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Clare is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, 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 four 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

Clare is historically a
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil â€“ The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
stronghold. The party founder
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
served the constituency for 38 years, from 1921 to 1959, for many years of that time as
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
and then, on his resignation as a TD, as
president of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
. From 1917 to 1922 he had been
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 ...
Westminster MP for the preceding constituency of East Clare. His granddaughter, Síle de Valera, represented the constituency from 1987 to 2007. Other notable former deputies include Patrick Hillery (later president 1976–1990), the long-serving Ceann Comhairle (chairperson of the Dáil) Patrick Hogan and Moosajee Bhamjee, the first Muslim TD.


Boundaries

The constituency was created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and has been in use for Dáil elections since the 1921 election. The constituency's boundaries have varied since its formation in 1921. From the 2020 general election, the constituency spans the entire area of
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
. 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 no change be made at the next general election. The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 defines the constituency as:


TDs


Elections


2024 general election


2020 general election


2016 general election


2011 general election


2007 general election


2002 general election


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


1968 by-election

Following the death of Fine Gael TD William Murphy, a by-election was held on 14 March 1968. The seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Sylvester Barrett. 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.


1965 general election

The reason for the third count was the possibility of a candidate reaching a third of the quota in order to save their deposit.


1961 general election


1959 by-election

Following the election of
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
as
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
, a by-election was held on 22 July 1959. The seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Seán Ó Ceallaigh.


1957 general election

The third count occurred because there was the possibility that surplus votes of elected candidates could have resulted in another candidate reaching 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


1945 by-election

Following the death of Fine Gael TD Patrick Burke, a by-election was held on 4 December 1945. The seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Patrick Shanahan.


1944 general election


1943 general election

Hughes, Seán Hogan and Halpin were eliminated on successive counts, but separate figures for the 3rd and 4th Counts are not available.


1938 general election


1937 general election

There is no record of any further counts, even though the difference between the votes of Hogan, the last elected candidate, and Shalloo, the runner up, after the seventh count was less than the sum of the undistributed surpluses.


1933 general election


1932 general election


September 1927 general election


June 1927 general election


1923 general election


1922 general election


1921 general election


See also

* Elections in the Republic of Ireland *
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 *
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:Clare (Dail constituency) Dáil constituencies Politics of County Clare 1921 establishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 1921