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Esmond Thompson

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Esmond Thompson
Member of Magherafelt District Council
In office
18 May 1977 – 20 May 1981
Preceded byDavid Campbell
Succeeded byJohn Linton
ConstituencyMagherafelt Area A
Member of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
for Mid Ulster
In office
1975–1976
Personal details
Born1929
Maghera, Northern Ireland
Died16 December 2021
Political partyUlster Unionist Party

Francis Henry Esmond Thompson (1929 – 16 December 2021) was a Northern Irish politician with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

Background

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Born in Maghera, Thompson served with the Royal Navy and later the Ulster Defence Regiment.[1] He subsequently served as sub-postmaster at Maghera Post Office for 41 years, retiring in 2001.[2][3]

Thompson served as a member of the UUP executive from 1971, still being in position as of 1994.[1] He also represented the party as a member of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention for Mid-Ulster[1] and as a member of Magherafelt District Council from 1977 to 1981.[4] In November 1975, he was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm, which he claimed he owned for his own protection.[5] In March 1977, he was shot in the arm in what was described as an assassination attempt, although he received only minor injuries.[6]

Thompson was known as a hard-line member of the UUP and had publicly criticised party colleague John Taylor during the life of the Constitutional Convention, feeling that Taylor was soft on proposals for power-sharing with the Social Democratic and Labour Party that had been proposed by William Craig.[7] In later years he was associated with the anti-Good Friday Agreement wing of the party[8] and was a strong critic of the leadership of David Trimble.[9]

Thompson died on 16 December 2021, at the age of 92.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c W. D. Flackes & Sydney Elliott, Northern Ireland A Political Directory 1968-1993, Blackstaff Press, 1994, p. 222
  2. ^ Thompson, Esmond (21 September 2000). "Letter: Demise of the Post Office?(Features)". The News Letter. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  3. ^ "New postmaster.(News)". The News Letter. 31 August 2001. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  4. ^ The Local Government Elections 1973-1981: Magherafelt
  5. ^ Fortnight, no.116, p.11
  6. ^ Fortnight, no.146, p.11
  7. ^ Henry Patterson & Eric P. Kaufmann, Unionism and Orangeism in Northern Ireland Since 1945: The Decline of the Loyal Family, Manchester University Press, 2007, p. 182
  8. ^ Thompson, Esmond (23 February 2001). "Letter: Recapture Lost Dignity". The News Letter.
  9. ^ Thompson, Esmond (19 January 2001). "Letter: Are we near the surrender of unionism?(Features)". The News Letter. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Esmond Thompson". D Watters Funeral Services on Facebook. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
New convention Member for Mid-Ulster
1975–1976
Convention dissolved