

24 May 1921 General Election: Armagh (4 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | UUP | Richard Best | 34.36 | 15,988 | |
| | Sinn Féin | Michael Collins | 27.20 | 12,656 | |
| | UUP | David Graham Shillington | 20.91 | 9,730 | |
| | Nationalist | John Dillon Nugent | 14.74 | 6,857 | 6,960 |
| | Sinn Féin | Frank Aiken | 2.80 | 1,301 | 1,329 |
| Electorate: 53,977 Valid: 46,532 Quota: 9,307 Turnout: 86.2% ||||||
* Collins died on 22 August 1922; his seat remained vacant at dissolution.
3 April 1925 General Election: Armagh (4 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | UUP | Richard Best | 37.50 | 15,969 | | |
| | UUP | David Graham Shillington | 24.83 | 10,575 | | |
| | Republican | Eamon Donnelly | 13.57 | 5,788 | 5,823 | 5,838 |
| | Nationalist | John Henry Collins | 12.38 | 5,272 | 5,354 | 5,393 |
| | Nationalist | John Dillon Nugent | 11.72 | 4,991 | 5,063 | 5,116 |
| Electorate: 54,082 Valid: 42,595 Quota: 8,520 Turnout: 78.8% |||||||
* Appointment of Best as Lord Justice of Appeal
Armagh by-election, 1925 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | John Clarke Davison | 22,390 | 79.20 | |
| | Unbought Tenants | William Robert Todd | 5,880 | 20.80 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,510 | 58.40 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,082 | 52.3 | −26.5 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |