Longford–Westmeath 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 ...
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 ...
. 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). It contains all of
County Longford
County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...
and
County Westmeath
County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
.
History and boundaries
The constituency existed from 1921 to 1937 and from 1948 to 1992, but was abolished for the
1992 general election. It was re-created by the
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005
The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005 (No. 16) is a law of Ireland which revised Dáil constituencies in light of the 2002 census. The new constituencies took effect on the dissolution of the 29th Dáil on 29 April 2007 and a general election for ...
which gave effect to the 2004 ''Constituency Commission Report on Dáil Constituencies'', and has been in use since the
2007 general election.
From 2007 until 2024, it was a four-seat constituency, with part of
County Westmeath
County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
around
Castlepollard
Castlepollard ( or ''Cionn Toirc'') is a village in north County Westmeath, Ireland. It lies west of Lough Lene and northeast of Lough Derravaragh and Mullingar.
Name
The name ''Castlepollard'' comes from the name of a castle or fortified m ...
and
Delvin
Delvin () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland; it is located on the N52 road at a junction with the N51 to Navan. The town is from Mullingar (along the N52).
The word Delvin comes from Delbhna. That tribe settled in what is present- ...
in the
Meath West constituency. It was then defined as:
The
Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023
The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 is a law of Ireland to revise Dáil constituencies and European Parliament constituencies. The revised Dáil constituencies will come into effect on the dissolution of the 33rd Dáil. The dissolution must tak ...
defines the constituency as:
In the Constituency Review Report 2023, 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 the electoral divisions of Westmeath in the
Meath West constituency should be transferred to Longford–Westmeath, thereby making the constituency comprise the entire counties of Longford and Westmeath for the first time since 1981. It was also allocated an additional seat to become a five-seat constituency.
TDs
TDs 1921–1937
TDs 1948–1992
TDs since 2007
Elections
2024 general election
2020 general election
2016 general election
Final result following a recount.
2014 by-election
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
Nicky McFadden died on 25 March 2014. A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 23 May 2014, the same date as the 2014
European
European, or Europeans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
and
local elections
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
, and a
by-election in Dublin West. The seat was won by
Gabrielle McFadden, sister of the deceased TD.
2011 general election
2007 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
1970 by-election
Fianna Fáil TD
Patrick Lenihan
Patrick James Lenihan (4 September 1902 – 11 March 1970) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Longford–Westmeath constituency from 1965 to 1970.
He held the distinction of being the only parent t ...
died on 11 March 1970. A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 14 April 1970.
1969 general election
1965 general election
1961 general election
1957 general election
1954 general election
1951 general election
1948 general election
1933 general election
1932 general election
1930 by-election
Fianna Fáil TD
James Killane died on 26 April 1930. A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 13 June 1930.
September 1927 general election
June 1927 general election
1923 general election
Michael Gallagher notes
that newspapers at the time were not consistent with the exact figures of the first count so there may have been slight differences to the below. Full figures for the second to the ninth counts are unavailable. The order of eliminations was O'Farrell on 138 votes, Carrigy 735, Groarke 924, Philips 1,203, Gavin 1,244, Redmond 1,396, Victory 1,851, Wilson 2,689 and Garahan 2,793.
1922 general election
1921 general election
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longford-Westmeath (Dail constituency)
Dáil constituencies
Politics of County Longford
Politics of County Westmeath
1921 establishments in Ireland
1937 disestablishments in Ireland
Constituencies established in 1921
Constituencies disestablished in 1937
1948 establishments in Ireland
1992 disestablishments in Ireland
Constituencies established in 1948
Constituencies disestablished in 1992
2007 establishments in Ireland
Constituencies established in 2007