List of members of the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly facts for kids
This page lists the people who were elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982. These politicians were chosen by voters in the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election.
The Assembly was a special group of elected people who helped make decisions for Northern Ireland. However, not all parties chose to take part. For example, members from the Social Democratic and Labour Party and Sinn Féin decided not to attend the Assembly meetings. Also, the Ulster Unionist Party members did not attend for five months in 1984.
Contents
Who Was Elected? Members by Party
This section lists all the members elected in the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election, grouped by their political party.
| Party | Name | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Unionist Party (27) | Fraser Agnew | South Antrim | |
| Jack Allen | Londonderry | ||
| Roy Beggs | North Antrim | ||
| Billy Bell | South Antrim | ||
| William Bleakes | North Down | ||
| William Brown | South Down | ||
| Jeremy Burchill | Belfast East | ||
| John Carson | Belfast North | ||
| Jeffrey Donaldson ♭ | South Down | ||
| William Douglas | Londonderry | ||
| Dorothy Dunlop | Belfast East | ||
| Raymond Ferguson | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | ||
| Clifford Forsythe | South Antrim | ||
| Joe Gaston | North Antrim | ||
| Frank Millar Jr ♭ | Belfast South | ||
| Jim Kirkpatrick | Belfast South | ||
| Ken Maginnis | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | ||
| Robert McCartney | North Down | ||
| Harold McCusker | Armagh | ||
| James Molyneaux | South Antrim | ||
| Jim Nicholson | Armagh | ||
| Thomas Passmore | Belfast West | ||
| Mary Simpson | Armagh | ||
| Jim Speers ♭ | Armagh | ||
| Martin Smyth | Belfast South | ||
| John Taylor | North Down | ||
| William Thompson | Mid Ulster | ||
| Democratic Unionist Party (21) | Jim Allister | North Antrim | |
| William Beattie | South Antrim | ||
| David Calvert | Armagh | ||
| Gregory Campbell | Londonderry | ||
| Cecil Cousley | North Antrim | ||
| Ivan Davis | South Antrim | ||
| Ivan Foster | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | ||
| Simpson Gibson | North Down | ||
| George Graham | South Down | ||
| Alan Kane | Mid Ulster | ||
| James McClure | Londonderry | ||
| Raymond McCrea | Belfast South | ||
| William McCrea | Mid Ulster | ||
| Jack McKee | North Antrim | ||
| Ian Paisley | North Antrim | ||
| Wesley Pentland | North Down | ||
| Peter Robinson | Belfast East | ||
| George Seawright | Belfast North | ||
| Roy Thompson | South Antrim | ||
| Denny Vitty | Belfast East | ||
| Jim Wells | South Down | ||
| Social Democratic and Labour Party (13) | Austin Currie | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | |
| Sean Farren | North Antrim | ||
| Frank Feely | South Down | ||
| Denis Haughey | Mid Ulster | ||
| Joe Hendron | Belfast West | ||
| John Hume | Londonderry | ||
| Hugh Logue | Londonderry | ||
| James McDonald | South Antrim | ||
| Eddie McGrady | South Down | ||
| Mary McSorley | Mid Ulster | ||
| Hugh News | Armagh | ||
| Patrick O'Donoghue | South Down | ||
| Paschal O'Hare | Belfast North | ||
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (10) | Seamus Close | South Antrim | |
| David Cook | Belfast South | ||
| John Cushnahan | North Down | ||
| Will Glendinning | Belfast West | ||
| Paul Maguire | Belfast North | ||
| Gordon Mawhinney | South Antrim | ||
| Addie Morrow | Belfast East | ||
| Charles Mulholland | North Down | ||
| Oliver Napier | Belfast East | ||
| Seán Neeson | North Antrim | ||
| Sinn Féin (5) | Gerry Adams | Belfast West | |
| Owen Carron | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | ||
| Jim McAllister | Armagh | ||
| Martin McGuinness | Londonderry | ||
| Danny Morrison | Mid Ulster | ||
| Ulster Popular Unionist Party (1) | James Kilfedder | North Down | |
| Independent Unionist (1) | Frank Millar | Belfast North | |
Members by Area: Where They Represented
This list shows the elected members, sorted by the area (constituency) they represented.
Changes in Membership: By-Elections
Sometimes, a seat in the Assembly becomes empty before the next election. This can happen if a member resigns, passes away, or can no longer serve. When this happens, a special election called a "by-election" is held to choose a new member for that area.
| Date | Constituency | Old Member | Party | New Member | Party | Reason for Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 April 1983 | Armagh | Seamus Mallon | SDLP | Jim Speers | UUP | Seamus Mallon could not be a member of both the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Irish Senate (Seanad Éireann) at the same time. | ||
| 1 March 1984 | Belfast South | Edgar Graham | UUP | Frank Millar Jr | UUP | Edgar Graham's seat became empty due to his death. | ||
| 17 October 1985 | South Down | Raymond McCullough | UUP | Jeffrey Donaldson | UUP | Raymond McCullough passed away. | ||
Later Changes: Members Switching Parties
After the 1982 election, some members of the Assembly changed their political parties or became independent. This often happens in politics as people's views or party goals change over time.
For example, Jeffrey Donaldson from the Ulster Unionist Party later joined the DUP. Other members like Fraser Agnew became "Independent Unionists," meaning they didn't belong to a specific party. Some members, like William Bleakes and Dorothy Dunlop, even joined the Conservative Party for a while.
From the Democratic Unionist Party, several members, including Jim Allister and William Beattie, later left the party. Some were re-elected under different "Protestant" or "Protestant Unionist" names. A few, like Ivan Davis and William Thompson, later joined the Ulster Unionist Party.
Paschal O'Hare left the Social Democratic and Labour Party in 1986 because he disagreed with the party's support for the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Mary McSorley also left the SDLP later on.
Some members, like Austin Currie (SDLP) and John Cushnahan (Alliance), later got involved in politics in the Republic of Ireland and were elected for the Fine Gael party there.
