Kerry is 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 ...

that has been 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 ...

, since the 2016 general election. The constituency elects five 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). Another constituency of the same name existed between 1923 and 1937.

History and boundaries

1923–1937

The constituency was created 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 ...

, and first used at the 1923 general election to elect 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 ...

. It replaced the Kerry–Limerick West constituency which was used to elect the

2nd 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 elected ...

and the

3rd 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 Provision ...

. It consisted of the administrative

county of Kerry County Kerry () is a county on the southwest coast of Ireland, within the province of Munster and the Southern Region. It is bordered by two other counties; Limerick to the east, and Cork to the south and east. It is separated from Clare to t ...

. The constituency elected 7 deputies. It was abolished by 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 ...

and the new Kerry South and Kerry North constituencies were created. They were first used at the 1937 general election for the 9th Dáil.

Since 2016

The

Constituency Commission The Constituency Commission () is an independent commission in Ireland which had advised on redrawing of constituency boundaries of Dáil constituencies for the election of members to Dáil Éireann (the house of representatives of the Oireacht ...

proposed in its 2012 report that at the next general election a new constituency called Kerry be created. The report proposed changes to the constituencies of Ireland so as to reduce the total number of TDs from 166 to 158. It was established by the

Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013 The Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013 (No. 7) is a law of Ireland which revised Dáil constituencies in light of the 2011 census and a requirement to reduce the number of Dáil seats. The new constituencies took effect on th ...

. The new constituency replaces the constituencies of Kerry North–West Limerick and Kerry South. It comprises the whole of

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

with the Limerick part of the Kerry North–West Limerick transferred to Limerick County. The 2013 Act defines the constituency as: 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.

TDs

TDs 1923–1937

TDs since 2016

Elections

2024 general election

2020 general election

2016 general election

1933 general election

1932 general election

September 1927 general election

June 1927 general election

1923 general election

References

External links

Oireachtas Constituency Dashboards

Oireachtas Members Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerry (Dail constituency) Dáil constituencies 1923 establishments in Ireland 1937 disestablishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 1923 Constituencies disestablished in 1937 2016 establishments in Ireland Constituencies established in 2016 Politics of County Kerry