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Carlow County was a
parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, which from 1801 to 1885 returned two
Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs) to the House of Commons of Great Britain and Ireland, and one MP from 1885 to 1922.


Boundaries and boundary changes

This constituency comprised the whole of County Carlow, except for Carlow Borough 1801–1885. It returned two MPs 1801–1885, but only one from 1885 to 1922. This was the only Irish county not divided for Parliamentary purposes in the redistribution of 1885. It was thus the only Irish
county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constitue ...
to exist at every general election from the union with Great Britain to the partition of Ireland. The constituency ceased to be entitled to be represented in the UK
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
on the
dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...
of 26 October 1922, shortly before the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
came into legal existence on 6 December 1922.


Politics

In the 1918 election the Sinn Féin candidate was unopposed.


Dáil Éireann 1918–1922

The constituency was, in Irish republican theory, entitled to return one
Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(known in English as a Deputy) in 1918 to serve in the
Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...
's
First Dáil The First Dáil ( ga, An Chéad Dáil) was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919 to 1921. It was the first meeting of the unicameral parliament of the revolutionary Irish Republic. In the December 1918 election to the Parliament of the United ...
.
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
used the
UK general election This is a list of United Kingdom general elections (elections for the UK House of Commons) since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland ...
in 1918 to elect the Dáil. The revolutionary body assembled on 21 January 1919. The list of members read out on that day included everyone elected in Ireland. Only the Sinn Féin Deputies participated in the Dáil, but the other Irish MPs could have done so if they had chosen to adhere to the Republic. The First Dáil, passed a motion at its last meeting on 10 May 1921, the first three parts of which make explicit the republican view. * 1. That the Parliamentary elections which are to take place during the present month be regarded as elections to Dáil Éireann. * 2. That all deputies duly returned at these elections be regarded as members of Dáil Éireann and allowed to take their seats on subscribing to the proposed Oath of Allegiance. * 3. That the present Dáil dissolve automatically as soon as the new body has been summoned by the President and called to order. The
Second Dáil The Second Dáil () was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elect ...
first met on 16 August 1921, thereby dissolving the First Dáil. Sinn Féin had decided to use the polls for the Northern Ireland House of Commons and 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 ...
as an election for the Irish Republic's
Second Dáil The Second Dáil () was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elect ...
. No actual voting was necessary in Southern Ireland as all the seats were filled by unopposed returns. Except for Dublin University all other constituencies elected Sinn Féin TDs. As with the First Dáil, the other Deputies could have joined the Dáil if they chose. From the
Third Dáil The Third Dáil was elected at the general election held on 16 June 1922. This election was required to be held under the Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921. It first met on 9 September and until 6 December 1922, it was the Provisio ...
onwards the Dáil represented only the twenty-six counties which formed the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
. In the 2nd and 3rd Dála Carlow formed part of the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency.


Members of Parliament


MPs 1801–1885

Notes:- * a Vigors was a supporter of the Whig/Repealer pact, 1835–1841, who in 1832–1835 had been MP for the borough of Carlow Borough as a member of the
Repeal Association The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell in 1830 to campaign for a repeal of the Acts of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland. The Association's aim was to revert Ireland to th ...
.


MPs 1885–1922


Elections


Elections in the 1830s

On petition, Bruen and Kavanagh were unseated and a by-election was called. After a further petition, the poll was amended and 105 votes for Vigors and Raphael were struck off. Kavanagh and Bruen were declared elected. Kavanagh's death caused a by-election.


Elections in the 1840s

Vigors' death caused a by-election. Bunbury's death caused a by-election.


Elections in the 1850s

Bruen's death caused a by-election.


Elections in the 1860s

McClintock Bunbury resigned, causing a by-election.


Elections in the 1870s


Elections in the 1880s

* Gray elects to sit for Dublin St Stephen's Green * Death of Blake


Elections in the 1890s

* Death of the O’Gorman Mahon


Elections in the 1900s

Hammond's death causes a by-election.


Elections in the 1910s


See also

*
List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Act of Union 1800 from 1 January 1801. On 6 December 1922, the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom, with Northern Ireland remaining as part of the United Kingd ...
*
Historic Dáil constituencies This page lists Dáil constituencies that have been used for elections to Dáil Éireann from the 1918 election to the next general election. Overview of legislation and seat distribution In the case of the First Dáil, the constituencies were ...
* Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic) * Members of the 1st Dáil


References

*''The Parliaments of England'' by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973) * *


External links


Oireachtas Members Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlow Westminster constituencies in County Carlow (historic) Carlow Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1801 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1922