Carlow (UK Parliament constituency)

Carlow
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
County
BoroughCarlow
1801–1885
Seats1
Created fromCarlow
Replaced by

Carlow was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by one Member of Parliament (MP) from 1801 to 1885.

History and boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Carlow on the border of County Carlow and Queen's County. Prior to 1801, Carlow was a two-seat borough constituency in the Irish House of Commons.[1][2] Under the Acts of Union 1800, which united the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, it was one of 33 boroughs to retain representation, but was reduced to one MP.[3][4] Its first MP in 1801 was chosen by lot.

Following a report of boundary commissioners,[5] the parliamentary borough was defined by the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 as:[6]

"From the Point below the Town at which the River Barrow is met by the Southern Wall of the Grounds of the House belonging to Mr. Carey, Adjutant to the Carlow Militia, Eastward, along the said Wall to the Point at which the same meets the Kilkenny Road; thence in a straight Line to the Southern Corner of the Infirmary; thence in a straight Line to the Point a little above the Barracks at which the River Burren is joined by a small Stream; thence up the said Stream, and across the Tullow Road, to the Point at which the same Stream is met by a Hedge which runs down thereto from opposite the Southern End of the Plantation attached to the House on the Baltinglass Road which belongs to Mr. Hunt and is occupied by Mr. Butler; thence along the said Hedge to the Point at which the same meets the Baltinglass Road; thence in a straight Line in the Direction of the Cupola of the Lunatic Asylum to the Point at which such straight Line cuts a Road which runs between the Baltinglass Road and the Dublin Road; thence in a straight Line to a Gate on the Eastern Side of the Dublin Road which is distant about One hundred Yards to the North of the North-eastern Corner of the Enclosure Wall of the Lunatic Asylum; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the Road to Athy is met by the North Boundary of the Demesne of the Roman Catholic Bishop; thence along the said Boundary till it meets the River at the Point; thence along the River to the North Corner of the Wall of the Burial Ground; thence in a straight Line to the Spire of Graigue Church; thence in a straight Line to the Summer House in Mr. Wilson's Garden; thence in a straight Line to the Point first described."

It was disfranchised by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, becoming part of the constituencies of County Carlow and Queen's County Leix.[7]

Members of Parliament

Notable MPs for Carlow included F. J. Robinson, later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as Viscount Goderich, the zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors, and the historian and writer John Dalberg-Acton, later known as Lord Acton.

ElectionMemberPartyNote
1801 Hon. Henry Prittie Succeeded as the 2nd Baron Dunalley
1801 b Hon. Francis Aldborough Prittie Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
1801 b Charles Ormsby Tory Appointed Recorder of Prince of Wales Island
1806 Michael Symes
1806 Hon. F. J. Robinson Pittite
1807 Andrew Strahan Tory
1812 Frederick Falkiner
1818 Charles Harvey-Saville-Onley Tory
1826 Charles Bury Tory[8]
1830
1831
1832 Nicholas Aylward Vigors Repeal[9][8]
1835 Francis Bruen Conservative[9][8]
1837 William Henry Maule Whig[8][10] Appointed a Baron of the English Court of Exchequer
1839 b Francis Bruen Conservative[9][8] Unseated on petition
1839 Thomas Gisborne Whig[8][11][12] Seated on petition
1841 Brownlow Layard Whig[13][14][15]
1847 John Sadleir Whig[16][17]
1852 Independent Irish[9] Accepted an office. Defeated for re-election as a Liberal.
1853 b John Alexander Conservative[9]
1859 Sir John Dalberg-Acton, Bt Liberal
1865 Thomas Stock Liberal
1868 William Fagan Liberal
1874 Henry Owen Lewis Home Rule
1880 Charles Dawson Home Rule Member of the Parnellite faction
1885 Divided between County Carlow and Queen's County Leix

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Carlow[18][8][19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Bury Unopposed
Registered electors 13
Tory hold
General election 1831: Carlow[18][8][19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Bury Unopposed
Registered electors 13
Tory hold
General election 1832: Carlow[18][8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Repeal Nicholas Aylward Vigors 145 54.7
Tory Francis Bruen 120 45.3
Majority 25 9.4
Turnout 265 95.3
Registered electors 278
Repeal gain from Tory
1835 general election: Carlow[9][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Francis Bruen 150 52.8 +7.5
Repeal (Whig) Nicholas Aylward Vigors 134 47.2 −7.5
Majority 16 5.6 N/A
Turnout 284 92.5 −2.8
Registered electors 307
Conservative gain from Repeal Swing +7.5
General election 1837: Carlow[9][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Henry Maule 180 52.9 +5.7
Conservative Francis Bruen 158 46.5 −6.3
Ind. Conservative Philip Bagenal 2 0.6 New
Majority 22 6.4 N/A
Turnout 340 61.3 −31.2
Registered electors 555
Whig gain from Conservative Swing +6.0

Maule was appointed as Baron of the Exchequer in England, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 27 February 1839: Carlow[9][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Francis Bruen 167 50.5 +4.0
Whig Thomas Gisborne 164 49.5 −3.4
Majority 3 1.0 N/A
Turnout 331 c. 59.6 c. −1.7
Registered electors c. 555
Conservative gain from Whig Swing +3.7

After meeting 59 times, an election committee amended the poll to 160 for Gisborne and 159 for Bruen and, in July 1839, Gisborne was declared elected.

