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Clonmel (UK Parliament constituency)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clonmel
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyCounty Tipperary
BoroughClonmel
18011885
Seats1
Created fromClonmel
Replaced byEast Tipperary

Clonmel was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one MP from 1801 to 1885. It was represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

History

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The corporation of Clonmel, which was the local government of its area, was reformed by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840. The parliamentary borough was not affected by this change in administrative arrangements.

Samuel Lewis, writing in 1837, described the oligarchic constitution of the unreformed borough.

"The corporation is of great antiquity, and probably exists by prescription. Numerous charters have at various times been granted since the reign of Edw. I.; that under which the borough is now governed was granted in the 6th of Jas. I. (1608), and, under the title of "The Mayor, Bailiffs, Free Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Town or Borough of Clonmel," ordains that the corporation shall consist of a mayor, two bailiffs, twenty free burgesses (including the mayor and bailiffs), and a commonalty, with a recorder, chamberlain, town-clerk, and other officers. The freedom was formerly obtained by nomination of a burgess to the common council, a majority of whom decided on the admission; but at present the rights of birth, extending only to the eldest son, apprenticeship to a freeman within the borough, and marriage with a freeman's daughter, are recognised as titles to it. The borough returned two members to the Irish Parliament till the Union, since which time it has sent one to the Imperial Parliament. The elective franchise was vested in the freemen at large, amounting, in the year 1832, to 94 in number; but by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, it has extended to the £10 householders: the number of voters registered at the close of 1835 was 805; the mayor is the returning officer. The electoral boundary, under the act of the 2nd and 3rd of Wm. IV., cap. 89, is confined to the town, including Long Island on the south and a space on the north side of the river for buildings contemplated in that quarter, and comprises an area of 361 statute acres, the limits of which are minutely described in the Appendix. The jurisdiction of the corporation extends over a large rural district comprising about 4800 statute acres, of which 3800 are in the county of Waterford, and 1000 in Tipperary: the mayor and recorder are justices of the peace."

The constituency was disenfranchised under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, which took effect at the 1885 general election.[1]

Boundaries

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This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Clonmel in County Tipperary.

The boundary of the borough was defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 as:

"From the Point at which the Western Enclosure Wall of the House of Industry meets the River Suir, along the said Western Wall to the Point at which the same meets Marl Street; thence along Saint Stephen's Lane to the Point at which the same meets the old Cahir Road; thence, Eastward, along the old Cahir Road to the Point at which the same is met by a Lane running Northward; thence, Northward, along the said Lane to the Point at which the same is met by the first Bank on the Right; thence, Eastward, along the said Bank to the Point at which the same is met by a Lane coming from the North and turning to the East; thence, Eastward, along the last-mentioned Lane to the Point at which the same meets Heywood Street; thence along a Bank which runs Eastward from a House a little to the South of the Point last described to the Point at which the said Bank meets a small Bye Lane leading into the Cashel Road; thence along the said Bye Lane to the Cashel Road; thence, Southward, along the said Cashel Road to the Point at which the same is met by the Southern Boundary Wall of the Park or Pleasure Grounds of Mr. David Malcolmson; thence along the said Boundary Wall to the Point where the said Wall meets Upper Johnson Street; thence, Eastward, along Backbone Lane to the Extremity thereof; thence to a Point in the new Road to Fethard, which Point is Sixty-four Yards to the North of the Spot at which the said Road is crossed by Bonlie Lane; thence, Southward, for Sixty-four Yards, to the said Spot where the Fethard Road is crossed by Bonlie Lane; thence, Eastward, along Bonlie Lane for about Six hundred and forty-four Yards, to a Point at which the same is met by a Bank on the Right opposite a small House; thence, Southward, along the said Bank for the Distance of about Two hundred and nine Yards to the Point where it is met by another Bank running Eastward; thence, Eastward, along the last-mentioned Bank for about Fifty Yards to a Point where the same makes an Angle in turning to the South; thence, Southward, for about Fifty Yards along a Bank which leads to a Bye Road to Powers Town until the said Bank reaches the said Bye Road; thence, Eastward, along the said Bye Road for the Distance of about Two hundred and seventeen Yards to the Spot where it is met by the first Bank on the Right; thence in a straight Line to the most Northern Point of a Bank on the Southern Side of the Dublin Road, which Point is distant about Four hundred and sixty-four Yards from a Stone in Barrack Street which marks the South-eastern Corner of the Ordnance Land; thence along the last-mentioned Bank to the Point at which the same meets the River Suir; thence along the southernmost Channel of the River Suir as far as Moore's Island; thence along the Channel of the same to the North of Moore's Island to the Point first described."

Under the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868, its boundaries were extended to include the whole the municipal borough.

Members of Parliament

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Election Member Party Note
1801, 1 January seat vacant ... Both members in the Irish Parliament had resigned
1801, 13 February William Bagwell Tory Resigned to contest County Tipperary
1819, 6 March John Kiely Tory Stooks Smith gives this members first name as James
1820, 18 March James Hewitt Massy Dawson Tory[2] Resigned to contest County Limerick
1830, 22 February Eyre Coote Tory[3]
1832, 15 December Dominick Ronayne Repeal Association[3] Re-elected as a candidate of a Whig/Repealer pact
1835, 16 January Whig Died
1836, 20 February Nicholas Ball Whig[3] Appointed a Judge of the Irish Court of Common Pleas
1839, 18 February Rt Hon. David Richard Pigot Whig[3][4] Appointed Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland
1846, 12 September Hon. Cecil Lawless Repeal Association[5] Re-elected as a Liberal candidate
1852, 17 July Independent Irish[5] Died
1853, 21 December John O'Connell Radical[6] Appointed Clerk of the Crown in Ireland
1857, 17 February John Bagwell Whig[7][8]
1859, 2 May Liberal
1874, 6 February Count Arthur John Moore Home Rule League
1885 Constituency abolished

