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 25,27 ...

was a

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 (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

represented in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

until 1800, the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

in the Irish Parliament of the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

. In the

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May 16 ...

summoned by James II in 1689, Ennis was represented with two members. Following the

Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...

, it was succeeded by the

constituency in the

United Kingdom House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

. By 1783, the seat was in the control of the O'Brien and Burton families. Notable members include

Sir Edward O'Brien, 4th Baronet Sir Edward O'Brien, 4th Baronet (17 April 1773 – 13 March 1837) was an Irish parliamentarian who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1802 to 1826. He was the son of Sir Lucius O'Brien, 3rd Baronet (1731–1795) and Anne Fr ...

. When his son, the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

turned Irish rebel,

William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien ( ga, Liam Mac Gabhann Ó Briain; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and a leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He ...

, became MP for the then UK Parliamentary seat of Ennis, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described the constituency as "his father's borough".

Members of Parliament, 1613–1801

*1613 John Thornton of Doonass and Edmond Blood of Bohersallagh *1634–1635 Sir Barnaby O’Brien (sat for Carlow-replaced by Francis Windebank) and Sir Richard Sudwell *1639–1649 Simon Thorogood (replaced 1641 by Robert Casey) and Ralph Leventhorpe *1661–1666 William Purefoy of King's County and Isaac Granier of Kilrush

1689–1801

;Notes

References

Bibliography

* *James Frost,''The History and Topography of the County of Clare'' * {{coord missing, County Clare Constituencies of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) Ennis Historic constituencies in County Clare 1613 establishments in Ireland 1800 disestablishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 1613 Constituencies disestablished in 1800