Laois–Offaly (formerly ''King's County–Queen's County'', ''Leix–Offaly'' and ''Laoighis–Offaly'') was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

which was represented in

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

, the

house of representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

(the legislature of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

), from 1921 to 2016 and again from 2020 to 2024. The constituency elected deputies ( Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) on the system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

by means of the

single transferable vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...

(PR-STV).

History and boundaries

Laois–Offaly was created under the

Government of Ireland Act 1920 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 67) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bi ...

as King's County–Queen's County (the respective names of

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

and

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

before independence). The two counties were combined in a single four-member constituency for the

House of Commons of Southern Ireland The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,Order in Coun ...

. It was known in the Dáil as Leix–Offaly, and first used for the 1921 general election to the

Second Dáil The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

. The

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

candidates elected unopposed preferred to sit in the Second Dáil (1921–22). It was used at every subsequent general election until 2011. It was abolished at the 2016 general election, and was replaced by the new constituencies of

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

and

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

. It was re-established by the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017, which came into effect for the 2020 general election. In August 2023, the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

published its review of constituency boundaries in Ireland, which recommended that the constituency of Laois–Offaly be abolished, with the creation of two new three-seat constituencies:

and

. Each new constituency would elect 3 deputies. These changes took effect for the 2024 general election under the

Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 is a law of Ireland to revise Dáil constituencies and European Parliament constituencies. The revised Dáil constituencies will come into effect on the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil. The dissolution must tak ...

TDs

Elections

2020 general election

2011 general election

2007 general election

2002 general election

1997 general election

1992 general election

1989 general election

1987 general election

1984 by-election

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

TD Bernard Cowen died on 24 January 1984. A Fianna Fáil motion to move the writ on 29 February was defeated by the Fine Gael–Labour government. A second motion to move the writ on 17 May was unopposed. The by-election was held on 14 June 1984, the same day as the

European Parliament elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by Universal suffrage, universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after Electio ...

. The seat was won by the son of the deceased TD.

November 1982 general election

February 1982 general election

1981 general election

1977 general election

1973 general election

1969 general election

1965 general election

1961 general election

1957 general election

1956 by-election

Labour Party TD

William Davin William Davin (19 February 1890 – 1 March 1956) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for over thirty years. He was also a station-master. His first candidacy for public office was at the 1922 general elec ...

died on 1 March 1956. A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 30 April 1956.

1954 general election

1951 general election

1948 general election

1944 general election

1943 general election

1938 general election

1937 general election

1933 general election

1932 general election

September 1927 general election

June 1927 general election

1926 by-election

Republican TD Seán McGuinness was disqualified on 30 November 1925. A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 18 February 1926.

1923 general election

1922 general election

1921 general election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laois-Offaly (Dail constituency) Historic constituencies in County Laois Historic constituencies in County Offaly 1921 establishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 1921 2016 disestablishments in Ireland Constituencies disestablished in 2016 2020 establishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 2020 2024 disestablishments in Ireland Dáil constituencies in the Republic of Ireland (historic) Constituencies disestablished in 2024