Hugh Downey was a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Downey was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and worked as a

barman A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, b ...

. He joined the

Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. Previously, in 1885 ...

and by 1942 was its Vice-Chairman.Graham S. Walker, ''The Politics of Frustration'' At the

1945 Northern Ireland general election The 1945 Northern Ireland general election was held on 14 June 1945. The election saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, though they retained their majority. 20 MPs were elected unopposed (38%), the vast majority of whom were U ...

, Downey was elected for

Belfast Dock Belfast Dock was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. Boundaries Belfast Dock was a borough constituency comprising part of northern Belfast. It was created in 1929 when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistributio ...

, defeating sitting

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

member George Anthony Clark. Downey lost the seat at the 1949 general election.Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons
/ref> Downey's nephew Danny Morrison later became a prominent member of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Hugh Year of birth missing Possibly living people Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1945–1949 Northern Ireland Labour Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast constituencies