Government of Ireland Act 1920 (constituencies) facts for kids
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to provide for the better Government of Ireland. |
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| Citation | 10 & 11 Geo. 5 c. 67 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 23 December 1920 |
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Status: Repealed
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The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was a special law passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its main goal was to divide Ireland into two parts. These parts were Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. The Act created separate parliaments for each part. A parliament is a group of people chosen to make laws for a country or region.
This law also set up new areas called "constituencies." A constituency is a specific area where people vote for their representatives. These representatives then sit in the parliament. The Act changed how Ireland was represented in the UK Parliament in London. It also helped set up the Second Dáil (an Irish assembly) and the Third Dáil in Southern Ireland.
Contents
What are Constituencies?
A constituency is like a voting district. People in each district vote for someone to represent them in parliament. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 created many new constituencies. These were for the new parliaments in Northern and Southern Ireland.
Constituencies in Southern Ireland
Southern Ireland was given 128 seats in its new parliament. It also had 33 seats in the UK Parliament. Some of the constituencies included:
- Dublin Mid, Dublin North-West, and Dublin South
- Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan
- Counties like Kildare–Wicklow and Wexford
- Cities like Cork and Limerick
Constituencies in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland was given 52 seats in its new parliament. It also had 13 seats in the UK Parliament. Some of these constituencies included:
- Belfast East, North, South, and West
- Counties like Antrim, Armagh, and Down
- Fermanagh and Tyrone, and Londonderry
How the Constituencies Were Used
Before this Act, the First Dáil (an Irish assembly) used older constituencies. But in May 1921, the Dáil decided to use the new constituencies from the 1920 Act.
The 1921 Irish elections used these new constituencies. This increased the total number of seats in the Dáil from 105 to 180. Most of the people elected were from Sinn Féin. They chose to sit in the Dáil instead of the new British-created parliaments.
Southern Ireland's Parliament
The new parliament for Southern Ireland was supposed to meet. However, most elected members from Sinn Féin did not attend. They preferred to be part of Dáil Éireann. Only a few members from Dublin University attended the first meeting.
Later, in January 1922, members elected for Southern Ireland did meet. They did this to approve the Anglo-Irish Treaty. This treaty led to the creation of the Irish Free State. The 1922 Irish general election also used the constituencies from this Act.
Changes After the Irish Free State
The Irish Free State officially left the United Kingdom on December 6, 1922. Because of this, the constituencies for Southern Ireland were never used again for the UK Parliament.
The 1923 Irish general election was the first election in the new Irish Free State. It used completely new constituencies. These were set up by a different law called the Electoral Act 1923.
Changes in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, the constituencies also changed over time. In 1929, new laws created single-seat constituencies. This meant each area elected only one representative. The Queen's University of Belfast constituency was an exception. It kept its four seats until 1969.
The constituencies for the UK Parliament in Northern Ireland also changed. This happened in 1948. These changes took effect in the 1950 general election.
See also
- List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland
- Historic Dáil constituencies
- Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies
