John McQuade

John McQuade was a Northern Irish unionist politician. He was a professional boxer under the name of Jack Higgins.

Career

After serving with the British Army in Dunkirk and Burma, he was an Ulster Unionist Party member of Belfast City Council from 1955 to 1972. He was a UUP Member of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast Woodvale (Northern [Ireland Parliament constituency)|Belfast Woodvale] from 1965 [Northern Ireland general election|1965] to October 1971, when he resigned from the UUP and joined the Democratic Unionist Party. On 28 March 1972, he resigned his parliamentary seat in protest at the prorogation of the Parliament.
In February 1972, in response to the escalating violence in Northern Ireland, he called for the British security forces to take over the town of Newry and for the border with the Republic of Ireland to be closed, stating his belief that the Roman Catholic Church controlled the government of the Republic of Ireland.
He contested the February 1974 [United Kingdom general election|February] and October 1974 Westminster elections unsuccessfully for Belfast West. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Belfast North in 1979, aged 67, and served until 1983, when he retired. He died on 19 November 1984, aged 73.