1914 Belfast Corporation election

An election to Belfast Corporation took place in 1914 as part of that year's Irish local elections. This would be the last election before the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919, which would replace the traditional FPTP based ward system with an STV system based on proportional representation. The election saw Unionists continuing their dominance of the council, winning a massive majority of the councils seats.[1]

1914 Belfast Corporation election

15 January 1914
16 seats to Belfast Corporation 31 seats needed for a majority
Leader R. J. McMordie Party Irish Unionist United Irish League Seats won 14 2
Map showing the election results by ward.
Council control before election Irish Unionist Council control after election Irish Unionist

Sixteen seats were up for election, with a total of forty-eight candidates nominated. Publican John Boston was nominated for every seat, in order to ensure that they would have a contest. The Falls and St Anne's wards had the most candidates, with seven each. Arthur Trew stood in both the Falls and Shankill wards.[2]

After the election Crawford McCullagh was elected by the new council as Lord Mayor of Belfast.

Council composition by party

Party		Seats	±
	Irish Unionist	52
	United Irish League	8
Totals		60

Results by party

Party		Seats	±	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	14		12,944	71.88
	United Irish League	2		2,316	12.86
	Independent	0		1,282	7.12
	John Boston	0		1,218	6.76
	Independent Unionist	0		247	1.37
Totals		16		18,007	100%	—

Ward results

Clifton Ward

Clifton Ward[3]
Electorate: 6182

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Robert Dunlop (incumbent Councillor)	369
	Independent	John Boston	56
Majority			313
Turnout			425

Cromac Ward

Cromac Ward[3]
Electorate: 5205

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Robert Thomson M.B. (incumbent Councillor)	549
	Independent	John Boston	75
Majority			474
Turnout			624

Court Ward

Court Ward[3]
Electorate: 3450

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Joseph Davison (incumbent Councillor)	1138
	Independent	John Boston	48
Majority			1090
Turnout			1186

Dock Ward

Dock Ward[3]
Electorate: 3,316

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Dr Samuel William Allworthy M.D. (incumbent Councillor)	484	89.13
	Independent	John Boston	59	10.87
Majority			425	78.27
Turnout			543	16.38

Duncairn Ward

Duncairn Ward[3]
Electorate: 5,568

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Thomas Erskine Alexander (incumbent Councillor)	300
	Independent	John Boston	32
Majority			268
Turnout			332

Falls Ward

Falls Ward[3]
(2 Councillors)
Electorate: 4,561

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Nationalist	John Collins (incumbent Councillor)	1,555
	Irish Nationalist	James Leo McDonnell	761
	Independent	John Boston	91
Majority			268
Turnout			1,646

Ormeau Ward

Ormeau Ward[3]
(1 Councillor)
Electorate: 6,893

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William Frederick Coates J.P. (incumbent Councillor)	1,129
	Independent	John Boston	168
Majority			268
Turnout			961

Pottinger Ward

Pottinger Ward[3]
(1 Councillor)
Electorate: 7,111

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Arthur Stanley Atkinson	1,831
	Independent	John Boston	247
Majority			1,584
Turnout			2,078

St. Anne's Ward

St. Anne's Ward[3]
(1 Councillor)
Electorate: 5,283

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Francis Curley J.P. (incumbent Councillor)	899
	Independent	George Park	644
	Independent	John Boston	53
	Independent	Walter Holdinrake	37
Majority			255
Turnout			1,633

Shankhill Ward

Shankhill Ward[3]
Electorate: 5974

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William George Turner (incumbent Councillor)	2288
	Independent	John Boston	132
Majority			2156
Turnout			2420

St George's Ward

St George's Ward[3]
(1 Councillor)
Electorate: 3,284

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Charles Hinds	1,500
	Independent	Joseph Tyney	601
	Independent Unionist	James Mateer	247
	Independent	John Boston	11
Majority			899
Turnout			2,359

Smithfield

Smithfield Ward[3]
Electorate: 2424

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Patrick Dempsey J.P. (incumbent Councillor)	634
	Independent	John Boston	39
Majority			595
Turnout			673

Victoria Ward

Victoria Ward[3]
Electorate: 4593

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Frank Workman (incumbent Councillor)	207
	Independent	John Boston	53
Majority			154
Turnout			260

Windsor Ward

Victoria Ward[3]
Electorate: 5387

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Henry Riddell (incumbent Councillor)	458
	Independent	John Boston	63
Majority			395
Turnout			521

Woodvale Ward

Woodvale Ward[3]
Electorate: 4174

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	James Alexander Laughlin (incumbent Councillor)	1158
	Independent	John Boston	91
Majority			1067
Turnout			1249

References

1. Laffan, Michael (1999). The Resurrection of Ireland: The Sinn Féin Party, 1916–1923. Cambridge University Press. p. 327. ISBN 9781139426299.
2. "Municipal elections in the provinces", Irish Times, 10 January 1914
3. Belfast News-Letter - Friday 16 January 1914