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Brownlow Layard Unopposed
Registered electors 417
Whig hold
General election 1847: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Sadleir 164 61.9 N/A
Whig Brownlow Layard 101 38.1 N/A
Majority 63 23.8 N/A
Turnout 265 40.9 N/A
Registered electors 648
Whig hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Irish John Sadleir 112 54.1 −7.8
Conservative Robert Clayton Browne 95 45.9 New
Majority 17 8.2 −15.6
Turnout 207 87.3 +46.4
Registered electors 237
Independent Irish gain from Whig Swing N/A

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

By-election, 20 January 1853: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Alexander 97 51.6 +5.7
Whig John Sadleir[20] 91 48.4 −5.7
Majority 6 3.2 N/A
Turnout 188 90.4 +3.1
Registered electors 208
Conservative gain from Independent Irish Swing +5.7
General election 1857: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Alexander 127 61.7 +15.8
Whig Arthur Edward Valette Ponsonby[21] 79 38.3 N/A
Majority 48 23.4 N/A
Turnout 206 85.8 −1.5
Registered electors 240
Conservative gain from Independent Irish Swing +15.8
General election 1859: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Dalberg-Acton 117 53.2 +14.9
Conservative John Alexander 103 46.8 −14.9
Majority 14 6.4 N/A
Turnout 220 93.2 +7.4
Registered electors 236
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +14.9

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Thomas Stock 126 54.1 +0.9
Conservative Horace Rochfort 107 45.9 −0.9
Majority 19 8.2 +1.8
Turnout 233 91.4 −1.8
Registered electors 255
Liberal hold Swing +0.9
General election 1868: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Fagan 174 53.7 −0.4
Conservative Horace Rochfort 150 46.3 +0.4
Majority 24 7.4 −0.8
Turnout 324 92.0 +0.6
Registered electors 352
Liberal hold Swing −0.4

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Home Rule Henry Owen Lewis Unopposed
Registered electors 303
Home Rule gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Carlow[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Parnellite Home Rule League Charles Dawson 149 52.5 N/A
Conservative Henry Thomas Butler 135 47.5 New
Majority 14 5.0 N/A
Turnout 284 94.0 N/A
Registered electors 302
Home Rule hold Swing N/A

References

  1. ↑ "Carlow". History of the Irish Parliament. Ulster Historical Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Johnston-Liik, Edith Mary. "County Carlow". History of the Irish Parliament. Ulster Historical Foundation.
  3. ↑ Jupp, P.J. (2009). "Carlow". In Fisher, D.R. (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820–1832. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "Union with Ireland Act 1800 (39 & 40 Geo. III., c. 67), Article Fourth" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk.
  5. ↑ "Report on the Town of Carlow". Instructions by Secretary for Ireland, respecting Cities and Boroughs in Ireland sending Representatives to Parliament; Reports of Commissioners. Sessional papers. Vol. 43. Sessional papers. December 1831. pp. 17–20.
  6. ↑ "Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. IV., c. 89), Schedule" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk.
  7. ↑ "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23), s. 2 and First Schedule, Part 1: Boroughs to cease to exist as such" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 217.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Walker 1978, p. 255.
  10. ↑ Wagner, John A., ed. (2014). Voices of Victorian England: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life. Santa Barbara: Greenwood. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-313-38688-6. LCCN 2013029915.
  11. ↑ "Elections". Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, Glamorgan, Monmouth, and Brecon Gazette. 15 April 1843. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ↑ "Nottingham Election". Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette. 13 April 1843. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ↑ The Spectator, Volume 14. F. C. Westley. 1841. p. 655.
  14. ↑ Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1843). Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Volume 11. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. p. 174.
  15. ↑ "Weekly Compendium". Newcastle Journal. 31 July 1841. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ "Irish Elections". Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal. 7 August 1847. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ↑ "The General Election". Morning Post. 9 August 1847. pp. 2–4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. 1 2 3 Walker 1978, p. 199.
  19. 1 2 Salmon, Philip. "Carlow". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "Cork Constitution". 6 January 1853. p. 1 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. ↑ "Election Preparations". Dublin Evening Mail. 25 March 1857. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Sources

  • Salmon, Philip (1986). "Carlow". In Thorne, R. (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820. Secker & Warburg. ISBN 0-436-52101-6.
  • Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0-901714-12-7.
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