The royal visit for the opening of the Northern Ireland parliament in 1921 was of great significance to Ulster unionists, though the target audience may have been Sinn Féin
BBC News
By Mark Simpson
It is exactly 100 years since the first election was held in Northern Ireland.
An overwhelming majority of the successful candidates, 40, were unionists.
Also elected were six Sinn Féin representatives, including Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera, although they refused to take their seats.
image copyrightBritish Pathé
image captionSir James Craig was the first prime minister of Northern Ireland
Unionists hailed the result as a significant victory and believed it copper-fastened the new border, following the partition of Ireland.
However, with six seats going to Sinn Féin and six to nationalist candidates, the political divide within the new state was clear.
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