County Clare was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, represented in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members ofte ...

(MPs) to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great ...

. At the 1885 general election, County Clare was split into two divisions:

East Clare East Clare was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) from 1885 to 1922. Prior to the 1885 United Kingdom general election the area was part of the Clare constituency. From 1922, shortly before the es ...

and

West Clare West Clare was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1922. Prior to the 1885 United Kingdom general election the area was part of the Clare constituency. From 1922, on the establishment of the Irish ...

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the whole of County Clare, except for the borough of

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,276, ...

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1820s

Elections in the 1830s

On petition, Mahon was unseated and a by-election was called. * Lucius O'Brien and Vandeleur declined the contest

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

On petition, Fitzgerald and O'Brien were unseated, due to a "system of intimidation" being present at the 1852 election, and a writ was moved for a by-election.

Elections in the 1860s

On petition, White was unseated, causing a by-election. Calcutt died, causing a by-election. O'Loghlen was appointed

Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces In the United Kingdom, the Judge Advocate General and Judge Martial of all the Forces is a judge responsible for the court-martial process within the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. As such the post has existed since 2008; prior to ...

, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

O'Loghlen's death caused a by-election. * O'Loghlen was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

home rule supporter, while The O'Gorman Mahon was a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

home rule supporter. Burton also supported home rule. O'Loghlen was declared to have resigned after accepting office as Attorney General of Victoria, Australia, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1880s

There was a notorious riot at Sixmilebridge on polling day in 1852, in which soldiers shot dead seven protesters. The Clare by-election in 1828 was notable as this was the first time since the reformation that an openly Roman Catholic MP,

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

was elected.

References

* ''The Parliaments of England'' by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973) * * {{Clare constituencies Westminster constituencies in County Clare (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1801 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1885