Two women were returned as MPs from the Newtownards count centre.
Lady Sylvia Hermon, a proagreement Ulster Unionist, won in the constituency of North Down. Mrs Iris Robinson of the DUP followed around an hour later when she took the Strangford seat.
Lady Sylvia secured 20,833 votes to the 13,509 votes won by the incumbent Mr Bob McCartney, leader of the antiagreement United Kingdom Ulster Unionist Party. Conceding victory, Mr McCartney congratulated Lady Sylvia but said the real victors were republicans.
"The electors of North Down, many of whom are isolated by money and place from the current tide of criminality, will have time to reflect that their jubilation at this result will be nothing, absolutely nothing to the joy of Sinn Fein/IRA and their murderous counterparts in the loyalist paramilitary parties," he said.
Mr McCartney said it was only by a combination of the Alliance party (which withdrew its candidate) and the UUP that he had been beaten. "If three or four people set upon someone in an alley, they are likely to be well beaten," he said.
"The Ulster Unionist/ Alliance party won this election, a union of two parties; one unbelievable and the other unelectable," he added.
Speaking later Mr McCartney said he would not stand for Westminster again. "I don't intend to be in politics in four years' time," he said.
Lady Sylvia described the vote as a "wonderful decision".
"Thank you North Down for returning North Down to the Ulster Unionist Party, and thank you too for returning a woman to Westminster," she said. Lady Sylvia signalled her support for the agreement and the party leadership.
"I will be fighting for the agreement, for all of it and for the people of North Down, all of them," she said.
In Strangford, Ms Iris Robinson, the wife of the DUP's deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, secured 18,532 votes, narrowly defeating Mr David McNarry of the Ulster Unionist party, who won 17,422 votes.
Ms Robinson said the result made for "a historic day for my party and one that has been hard won in circumstances we none the less wished we had never had to see". She said unionism had been weakened by the policies and actions of Mr David Trimble.
"I consider this result a verdict on him from the unionist people and a plea from the heart of unionism to put things right," she said.
Mr McNarry, who had been considered the underdog in the election, commented "The little sprat didn't do too bad at all with Moby Dick."
Mr McNarry said the result showed a need for unionism to come together. "The sooner that unionism finds its feet together, which is what we all look for, it will be the better," he said.