Dundalk (UK Parliament constituency)

Dundalk was a parliamentary borough constituency in Ireland, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801, replacing the Dundalk constituency in the Parliament of Ireland.

For other uses, see Dundalk (disambiguation).

Dundalk
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1801–1885
Number of membersOne
Replaced byNorth Louth

Boundaries

This constituency was the Parliamentary borough of Dundalk in County Louth.

History

The constituency was one of the two member borough constituencies in the Parliament of Ireland, which became a single member United Kingdom constituency when the union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

The first member of the United Kingdom House of Commons was to be selected from the area's two MPs in the Irish Parliament, by drawing lots. However both members resigned so the seat could not be filled by co-option and a by-election was necessary. The by-election took place on 28 February 1801. The Right Honourable Isaac Corry, a quite prominent political figure, was elected the first United Kingdom MP for Dundalk.

Corry was associated with what came to be called the Tory Party after the death of William Pitt the younger in 1806. Up until the extension of the franchise in 1832, the borough was strongly Tory in representation. The fact that no Tory or Conservative was elected after 1832 may say something about the unrepresentative nature of the old franchise.

Dundalk had a population of 9,256 in 1821. Walker records that the electorate in 1831 numbered 36. The population in 1831 had increased to 10,750. All the elections in the borough between 1801 and 1831 were unopposed returns.

The 1832 general election was conducted on a new franchise. The registered electorate, under the new system, numbered 318. At the borough's first contested election of the century 295 people voted (Liberal 167, Conservative 128).

From 1832 to 1885 the constituency returned members who were Liberals or who belonged to a series of Irish-based groups (the Repeal Association, the Independent Irish Party and the Home Rule League). The Liberals elected in Dundalk tended to have nationalist leanings.

The last MP for the constituency was the prominent Liberal lawyer-politician, Charles Russell. An Irish born Catholic, Russell was to be the lead Counsel for Charles Stewart Parnell during the inquiry into allegations which had appeared in The Times. In March 1887 it had been suggested that Parnell was complicit in the murders of the Chief Secretary for Ireland Lord Frederick Cavendish and the Permanent Under-Secretary for Ireland, T.H. Burke. Letters were produced to support the allegations. As a result of Russell's masterly cross-examination of Richard Pigott, the forger of the letters, the Commission of Enquiry vindicated Parnell.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[1] PartyNote
1801, 1 January seat vacant ... Both members in the Irish Parliament had resigned
1801, 28 February Rt Hon. Isaac Corry Tory
1802, 15 July Richard Archdall Tory
1806, 22 November John Metge Tory Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
1807, 20 January Josias Du Pré Porcher Tory 1807, May: Also returned by and elected to sit for Old Sarum
1807, 4 August Patrick Bruce Resigned
1808, 27 July Thomas Hughes Died
1812, 21 February Frederick Trench Tory
1812, 26 October John Metge Tory Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
1813, 2 January Lyndon Evelyn Tory
1818, 29 June Gerrard Callaghan Tory
1820, 24 March John Metge Tory Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
1820, 29 June George Hartopp Tory Died
1824, 5 May Sir Robert Inglis, Bt Tory
1826, 12 June Charles Barclay Tory[2]
1830, 14 August Hon. John Hobart Caradoc Whig[3]
1831, 13 May James Edward Gordon Tory[4]
1832, 19 December William O'Reilly Whig[3]
1835, 14 January William Sharman Crawford Radical[3][5][6][7]
1837, 2 August Thomas Nicholas Redington Whig[3][8] Appointed Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant
1846, 31 July Daniel O'Connell Jnr Repeal Association[9]
1847, 6 August Charles MacTavish Repeal Association[9] Unseated on petition
1848, 20 March William Torrens McCullagh Whig[10][11][12] Declared duly elected, on petition
1852, 15 July Sir George Bowyer, Bt Independent Irish Party
1857, 2 April Whig[13][14]
1859, 2 May Liberal
1868, 21 November Philip Callan Liberal Re-elected as a Home Rule League candidate
1874, 5 February Home Rule League Also returned by County Louth, but elects to sit here
1880, 2 April Charles Russell Liberal Last MP from the constituency
1885 Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s
General election 1830: Dundalk[9][3][4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig John Hobart Caradoc Unopposed
Registered electors c. 32
Whig gain from Tory
General election 1831: Dundalk[9][3][4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory James Edward Gordon (MP) Unopposed
Registered electors 36
Tory gain from Whig
General election 1832: Dundalk[9][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig William O'Reilly 167 56.6
Tory John Jocelyn 128 43.4
Majority 39 13.2
Turnout 295 92.8
Registered electors 318
Whig gain from Tory
General election 1835: Dundalk[9][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Radical William Sharman Crawford Unopposed
Registered electors 376
Radical gain from Whig
General election 1837: Dundalk[9][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Thomas Nicholas Redington Unopposed
Registered electors 557
Whig gain from Radical

