Donegal South-West was 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 ...

, from 1961 to 1969 and from 1981 to 2016. The constituency elected 3 deputies ( Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs). The method of election was

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 first created for the 1961 general election. At the 1969 general election it was abolished and largely succeeded by the Donegal–Leitrim constituency. It was recreated for the 1981 general election. It was located in the southern and western parts of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, it included the towns of

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

, Donegal,

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

Killybegs Killybegs () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the largest fishing port in the country and on the island of Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, north of Donegal Bay, near Donegal Town. Its Irish name means 'littl ...

and

Gweedore Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo and Bloody For ...

. It was abolished again at the 2016 general election, and was succeeded by the Donegal constituency. The

Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009 The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009 (No. 4) is a law of Ireland which amended electoral law, including revisions to Dáil constituencies and European Parliament constituencies in light of the 2006 census. The new European Parliament constituencie ...

defined the constituency as:

TDs

TDs 1961–1969

TDs 1981–2016

Elections

2011 general election

2010 by-election

On 5 June 2009, Fianna Fáil TD

Pat "the Cope" Gallagher Patrick Gallagher (; born 10 March 1948) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since the 2024 general election, and previously from 1981 to 1997, 2002 to 2009, 2016 to 2020. He serv ...

was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, vacating his seat in the Dáil. On 2 July 2009,

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 ...

(SF) proposed that the

writ of election A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United S ...

be issued to fill the vacancy. This motion was rejected by a vote of 69 to 72. On 5 May 2010, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin proposed again that the writ be issued. This motion was died, with 76 to 76, and was defeated on the casting vote of the

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 ...

. On 12 July 2010,

Pearse Doherty Pearse Daniel Doherty (born 6 July 1977) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since the 2016 general election, and previously a TD for the Donegal South-West constituency from 2010 t ...

, a

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 ...

senator, was granted leave to bring

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

against the government seeking a declaration that due to the length of the vacancy in Donegal South-West, the government was under a duty not to oppose a motion for a writ. On 29 September 2010,

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...

leader of Fine Gael The Leader of Fine Gael is the most senior politician within the Fine Gael political party in Ireland. The party leader is Simon Harris, who took up the role on 24 March 2024 after the resignation of Leo Varadkar. The deputy leader of Fine Gael ...

, proposed that the writ of election be issued (as well as the writ for two other vacancies). This motion was rejected by a vote of 77 to 81. On 3 November 2010, Nicholas Kearns, president of the High Court, made a declaration that there has been an unreasonable delay in moving the writ for the by-election in Donegal South-West. The writ was moved the following day. Doherty was successful in the by-election.

2007 general election

2002 general election

1997 general election

1992 general election

1989 general election

1987 general election

1983 by-election

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 ...

Clement Coughlan Clement Coughlan (14 August 1942 – 1 February 1983) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and school teacher from County Donegal. He was elected to Dáil Éireann in a 1980 by-election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal cons ...

died on 1 February 1983. On 19 April 1983, the

to fill the vacancy was issued. The by-election was held on 13 May 1983. The seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Cathal Coughlan, brother of the deceased TD. Cathal Coughlan died on 21 June 1986. On 22 October 1986, a motion to issue the writ was rejected by a vote of 81 to 82.

November 1982 general election

February 1982 general election

1981 general election

1965 general election

1961 general election

References

External links

Oireachtas Members Database
{{coord missing, County Donegal Dáil constituencies in the Republic of Ireland (historic) Historic constituencies in County Donegal 1961 establishments in Ireland 1969 disestablishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 1961 Constituencies disestablished in 1969 1981 establishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 1981 2016 disestablishments in Ireland Constituencies disestablished in 2016