1977 Omagh District Council election

Main article: Northern Ireland local elections, 1977
1977 Omagh District Council election
← 1973 18 May 1977 (1977-05-18) 1981 →
All 20 seats to Omagh District Council
11 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Party UUP SDLP Alliance
Seats won 8 6 3
Seat change Increase 2 Increase 2 Steady 0
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Party Ind. Nationalist Republican Clubs Ind. Unionist
Seats won 2 1 0
Seat change Decrease 1 Increase 1 Decrease 2
  Seventh party Eighth party
 
Party Nationalist Ind. Republican
Seats won 0 0
Seat change Decrease 1 Decrease 1

Elections to Omagh District Council were held on 18 May 1977 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used four district electoral areas to elect a total of 20 councillors.

Election results

Omagh District Council Election Result 1977[1]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  UUP 8 2 0 Increase2 40.0 35.9 6,868 Increase7.2
  SDLP 6 2 0 Increase2 30.0 29.6 5,671 Increase12.2
  Alliance 3 0 0 Steady0 15.0 16.0 3,071 Increase3.8
  Ind. Nationalist 2 1 2 Decrease1 10.0 14.1 2,707 Decrease1.9
  Republican Clubs 1 1 0 Increase1 5.0 4.2 801 New

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes.

Districts summary

Results of the Omagh District Council election, 1977
by district[1]
Ward %
Cllrs
 %
Cllrs
 %
 Cllrs
 %
 Cllrs
 %
Cllrs
 Total
Cllrs
UUP SDLP Alliance RC Others
Area A 39.8 2 33.1 1 9.5 0 0.0 0 17.6 1 5
Area B 42.8 2 17.1 0 21.5 1 0.0 0 18.6 1 4
Area C 36.9 3 41.8 3 21.3 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 7
Area D 22.4 1 18.4 1 10.9 1 20.9 1 27.4 0 4
Total 35.9 8 29.6 6 16.0 3 4.2 1 14.3 2 20

Districts results

Area A

1973: 2 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Independent Nationalist, 1 x Independent Unionist
1977: 2 x SDLP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Independent Nationalist
1973-1977 Change: Independent Unionist joins UUP

Omagh Area A - 5 seats[2]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
SDLP Liam McQuaid* 23.29% 1,218          
Ind. Nationalist Michael O'Hagan 17.54% 917          
UUP Arthur McFarland* 17.35% 907          
SDLP John Skelton* 9.81% 513 820.8 833.5 872.9    
UUP Cecil Anderson* 14.15% 740 740.9 758.9 758.9 772.88 1,165.88
Alliance Seamus McGale 7.53% 394 415.9 473.3 476.1 476.4 482.4
UUP William Brunt 8.34% 436 436 451.3 451.4 463.58  
Alliance Anthony Pollock 1.99% 104 117.8        
Electorate: 6,527   Valid: 5,229 (80.11%)   Spoilt: 189   Quota: 872   Turnout: 5,418 (83.01%)  

Area B

1973: 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Nationalist, 1 x Independent Unionist
1977: 2 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Nationalist
1973-1977 Change: Independent Unionist joins UUP

Omagh Area B - 4 seats[2]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4
UUP Edgar McDowell* 24.53% 971      
UUP Joseph Anderson* 18.24% 722 741 904.21  
Ind. Nationalist Patrick Donnelly* 18.62% 737 780 780.57 783.61
Alliance Patrick Bogan* 15.89% 629 716 725.12 754.19
SDLP Kevin McNaboe 17.08% 676 720 720.19 721.52
Alliance Patrick Donnelly 5.63% 223      
Electorate: 5,289   Valid: 3,958 (74.83%)   Spoilt: 224   Quota: 792   Turnout: 4,182 (79.07%)  

Area C

1973: 3 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Nationalist
1977: 3 x UUP, 3 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance
1973-1977 Change: SDLP gain from Nationalist

Omagh Area C - 7 seats[2]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Alliance Aidan Lagan 16.51% 1,012              
SDLP Gerald McEnhill* 15.17% 930              
UUP Cecil Walker* 14.37% 881              
SDLP Stephen McKenna* 11.45% 702 746.25 849.78          
UUP Alfred Barnett 8.79% 539 539.25 539.42 568.02 568.02 787.02    
UUP Harold McCauley* 7.37% 452 457.75 458.26 509.09 509.37 685.63 703 857
SDLP Bernadette Grant 8.73% 535 555 578.97 579.23 618.57 620.95 620.95 726.31
SDLP Daniel Campbell 6.43% 394 412 434.44 434.44 470.84 475.22 475.31 539.32
Alliance Ethne McClelland 4.76% 292 443 447.25 449.59 454.21 467.66 468.29  
UUP Archibald Burton 6.41% 393 394.25 394.25 424.93 425.07      
Electorate: 10,073   Valid: 6,130 (60.86%)   Spoilt: 277   Quota: 767   Turnout: 6,407 (63.61%)  

Area D

1973: 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Nationalist, 1 x Independent Republican
1977: 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Republican Clubs
1973-1977 Change: SDLP gain from Independent Nationalist, Independent Republican joins Republican Clubs

Omagh Area D - 7 seats[2]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
UUP John Johnston* 22.37% 857          
Republican Clubs Francis McElroy* 20.91% 801          
SDLP Brendan Martin 12.35% 473 473 482.48 589 616.32 720.08
Alliance John Hadden* 10.88% 417 484.14 495.06 527.22 555.32 673.72
Ind. Nationalist Michael McNulty* 10.83% 415 425.26 427.82 453.9 534.94 659.56
Ind. Nationalist Bernard McGrath 9.92% 380 383.24 386.08 406.12 514.58  
Ind. Nationalist Patrick McCrory 6.73% 258 263.4 264.68 297.68    
SDLP John McSherry 6.00% 230 230 230.8      
Electorate: 5,300   Valid: 3,831 (72.28%)   Spoilt: 151   Quota: 767   Turnout: 3,982 (75.13%)  

References

  1. ^ a b "Local Government Elections 1973-1981: Omagh". www.ark.ac.uk.
  2. ^ a b c d "Local Government Results 1977". EONI. Retrieved 16 August 2021.