Austin Ardill
Austin Ardill | |
|---|---|
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for South Antrim | |
| In office 28 June 1973 – 1974 | |
| Preceded by | New assembly |
| Succeeded by | Assembly abolished |
| Member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland for Carrick | |
| In office 25 November 1965 – 24 February 1969 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander Hunter |
| Succeeded by | Anne Dickson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1917 Ulster Vanguard (1972-1974) |
Captain Robert Austin Ardill
Biography
Ardill was born in
After the war he became involved with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and was elected as a member of Larne Rural District Council. In 1965 he was elected as a member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, representing Carrick.[5] He was opposed to the political reform programme of the Prime Minister Terence O'Neill and as a result lost the UUP nomination for Carrick in 1969 to Anne Dickson.[6]
Subsequently, he became involved in the
In 1973, Ardill was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly, representing South Antrim. Although he signed the pledge to support the former Prime Minister Brian Faulkner, he changed sides after the election to oppose the Sunningdale Agreement.[8] Ardill was courted by the Democratic Unionist Party and considered switching to that party before ultimately deciding to remain an Ulster Unionist.[9] He was re-elected for South Antrim in the Constitutional Convention election of 1975.
In September 1979 he stood in the
In the wake of the
Personal life
His wife Molly Ardill later served on
Betty Orr, his daughter, was a schoolteacher who upon her retirement received praise for her work at the school where she taught and for building cross community links.[12]
Burial
He was buried after a ceremony in the Holy Trinity Church of Ireland in Carrickfergus.[13]
References
- ^ Telegraph Obituaries, 13 October 2010
- ^ "No. 37262". The London Gazette. 11 September 1945. p. 4560.
- ^ "No. 38124". The London Gazette. 14 November 1947. p. 5420.
- ^ Brief Biography Archived 25 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Stormont election results
- ^ Carrick election 1969
- ^ Vanguard movement profile
- ^ South Antrim results
- ^ a b Steve Bruce, Paisley: Religion and Politics in Northern Ireland, Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 121
- ^ 1979 UUP leadership election
- ^ UUP Charter group profile
- ^ "The children's champion... a class act". BBC News. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2012
- ^ "Tributes paid to unionist stalwart" The Newsletter