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> United Kingdom > Northern Ireland > Northern Ireland
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| Established | February 23, 1950 |
| Disbanded | Still Active |
| Contributor | RP |
| Last Modified | RBH September 19, 2021 01:49am |
| Description |
This seat remains well known as the site of two bitterly fought by-elections in 1981. Bobby Sands, an IRA prisoner on hunger strike, fought the election from prison and won, only to die during the protests at the Maze Prison the following month. In the ensuing by-election, his election agent, Owen Carron, won the seat but lost to the previous incumbent, Ken - now Lord Maginnis - in 1983, when an SDLP candidate split the Catholic vote. The largest town in the constituency is Enniskillen, which the IRA bombed during the 1987 Remembrance Sunday ceremony. It has a population of over 13,000, and is a popular shopping centre, with a large lakeside theatre and excellent angling facilities. The other principal town is Dungannon, a textile manufacturing town in the south east of County Tyrone, which attracts many visitors to both the glassware works of Tyrone Crystal and the Moygashel Mills, one of the most famous names in Irish linen history. Today there is an almost 50-50 Protestant-Catholic split in the seat. In recent elections the SDLP and Sinn Féin have both fielded candidates, whereas the unionist vote has united behind the UUP. But it seems likely that the DUP will stand this time around. In 2001, Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew won the seat from the UUP by 53 votes, and confirmed their lead in the 2003 Assembly elections.
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