Cavan–Monaghan 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

It was created under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1974 from the former constituencies of

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

and

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

and was first used at the 1977 general election. The constituency includes the entire area of both

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

and

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

, taking in

town,

town, Clones, Cootehill, Belturbet,

Bailieborough Bailieborough or Bailieboro (; ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Cavan, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the population was 2,974, up from 1,529 as of the 1996 census. Bailieborough's prox ...

, Castleblayney and

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The population was 5,745 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a castle buil ...

. At the 2016 general election, 36 electoral divisions in the west of County Cavan were transferred to the Sligo–Leitrim constituency and Cavan–Monaghan became a 4-seat constituency. This was reversed by the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017, which took effect at the 2020 general election. The Constituency Review Report 2023 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, Cavan–Monaghan remain as a five-seat constituency, consisting of the whole of the counties of Cavan and Monaghan, with the area in the north of County Meath transferred to Meath East. For the 2024 general election, 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:

Constituency profile

Cavan–Monaghan is predominantly rural with 75% of the population living outside the main towns. Manufacturing, construction and agriculture are the largest sectors of the local economy. It is a border constituency and has historically been strongly Republican; hunger striker Kieran Doherty won a seat in the 1981 general election as an Anti H-Block candidate. In 1997,

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (; born 18 September 1953) is an Irish former Sinn Féin politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency), Cavan–Monaghan constituency from 1997 to 2020. Ó Caoláin's victory ...

, became the first TD elected for Sinn Féin in any constituency since 1957. In recent elections, the constituency has seen mainly a three-way fight between

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

TDs

Elections

2024 general election

2020 general election

2016 general election

2011 general election

2007 general election

Rory O'Hanlon 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 29th Dáil and therefore deemed to be returned automatically. The constituency was treated as a four-seater for the purposes of calculating the quota.

2002 general election

1997 general election

1992 general election

1989 general election

1987 general election

Thomas J. Fitzpatrick was

at the dissolution of the 24th Dáil and therefore deemed to be returned automatically. The constituency was treated as a four-seater for the purposes of calculating the quota.

November 1982 general election

February 1982 general election

1981 general election

1977 general election

References

External links

Oireachtas Constituency DashboardsOireachtas Members Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavan-Monaghan (Dail constituency) Dáil constituencies Politics of County Monaghan Politics of County Cavan 1977 establishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 1977