April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election
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Fermanagh and South Tyrone parliamentary seat | |||||||||||||||||||
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The 1981 by-election held in Fermanagh and South Tyrone on 9 April 1981 is considered by many to be the most significant by-election held in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It saw the first electoral victory for militant Irish republicanism, which the following year entered electoral politics in full force as Sinn Féin. The successful candidate was the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, who died twenty-six days later.
The by-election was caused by the death of the sitting MP, Frank Maguire.