Elections

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Elections in the 1830s

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General Election 1830: Clonmel[5][3][9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Eyre Coote (MP) Unopposed
Registered electors c. 105
Tory hold
General Election 1831: Clonmel[5][3][9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Eyre Coote (MP) Unopposed
Tory hold
General Election 1832: Clonmel[5][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Irish Repeal Dominick Ronayne 262 55.3
Tory John Bagwell 212 44.7
Majority 50 10.6
Turnout 474 91.0
Registered electors 521
Irish Repeal gain from Tory
General Election 1835: Clonmel[5][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Repeal (Whig) Dominick Ronayne 262 51.0 −4.3
Conservative John Bagwell 252 49.0 +4.3
Majority 10 2.0 −8.6
Turnout 514 70.8 −20.2
Registered electors 726
Irish Repeal hold Swing −4.3

Ronayne's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 20 February 1836: Clonmel[5][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Nicholas Ball Unopposed
Registered electors 749
Whig gain from Irish Repeal
General Election 1837: Clonmel[5][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Nicholas Ball 284 66.8 +15.8
Conservative Richard Hely-Hutchinson 141 33.2 −15.8
Majority 143 33.6 +31.6
Turnout 425 53.5 −17.3
Registered electors 795
Whig gain from Irish Repeal Swing +15.8

Ball was appointed as Attorney General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 16 July 1838: Clonmel[5][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Nicholas Ball Unopposed
Whig hold

Ball was appointed a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, causing a by-election.

By-election, 18 February 1839: Clonmel[5][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig David Richard Pigot Unopposed
Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

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Pigot was appointed Attorney General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 21 August 1840: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig David Richard Pigot Unopposed
Whig hold
General Election 1841: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig David Richard Pigot Unopposed
Registered electors 687
Whig hold

Pigot resigned after being appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, causing a by-election.

By-election, 12 September 1846: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Repeal Cecil Lawless Unopposed
Irish Repeal gain from Whig
General election 1847: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Repeal Cecil Lawless 142 100.0 New
Whig James Henry Monahan 0 0.0 N/A
Majority 142 100.0 N/A
Turnout 142 26.3 N/A
Registered electors 540
Irish Repeal gain from Whig Swing N/A

Elections in the 1850s

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General election 1852: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Irish Cecil Lawless 182 68.4 −31.6
Conservative Thomas Henry Barton 84 31.6 New
Majority 98 36.8 −63.2
Turnout 266 70.2 +43.9
Registered electors 379
Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal Swing N/A

Lawless' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 21 December 1853: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical John O'Connell Unopposed
Radical gain from Independent Irish

O'Connell resigned after being appointed Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper at Dublin Castle, causing a by-election.

By-election, 17 February 1857: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Bagwell 184 69.4 N/A
Conservative Edward Bagwell Purefoy[10] 51 19.2 −12.4
Independent Patrick Joseph Murray[11] 30 11.3 New
Majority 133 50.2 N/A
Turnout 265 83.3 +13.1
Registered electors 318
Whig gain from Radical Swing N/A
General election 1857: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Bagwell Unopposed
Registered electors 318
Whig gain from Independent Irish
General election 1859: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Bagwell Unopposed
Registered electors 353
Liberal hold

Bagwell was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 1 July 1859: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Bagwell Unopposed
Registered electors 353
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

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General election 1865: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Bagwell Unopposed
Registered electors 350
Liberal hold
General election 1868: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Bagwell Unopposed
Registered electors 436
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

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General election 1874: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Home Rule Arthur John Moore 220 59.6 New
Liberal John Bagwell 149 40.4 N/A
Majority 71 19.2 N/A
Turnout 369 83.3 N/A
Registered electors 443
Home Rule gain from Liberal Swing N/A

Elections in the 1880s

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General election 1880: Clonmel[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Home Rule Arthur John Moore 244 73.3 +13.7
Conservative Stephen Moore 89 26.7 New
Majority 155 46.6 +27.4
Turnout 333 77.4 −5.9
Registered electors 430
Home Rule hold Swing N/A

Notes

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  1. ^ First Schedule Part I: Boroughs to cease to exist as such. "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, 48 & 49 Vict. C. 23". The public general acts. Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales.
  2. ^ Salmon, Philip (2009). "MASSY (afterwards MASSY DAWSON), James Hewitt (1779-1834), of Ballynacourte, co. Tipperary and 87 Gloucester Place, Mdx.". In Fisher, D. R. (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820-1832. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 219.
  4. ^ "Ireland". Silurian, Cardiff, Merthyr, and Brecon Mercury, and South Wales General Advertiser. 23 February 1839. p. 1. Retrieved 20 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 204, 261–262. ISBN 0901714127.
  6. ^ The Irish Franchise and Registration Question. London: Ridgway. 1841. p. 7.
  7. ^ "Dublin Daily Express". 9 February 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 23 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ Hawkins, Angus (2015). Victorian Political Culture: 'Habits of Heart & Mind'. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-19-872848-1. Retrieved 23 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b Salmon, Philip. "Clonmel". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Galway Mercury, and Connaught Weekly Advertiser". 21 February 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 23 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Condensed Intelligence". Reading Mercury. 21 February 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 23 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

References

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