1985 Armagh District Council election

Main article: Northern Ireland local elections, 1985

Elections to Armagh District Council were held on 15 May 1985 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used four district electoral areas to elect a total of 22 councillors.

1985 Armagh District Council election

15 May 1985 (1985-05-15)
All 22 seats to Armagh District Council 12 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Ulster Unionist SDLP DUP Seats won 11 7 3 Seat change 3 0 0   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Sinn Féin UUUP Independent Nationalist Seats won 1 0 0 Seat change 1 1 1

Election results

Armagh District Council Election Result 1985

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Ulster Unionist	11	0	3	3	50.0	43.8	10,287	5.1
	SDLP	7	0	0	0	31.8	30.1	7,076	0.7
	DUP	3	0	0	0	13.6	17.0	3,985	1.5
	Sinn Féin	1	1	0	1	4.5	6.4	1,515	New
	Independent Nationalist	0	0	1	1	0.0	2.7	640	1.5

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes.

Districts summary

Results of the Armagh District Council election, 1985
by district

Ward	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
	UUP		SDLP		DUP		Sinn Féin		Others
Armagh City	30.4	2	30.3	2	12.6	1	16.1	1	10.6	0	6
Crossmore	30.6	2	58.5	3	10.9	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	5
Cusher	60.2	4	17.8	1	22.0	1	0.0	0	0.0	0	6
The Orchard	48.7	3	21.2	1	20.4	1	9.7	0	0.0	0	5
Total	43.8	11	30.1	7	17.0	2	6.4	1	2.7	0	22

District results

Armagh City

1985: 2 x SDLP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP

Armagh City - 6 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Sinn Féin	Thomas Carroll	16.11%	970
	SDLP	John Agnew*	12.27%	739	762.94	920.94
	SDLP	Pat Brannigan*	10.16%	612	622.92	861.42
	Ulster Unionist	John Doogan	10.71%	645	645.14	646.14	646.14	901.14
	Ulster Unionist	George Macartney*	10.30%	620	620.14	625.14	625.9	871.9
	DUP	Geoffrey Knipe	12.55%	756	756.14	757.14	757.14	816.14	854.33
	Independent Nationalist	Bernard McManus*	10.63%	640	699.78	773.84	832.36	835.36	835.93
	Ulster Unionist	Robert Orr	9.37%	564	564	565	565
	SDLP	Oliver Tobin	7.90%	476	487.62
Electorate: 9,766   Valid: 6,022 (61.66%)   Spoilt: 100   Quota: 861   Turnout: 6,122 (62.69%)

Crossmore

1985: 3 x SDLP, 2 x UUP

Crossmore - 5 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	SDLP	Charles Mallon	22.41%	1,072
	Ulster Unionist	Jim Nicholson*	19.84%	949
	SDLP	James McKernan*	18.58%	889
	SDLP	Thomas McArdle	17.50%	837
	Ulster Unionist	Thomas Shilliday	10.72%	513	541	667.88	690.88
	DUP	Joseph McBride*	10.95%	524	580	603.36	611.36
Electorate: 7,459   Valid: 4,784 (64.14%)   Spoilt: 137   Quota: 798   Turnout: 4,921 (65.97%)

Cusher

1985: 4 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP

Cusher - 6 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3
	Ulster Unionist	Eric Speers	17.92%	1,267
	SDLP	Seamus Mallon*	17.82%	1,260
	Ulster Unionist	Thomas Johnston	16.25%	1,149
	DUP	Thomas Black*	14.27%	1,009
	Ulster Unionist	Robert Turner*	12.74%	901	1,042.4
	Ulster Unionist	James Clayton	13.28%	939	993.4	1,059.4
	DUP	Mervyn Spratt	7.72%	546	570	615
Electorate: 9,467   Valid: 7,071 (74.69%)   Spoilt: 63   Quota: 1,011   Turnout: 7,134 (75.36%)

The Orchard

1985: 3 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP

The Orchard - 5 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Ulster Unionist	Jim Speers*	21.13%	1,189
	DUP	Douglas Hutchinson*	20.44%	1,150
	Ulster Unionist	Ronald Allen*	15.55%	875	972.23
	Ulster Unionist	Samuel Foster*	12.02%	676	823.21	1,027.81
	SDLP	Christopher McAnallen	10.88%	612	612.63	612.83	626.43	783.63	794.34
	SDLP	Francis McIlvanna*	10.29%	579	579.84	580.04	584.64	771.04	773.14
	Sinn Féin	Brigid McCartan	9.69%	545	545	546.4	546.6
Electorate: 7,682   Valid: 5,626 (73.24%)   Spoilt: 92   Quota: 938   Turnout: 5,718 (74.43%)