Garff
Garff (Manx: Garff) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man.
It is located on the east of the island (part of the traditional South Side division) and consists of the two historic parishes of Lonan and Maughold. Before 1796 it also included the parish of Onchan.[1][2]
Administratively, since May 2016 the sheading of Garff has been covered by a single Garff local authority, a parish district, formed by merging the former village district of Laxey with the parish districts of Lonan and Maughold.[3]
The town of Ramsey, which is administered separately, covers areas of two historic parishes (Maughold, and Lezayre in the sheading of Ayre). It is treated as part of Garff for some purposes, e.g. the coroner.[4]
Other settlements in the sheading include Baldrine and Ballabeg (both in the parish of Lonan), and Ballure in the parish of Maughold.
Etymology
The origin of the name is uncertain. Kneen (1925)[5] suggests that it derives from the Norse gröf (N.B. not grðf, which is a typo there), meaning a pit or ravine (cognate with "grave").
MHKs and elections
Garff is also a House of Keys constituency (excluding (most of) Onchan). It was originally a three-seat constituency, but this was reduced to two seats in 1893 and one seat in 1986. Until 2016 it was heavily under-represented by having only a single MHK. However in the 2016 general election it elected 2 MHKs (the new constituency also includes the (sparsely populated) parish of Onchan, i.e. excluding the village of Onchan).
| Year | Election | Turnout | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1867 |
General Election |
No information available | |
| 1875 |
General Election | ||
| 1881 |
General Election |
John Allen Mylrea elected, no other information available | |
| 1886 |
General Election | ||
| 1891 |
General Election | ||
| 1896 |
General Election | ||
| 1900 |
By-Election |
Due to the resignation of J. A. Mylrea, no other information available | |
| 1903 |
General Election |
| |
| By-election called following the resignation of John Killip | |||
| 1908 |
By-Election |
| |
| No information available on unsuccessful candidates from 1908-1985 | |||
| 1908 |
General Election |
| |
| 1913 |
General Election |
No information available | |
| 1919 |
General Election |
No information available | |
| 1924 |
General Election |
| |
| 1929 |
General Election |
| |
| 1934 |
General Election |
| |
| 1946 |
General Election |
| |
| 1951 |
General Election |
| |
| 1956 |
General Election |
| |
| 1962 |
General Election |
| |
| 1966 |
General Election |
| |
| 1971 |
General Election |
| |
| 1976 |
General Election |
| |
| 1981 |
General Election |
| |
| By-election called following the elevation of Edgar Mann to the Legislative Council | |||
| 1985 |
By-Election |
| |
| Garff loses the District of Onchan and becomes a single seat constituency | |||
| 1986 |
General Election |
79% |
|
| By-election called following the election of Sir Charles Kerruish as President of Tynwald and thus his elevation to the Legislative Council | |||
| 1990 |
By-Election |
59.6% |
|
| 1991 |
General Election |
64% |
|
| By-election called following the re-elevation of Edgar Mann to the Legislative Council | |||
| 1995 |
By Election |
61.7% |
|
| 1996 |
General Election |
64.5% |
|
| 2001 |
General Election |
63.7% |
|
| 2006 |
General Election |
| |
| 2011 |
General Election |
| |
| Garff becomes a two-seat constituency | |||
| 2016 |
General Election |
| |
References
- "Common Law Courts Act 1796 (AN ACT for the better Regulation of the Court of Common Law.)" (PDF). Isle of Man Government On-line Legislation. Isle of Man Government. 1796. p. 5. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
Island divided into Districts, etc
- Broderick, George (2000). Placenames of the Isle of Man. Volume Five. Sheading of Middle (Kirk Braddan, Kirk Marown, and Kirk Santan). Tübingen: Niemeyer. p. xli. ISBN 3484401338.
- "Garff Commissioners". garff.im. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- "Coroners". Isle of Man Courts of Justice. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- Kneen, J.J. (1925). The place-names of the Isle of Man with their origin and history. Douglas: Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh.
