Eisspeedway

Garff

54°15′40″N 4°23′49″W / 54.261°N 4.397°W / 54.261; -4.397

Sheading of 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

  • John Robert Kerruish, 468 votes, elected
  • Robert Kerruish, 407 votes, elected
1913

General Election

No information available
1919

General Election

No information available
1924

General Election

1929

General Election

  • Thomas Callow, elected
  • Walter Cowin, elected
1934

General Election

  • Thomas Callow, elected
  • Walter Cowin, elected
1946

General Election

1951

General Election

1956

General Election

  • Sir Charles Kerruish, elected
1962

General Election

1966

General Election

1971

General Election

  • Sir Charles Kerruish, elected
  • Jean Thornton-Duesbery, elected
1976

General Election

1981

General Election

  • Sir Charles Kerruish, elected
  • Lt Col Dr Edgar Mann, elected
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%

  • Sir Charles Kerruish (1113 votes, elected)
  • Lt Col Dr Edgar Mann (889 votes)
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%

  • Lt Col Dr Edgar Mann (648 votes, elected)
  • James McKenzie (293 votes)
  • D Corlett (252 votes)
  • D Robertson (198 votes)
1991

General Election

64%

  • Lt Col Dr Edgar Mann (899 votes, elected)
  • James McKenzie (444 votes)
  • Harry Wade (376 votes)
By-election called following the re-elevation of Edgar Mann to the Legislative Council
1995

By Election

61.7%

  • Steve Rodan (562 votes, elected)
  • Faragher (462 votes)
  • James McKenzie (319 votes)
  • Andrew Smith (228 votes)
  • Sharpe (71 votes)
1996

General Election

64.5%

  • Steve Rodan (1257 votes, elected)
  • James McKenzie (473 votes)
  • Kenneth Morkille (52 votes)
2001

General Election

63.7%

  • Steve Rodan (1176 votes, elected)
  • Marianne Kerruish (809 votes)
2006

General Election

2011

General Election

  • Steve Rodan (1725 votes, elected)
  • Nigel Dobson (136 votes)
Garff becomes a two-seat constituency

Election results since 2016

In 2014, Tynwald approved recommendations from the Boundary Review Commission which saw the reform of the Island's electoral boundaries.

General election 2021: Garff[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Daphne Hilary Penelope Caine 1,122 23.4
Independent Andrew Joseph Smith 1,112 23.2
Manx Labour Gareth Young 1,021 21.3
Independent Martyn Jones Perkins 971 20.2
Independent Jamie Smith 576 12.0
Total votes 4,802
Total ballots 2,718
Rejected ballots 7
Turnout 2,725 51.5
Registered electors 5,292
General election 2016: Garff[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Martyn John Perkins 1,767 36.4
Independent Daphne Hilary Penelope Caine 1,270 26.1
Independent Andrew Joseph Smith 1,247 25.7
Independent Andrew Barton 346 7.1
Independent Nigel Anthony Dobson 231 4.8
Total votes 4,861
Total ballots 2,510
Rejected ballots 13
Turnout 2,523 49.8
Registered electors 5,069

See also

References

  1. ^ "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
  2. ^ Broderick, George (2000). Placenames of the Isle of Man. Vol. Five. Sheading of Middle (Kirk Braddan, Kirk Marown, and Kirk Santan). Tübingen: Niemeyer. p. xli. ISBN 3484401338.
  3. ^ "Garff Commissioners". garff.im. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Coroners". Isle of Man Courts of Justice. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  5. ^ Kneen, J.J. (1925). The place-names of the Isle of Man with their origin and history. Douglas: Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh.
  6. ^ "Notice of Results for the General Election to the House of Keys 2021 (Garff)" (PDF). Gov.im. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Isle of Man Election Results 2016" (PDF). Gov.im. Retrieved 9 March 2024.