Elections in the 1840s
General election 1841: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig Thomas Nicholas Redington Unopposed
Registered electors 538
Whig hold

Redington resigned after being appointed Under-Secretary for Ireland, causing a by-election.

By-election, 31 July 1846: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Irish Repeal Daniel O'Connell Unopposed
Irish Repeal gain from Whig
General election 1847: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Irish Repeal Charles MacTavish 124 50.6 N/A
Whig William McCullagh 121 49.4 N/A
Majority 3 1.2 N/A
Turnout 245 50.2 N/A
Registered electors 488
Irish Repeal gain from Whig

Upon petition, MacTavish was unseated and McCullagh was declared elected on 20 March 1848

Elections in the 1850s
General election 1852: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Independent Irish George Bowyer Unopposed
Registered electors 267
Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal
General election 1857: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig George Bowyer 133 77.3 New
Independent Irish John MacNamara Cantwell 39 22.7 N/A
Majority 94 54.6 N/A
Turnout 172 67.2 N/A
Registered electors 256
Whig gain from Independent Irish Swing N/A
General election 1859: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal George Bowyer Unopposed
Registered electors 293
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s
General election 1865: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal George Bowyer Unopposed
Registered electors 287
Liberal hold
General election 1868: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Philip Callan 164 43.2 N/A
Liberal Charles Russell 143 37.6 N/A
Liberal George Bowyer 72 18.9 N/A
Independent William Robson 1 0.3 New
Majority 21 5.4 N/A
Turnout 380 85.0 N/A
Registered electors 447
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1870s
General election 1874: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Home Rule Philip Callan 257 53.3 +10.1
Liberal Charles Russell 225 46.7 +9.1
Majority 32 6.6 +1.2
Turnout 482 82.4 −2.6
Registered electors 585
Home Rule gain from Liberal Swing +0.5

Elections in the 1880s
General election 1880: Dundalk[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Charles Russell 263 54.1 +7.4
Home Rule Philip Callan 214 44.0 −9.3
Conservative James Davis 9 1.9 New
Majority 49 10.1 N/A
Turnout 486 86.3 +3.9
Registered electors 563
Liberal gain from Home Rule Swing +8.4
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Notes
  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 4)
  2. Salmon, Philip; Spencer, Howard. "BARCLAY, Charles (1780-1855), of 43 Grosvenor Place, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  3. Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 226. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  4. Salmon, Philip. "Dundalk". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  5. "William Sharman Crawford (1781–1861; Irish politician)". Manuscripts and Special Collections. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  6. Lee, Sidney (1888). "Crawford, William Sharman" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 13. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  7. Navickas, Katrina (2016). Protest and the Politics of Space and Place, 1789–1848. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-7190-9705-8. Retrieved 1 July 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. Mosse, Richard Bartholomew (1838). The Parliamentary Guide: a concise history of the Members of both Houses, etc. p. 217. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  9. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
  10. "Bell's Weekly Messenger". 14 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Cork Examiner". 23 July 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "The Pilot". 21 July 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "The Evening Freeman". 17 April 1857. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Dundalk Democrat and People's Journal". 25 April 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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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)
  • Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
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