Dinah McNabb

Member of Parliament
for North Armagh
In office
1945–1969
Preceded by| John Johnston
Succeeded by| Robert James Mitchell
Personal details
Born| Lurgan, Northern Ireland

Dinah McNabb (died December 1988[1]) was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Born in Lurgan, McNabb studied at Queen's University, Belfast. She was elected to Armagh County Council for the Ulster Unionist Party, and was then elected at the 1945 Northern Ireland general election in North Armagh, serving until her retirement in 1969.[2]

McNabb was a strong supporter of the Lord's Day Observance Society and throughout the 1940s campaigned against greyhound racing on Sundays, particularly in her home town of Lurgan.[3]

McNabb was a bitter opponent of the development of the new town of Craigavon in the area she represented, and was in particular concerned that compensation payments to farmers took no account of their attachment to the land. In February 1966, she gave a thirty-minute speech attacking the project, which culminated in her resignation from the government.[4] She lent support to other projects, and led calls for the construction of a bridge or tunnel to connect Northern Ireland with Britain.[5]

McNabb also served as the first Chairman of the 1966 Committee of backbenchers, from its establishment until 1968, and was the President of the Federation of Soroptimists of Great Britain and Ireland.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Card catalogue of debates and oral and written questions in the Northern Ireland House of Commons and Senate, arranged by subject, 1921-1972". Sources for Irish Women’s History. Irish Manuscripts Commission. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. ^ a b "Northern Ireland Parliament Elections Results: Biographies". Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
3. ^ "The Stormont Papers - View Volumes". Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
4. ^ Maureen Moriarty-Lempke, "Planning in Divided Societies: A Case Study of the Introduction of Regional Planning in Northern Ireland 1964-1970", p.27
5. ^ "Private member's motion discusses merits of cross-channel tunnel", Belfast Newsletter, 23 May 1966

Parliament of Northern Ireland

Preceded by

John Johnston

|  Member of Parliament for North Armagh
1945–1969  | Succeeded by

Robert James Mitchell

Party political offices
New office |  Chairman of the 66 Committee
1966–1968  | Succeeded by

John Dobson