County Louth (UK Parliament constituency)


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County Louth, otherwise known as Louth County or Louth, is a former parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), and one from 1918 to 1922.

County Louth
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyCounty Louth
1801–1885
Seats2
Created fromLouth County
Replaced byNorth Louth and South Louth
1918–1922
Seats1
Created fromNorth Louth and South Louth
Replaced byLouth–Meath

From 1801 to 1885, the constituency comprised the whole of County Louth, except for the parliamentary boroughs of Drogheda and Dundalk. Between 1885 and 1918 the county was divided into the county division constituencies North Louth and South Louth. In 1918, the reunited constituency covered the entire county of Louth plus a small part of County Meath near Drogheda.

Louth was a constituency in the first Dáil election in December 1918 when Sinn Féin won by 255 votes, its narrowest margin of victory in that election. John J. O'Kelly, a native of Kerry, resident in Glasnevin (Dublin), was Louth's first TD. The constituency was merged with Meath to form the 5 seat Louth–Meath constituency for the 2nd and 3rd Dála. In 1923 Louth became a new 3 seat constituency.

Members of Parliament

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Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1801, 1 January John Foster William Fortescue
1806, 18 November Tory Richard Jocelyn Tory
1807, 19 May John Jocelyn
1810, 10 February Richard Jocelyn Tory
1820, 10 August John Jocelyn
1821, 27 September Thomas Skeffington
1824, 21 February John Leslie Foster Tory[1]
1826, 21 June Alexander Dawson Radical[1][2]
1830, 13 August John McClintock Tory[1]
1831, 18 May Richard Lalor Sheil Repeal Association[1]
1831, 28 September Sir Patrick Bellew, Bt Whig[1]
1832, 21 December Thomas FitzGerald Repeal Association Richard Bellew Repeal Association
1834, 24 December Sir Patrick Bellew, Bt Whig[1]
1837, 5 August Henry Chester Whig[1]
1840, 31 July Thomas Fortescue Whig[1][3]
1841, 15 July Thomas Vesey Dawson Whig[1][4] Whig[1][5][6][7]
1847, 10 August Chichester Fortescue Whig[7][8][9]
1852, 22 July Tristram Kennedy Ind. Irish[10]
1857, 10 April John McClintock Conservative[10][8]
1859, 16 May Liberal[10] Richard Bellew Liberal[10]
1865, 15 April Tristram Kennedy Liberal[10]
1868, 24 November Matthew Dease Liberal[10]
1874, 14 February Alexander Martin Sullivan Home Rule League[10] Philip Callan[11] Home Rule League[10]
1874, 9 April George Kirk Home Rule League[10]
1880, 9 April Philip Callan Home Rule League[10]
1880, 31 May Henry Bellingham Home Rule League[10]
1885 Constituency divided: see North Louth and South Louth
Election Member Party
1918 John J. O'Kelly Sinn Féin
1922 Constituency abolished

Elections in the 1830s

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Dawson's death caused a by-election.

FitzGerald's death caused a by-election.

Elections in the 1840s

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Chester resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

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

Elections in the 1860s

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Bellew resigned after he was appointed a law commissioner, causing a by-election.

Parkinson-Fortescue was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

Parkinson-Fortescue was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

Elections in the 1870s

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Callan was also elected MP for Dundalk and opted to sit there.

Elections in the 1880s

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Sullivan declined to take the seat, causing a by-election.

Elections in the 1910s

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 235. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Salmon, Philip. "DAWSON, Alexander (1771-1831), of Riverstown and Ardee, co. Louth". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Louth Election". Wexford Independent. 5 August 1840. p. 4. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Freeman's Journal". 13 July 1847. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Election Movements". Kings County Chronicle. 7 July 1847. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Vindicator". 24 July 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ a b "The Irish Members". Dublin Weekly Nation. 14 August 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ a b "County Louth Election". Dublin Weekly Nation. 17 July 1852. p. 12. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Louth Election". The Evening Freeman. 20 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 229–230, 299–300, 393. ISBN 0901714127.
  11. ^ Philip Callan was also returned for Dundalk, for which he chose to sit
  12. ^ a b c Salmon, Philip. "Co. Louth". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  13. ^ Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, Volume 50. 1843. Retrieved 25 August 2019 – via Google Books.
  • 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)
  • Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
  • "County Louth: the Irish political revolution and the 1918 general election" by O. S. Kelly (MA thesis, 2006, UCD)
  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 4)