South Down is an electoral constituency for the Northern Ireland Assembly. It lies in the southern portion of County Down.
The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1973. It usually shares the same boundaries as the South Down UK Parliament constituency, however the boundaries of the two constituencies were slightly different from 1983 to 1986 as the Assembly boundaries had not caught up with Parliamentary boundary changes and from 1996 to 1997 when members of the Northern Ireland Forum had been elected from the newly drawn Parliamentary constituencies but the 51st Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected in 1992 under the 1983–95 constituency boundaries, was still in session.
Members were then elected from the constituency to the 1975 Constitutional Convention, the 1982 Assembly, the 1996 Forum and then to the current Assembly from 1998.
Some of the most high-profile MLAs for the constituency have included Caitríona Ruane, Margaret Ritchie, and John McCallister.
For further details on the history and boundaries of the constituency, see South Down (UK Parliament constituency).
Members
Election MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) 1973Patrick O'Donoghue(SDLP)Eddie McGrady(SDLP)Frank Feely(SDLP)Brian Faulkner(UUP/UPNI)Herbert Heslip(UUP) Ronald Broadhurst(UUP)Cecil Harvey(Vanguard) 1975 Peter Brush(UUP) 1982 Raymond McCullough(UUP)William Brown(UUP)Jim Wells(DUP)George Graham(DUP) 1985by-election Jeffrey Donaldson(UUP) 1996Mick Murphy(Sinn Féin) Margaret Ritchie(SDLP) Hugh Carr(SDLP)Dermot Nesbitt(UUP) 5 seats1996–1998 1998 Eamon O'Neill(SDLP)P. J. Bradley(SDLP)Jim Wells(DUP/Independent Unionist) 6 seats1998–2017 2003Caitríona Ruane(Sinn Féin)Willie Clarke(Sinn Féin)Margaret Ritchie(SDLP) 2007John McCallister(UUP/Independent) 2011Karen McKevitt(SDLP) April 2012co-optionChris Hazzard(Sinn Féin) Seán Rogers(SDLP) 2016 Colin McGrath(SDLP) Sinéad Bradley(SDLP) Harold McKee(UUP) 2017Sinéad Ennis(Sinn Féin) 5 seats2017–present 5 seats2017–present June 2017co-optionEmma Rogan(Sinn Féin) May 2018defection 2022Cathy Mason(Sinn Féin) Patrick Brown(Alliance) Diane Forsythe(DUP) April 2024co-option Andrew McMurray(Alliance) Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns. For details of the order in which seats were won at each election, see the detailed results of that election.
Elections
Northern Ireland Assembly
2027
2022
2017
2016
2011
2007
2003
1998
1996 forum Successful candidates are shown in bold.1996 Candidates – South Down, Northern Ireland Elections
Party Candidate(s) Votes Percentage Eddie McGradyHugh CarrMargaret RitchieMarietta FarrellJohn Doris20,22043.2 Dermot NesbittFrederick WhartonGerry DouglasAlbert ColmerWilliam Martin10,37922.2 Mick MurphyFrank McDowellMartin GoughDeidre Clark6,14213.1 William AlexanderJohn FinlayWilliam Burns5,06010.8 Julian CrozierMichael Healy1,6853.6 Malachi CurranPatrick O'ConnorEdna FureyJames MassonMichael Kearney9272.0 George GrahamJames McDonald4971.1 Bronagh LawsonClaire HannahLynn CarvillUrsula Leahy4641.0 Norma CoulterDenis Paisley4040.9 Maggie BurchEugene O'SheaChristopher Busby2510.6 Paul MegarityMichael Henderson1970.4 Marie O'HaganEddie O'Hagan1620.4 Samuel PollockStanley WatsonJames McElrath1300.3 William LeneghanSean O'Baoill1170.2 Veronica McEneaneyJim Ryan650.1 Desmond GarrettWilliam McCarthy300.1 ChambersGeorge ChambersDoreen Larmour180.0
1985 by-election
1982
1975 Constitutional Convention
1973
References