Sinn Féin's John Finucane has been elected MP for North Belfast, unseating DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds by close to 2,000 votes.
The seat had been in the hands of one or other of the unionist parties since before partition. Mr Finucane won by 23,078 votes against his main opponent's 21,135 votes. The result was hailed as a "hugely significant" one for the party by Sinn Féin’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald.
Finucane is also Mayor of Belfast and a solicitor. Two years ago he had run for the same seat but lost out to Dodds.
This time the SDLP, Greens, and Workers' Party all pulled out of the constituency leaving to the two main parties.
He is the son of Pat Finucane, the Belfast human right lawyer who was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in 1989. He took a moment to remember his father in the aftermath of his victory.
Taking the stand after his win in North Belfast, Sinn Féin's John Finucane says it's a huge night.
He also takes a moment to remember his father, murdered solicitor Pat Finucane. pic.twitter.com/n2imExUp3S— BBC News NI (@BBCNewsNI) December 13, 2019
“I can’t help but think of my father and where we have come from, not just as a family but as a society as well,” he said.
Finucane also played senior inter-county football with Antrim. He was part of the panel which won the Tommy Murphy Cup in 2008 and was in goal when they lost to Kerry in the 2009 qualifiers.
Outgoing MP Mr Dodds cited Sinn Fein's policy of not taking seats at Westminster as he departed, declaring it a regret that North Belfast will be "left unrepresented in the House of Commons at a very challenging time".
The result comes on a night that confirmed for the first time, nationalist parties will more MPs than unionist parties. Overall, Boris Johnson secured a historic Conservative general election victory.
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