# North Fermanagh (UK Parliament constituency)

North Fermanagh was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland which returned one Member of Parliament from 1885 to 1922, using the first past the post electoral system.

## Boundaries and Boundary Changes

This county constituency comprised the northern part of County Fermanagh. The seat was defined under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as comprising the baronies of Lurg, Magheraboy, and Tirkenny. The seat was unchanged under the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918.
Prior to the 1885 United Kingdom general election the area was part of the Fermanagh constituency. After the dissolution of Parliament in 1922 the constituency was incorporated in the new seat of Fermanagh and Tyrone

## Politics

The constituency was a marginal one compared to many other seats in Northern Ireland. The Unionist candidate won in 1918, but Sinn Féin only polled 532 fewer votes.

## The First Dáil

Sinn Féin contested the general election of 1918 on the platform that instead of taking up any seats they won in the United Kingdom Parliament, they would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin. In republican theory every MP elected in Ireland was a potential Deputy to this assembly. In practice only the Sinn Féin members accepted the offer.
The revolutionary First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 and last met on 10 May 1921. The First Dáil, according to a resolution passed on 10 May 1921, was formally dissolved on the assembling of the Second Dáil. This took place on 16 August 1921.
In 1921 Sinn Féin decided to use the UK authorised elections for the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland as a poll for the Irish Republic's Second Dáil. This area, in republican theory, was incorporated in an eight-member Dáil constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1885 | Willie Redmond | Nationalist |
| | 1892 | Richard Dane | Irish Unionist |
| | 1898(b) | Edward Archdale | Irish Unionist |
| | 1903(b) | Edward Mitchell | Russellite Unionist |
| | 1906 | Godfrey Fetherstonhaugh | Irish Unionist |
| | 1916(b) | Edward Archdale | Irish Unionist |
| | 1921 | Edward Archdale | Ulster Unionist |
| 1922 | 1922 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1880s

1885 general election: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Parliamentary | Willie Redmond | 3,255 | 53.6 | |
| | Irish Conservative | John Caldwell Bloomfield | 2,822 | 46.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 433 | 7.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,077 | 90.9 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,687 | | |
| | Irish Parliamentary win (new seat) | Irish Parliamentary win (new seat) | Irish Parliamentary win (new seat) | Irish Parliamentary win (new seat) | Irish Parliamentary win (new seat) |
1886 general election: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Parliamentary | Willie Redmond | 3,128 | 52.2 | −1.4 |
| | Irish Conservative | William Humphrys Archdale | 2,862 | 47.8 | +1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 266 | 4.4 | −2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,990 | 89.6 | −1.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 6,687 | | |
| | Irish Parliamentary hold | Irish Parliamentary hold | Swing | −1.4 | |

### Elections in the 1890s

1892 general election: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Richard Dane | 2,879 | 52.9 | +5.1 |
| | Irish National Federation | Jeremiah Jordan | 2,562 | 47.1 | −5.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 317 | 5.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,441 | 91.6 | +2.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,937 | | |
| | Irish Unionist gain from Irish Parliamentary | Irish Unionist gain from Irish Parliamentary | Swing | +5.1 | |
1895 general election: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Richard Dane | 2,782 | 53.6 | +0.7 |
| | Independent Liberal | George Reginald Leeper | 2,406 | 46.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 376 | 7.2 | +1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,188 | 92.1 | +0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,632 | | |
| | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Swing | | |
By-election, 1898: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Edward Archdale | 2,568 | 55.1 | +1.5 |
| | Ind. Unionist | Edward Charles Thompson | 2,091 | 44.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 477 | 10.2 | +3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,659 | 81.2 | −10.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,735 | | |
| | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Edward Archdale | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold |
By-election, 1903: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Russellite Unionist | Edward Mitchell | 2,407 | 51.6 | New |
| | Irish Unionist | James Craig | 2,255 | 48.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 152 | 3.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,662 | 89.4 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,213 | | |
| | Russellite Unionist gain from Irish Unionist | Russellite Unionist gain from Irish Unionist | Swing | N/A | |
1906 general election: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Godfrey Fetherstonhaugh | 2,419 | 50.9 | N/A |
| | Russellite Unionist | Edward Mitchell | 2,331 | 49.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 88 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,750 | 93.4 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 5,083 | | |
| | Irish Unionist gain from Russellite Unionist | Irish Unionist gain from Russellite Unionist | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Godfrey Fetherstonhaugh | 2,474 | 53.8 | +2.9 |
| | Liberal | Samuel Peter Kerr | 2,124 | 46.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 350 | 7.6 | +5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,598 | 93.9 | +0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,895 | | |
| | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Swing | | |
December 1910 general election: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Godfrey Fetherstonhaugh | 2,402 | 53.9 | +0.1 |
| | Liberal | Arthur Percival Tod Collum | 2,055 | 46.1 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 347 | 7.8 | +0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,457 | 91.1 | −2.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,895 | | |
| | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Swing | +0.1 | |
By-election, 1916: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Edward Archdale | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold |
General Election 14 December 1918: North Fermanagh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Unionist | Edward Archdale | 6,768 | 52.0 | −1.9 |
| | Sinn Féin | Kevin O'Shiel | 6,236 | 47.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 532 | 4.1 | −3.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,004 | 89.7 | −1.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 14,496 | | |
| | Irish Unionist hold | Irish Unionist hold | Swing | | |