Galway 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 1921 to 1937. 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

It was the largest constituency in Ireland, electing 7 deputies ( Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) to the Dáil in 1921 and 1922, and 9 from 1923 to 1937. The constituency was created in 1921 as a 7-seat constituency, under the

Government of Ireland Act 1920 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 67) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bi ...

, for the 1921 elections to 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 ...

. That House had only a brief existence, as only four members took their seats, the remainder forming the

Second Dáil The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

. Under the

Electoral Act 1923 The Electoral Act 1923 was a law in Ireland which established the electoral law of the Irish Free State and provided for parliamentary constituencies in Dáil Éireann. Franchise Article 14 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State adopted ...

, it became a 9-seat constituency for the 1923 general election to the

4th Dáil The 4th Dáil was elected at the 1923 general election on 27 August 1923 and met on 19 September 1923. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of the Irish Free State, are known as TDs. It w ...

. Its representation remained at 9 seats until its abolition at the 1937 general election, under the

Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935 The Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935 (No. 5) was a law in Ireland which replaced the Dáil constituencies which had been defined in the Electoral Act 1923. Unlike the constituencies in the 1923 Act, it included many instances of ...

Boundaries

Galway was created as 7-seat constituency under the

succeeding the constituencies of Galway Connemara, East Galway, North Galway and South Galway, which had elected MPs to the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

. It became a 9-seat constituency in 1923, defined as: It was abolished at the 1937 general election, replaced by the constituencies of Galway East (4 seats) and Galway West (4 seats).

TDs

Elections

1936 by-election

Following the death of

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 ...

TD Patrick Hogan, a by-election was held on 13 August 1936. The seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Martin Neilan, reaching the quota on the first count. A second count occurred because the distribution of the surplus could have saved another candidate their election deposit.

1935 by-election

Following the death of

TD Martin McDonogh, a by-election was held on 19 June 1935.

1933 general election

1932 general election

September 1927 general election

June 1927 general election

1923 general election

Full figures for the fifth through to the eighteenth counts are unavailable.

1922 general election

1921 general election

References

External links

Oireachtas Members Database
{{coord missing, County Galway Dáil constituencies in the Republic of Ireland (historic) Historic constituencies in County Galway Politics of Galway (city) 1921 establishments in Ireland 1937 disestablishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 1921 Constituencies disestablished in 1937