Carlow–Kilkenny is 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 ...
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 lower house of the Irish parliament or
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 constituency elects five 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
The constituency was created in 1921 by 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 a 4-seat constituency for the
Southern Ireland House of Commons and a single-seat constituency for the
United Kingdom House of Commons at Westminster, combining the former
Westminster constituencies of
County Carlow
County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...
,
Kilkenny North and
Kilkenny South which had formed the basis for the
First Dáil
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
.
At the
1921 election for the Southern Ireland House of Commons, the four seats were won uncontested by Sinn Féin, who treated it as part of the 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 ...
. It was never used as a Westminster constituency; under s. 1(4) of the
Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922, no writ was to be issued "for a constituency in Ireland other than a constituency in Northern Ireland". Therefore, no vote was held in Carlow–Kilkenny at the
1922 United Kingdom general election
The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and ...
on 15 November 1922, shortly before the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
left the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on 6 December 1922.
It was recreated as a constituency in Irish legislation by the
Electoral Act 1923
The Electoral Act 1923 was a law in Ireland which established the electoral law of the Irish Free State and provided for parliamentary constituencies in Dáil Éireann.
Franchise
Article 14 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State adopted ...
. Carlow–Kilkenny did not exist between 1937 and 1948, when it was replaced by the constituencies of
Carlow–Kildare and
Kilkenny
Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
. The constituency has continued in existence since 1948.
The 2023 Report of 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 ...
recommended that at the
next general election, Carlow–Kilkenny remain as a five-seat constituency, with the transfer of a population of 6,431 to the new constituency of
Tipperary North.
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 ...
defines the constituency as:
TDs
TDs 1921–1937
TDs since 1948
Elections
2024 general election
2020 general election
2016 general election
2015 by-election
2011 general election
2007 general election
2002 general election
Séamus Pattison was
Ceann Comhairle
The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session ...
at the dissolution of the 28th Dáil and therefore deemed to be returned automatically. The constituency was treated as a four-seater for the purposes of calculating the quota.
1997 general election
1992 general election
1989 general election
1987 general election
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
1960 by-election
Following the death of Fine Gael TD
Joseph Hughes, a by-election was held on 23 June 1960. The Elections Act 1960 enabled the election to be held the same day as the
1960 local elections, using the same administrative apparatus.
[; ; ] The Dáil seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Patrick Teehan.
1957 general election
1956 by-election
Following the death of Fianna Fáil TD
Thomas Walsh, a by-election was held on 14 November 1956. The seat was won by Fianna Fáil candidate Martin Medlar.
The surplus votes of the elected candidate were distributed after being declared elected because there was a possibility another candidate could have reached the threshold of a third of a quota which would have meant their election deposit was returned to them.
1954 general election
1951 general election
1948 general election
The poll was postponed due to the death of outgoing Fine Gael TD
Eamonn Coogan during the campaign.
1933 general election
1932 general election
1927 by-election
W. T. Cosgrave was also elected for the Cork Borough constituency and resigned his seat in Carlow–Kilkenny following the election. A by-election was held on 3 November 1927 and the seat was won by the Cumann na nGaedheal candidate Denis Gorey.
September 1927 general election
June 1927 general election
1925 by-election
Following the resignation of Cumann na nGaedheal TD
Seán Gibbons, a by-election was held on 11 March 1925. The seat was won by the Cumann na nGaedheal candidate Thomas Bolger.
1923 general election
1922 general election
1921 general election
See also
*
Dáil constituencies
There are 43 multi-member electoral districts, known as Dáil constituencies, to elect 174 Teachta Dála, TDs to Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, Republic of Ireland, Ireland's parliament, on the system of propor ...
*
Elections in the Republic of Ireland
In Ireland, direct elections by universal suffrage are used for the President, the ceremonial head of state; for Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas or parliament; for the European Parliament; and for local government ...
*
Politics of the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland, Ireland is a parliamentary system, parliamentary, representative democracy, representative democratic republic and a member state of the European Union. While the head of state is the popularly elected President of Irelan ...
*
List of Dáil by-elections
This is a list of by-elections to Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature. By-elections in Republic of Ireland, Ireland occur to fill vacant seats which can be caused by the death, resignation, disqu ...
*
List of political parties in the Republic of Ireland
There are a number of political party, political parties in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and coalition governments are common. The two historically largest parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, arose from a split in the original History of Sinn ...
References
External links
Oireachtas Constituency DashboardsOireachtas Members Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlow-Kilkenny (Dail constituency)
Politics of County Carlow
Politics of County Kilkenny
Dáil constituencies
1921 establishments in Ireland
1937 disestablishments in Ireland
Constituencies established in 1921
Constituencies disestablished in 1937
1948 establishments in Ireland
Constituencies established in 1948