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 (
Teachtaà 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 – 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,
SÃle 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