Drogheda (UK Parliament constituency)

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Drogheda
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyCounty Louth
BoroughDrogheda
1801–1885
Seats1
Created fromDrogheda
Replaced bySouth Louth

Drogheda 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 Drogheda constituency in the Irish House of Commons.

Boundaries[edit]

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Drogheda in County Louth.

Members of Parliament[edit]

Election Member Party Note
1 January 1801 Edward Hardman 1801: Co-opted
14 November 1806 Henry Meade Ogle Tory
14 November 1807 Thomas Foster Whig[1]
21 October 1812 Henry Meade Ogle Tory[1]
28 March 1820 Henry Metcalfe Tory[1] Died
9 March 1822 William Meade Smyth Tory[2]
17 June 1826 Peter Van Homrigh Tory[2]
13 August 1830 John Henry North Tory[1] Died
20 October 1831 Thomas Wallace Whig[1]
15 December 1832 Andrew Carew O'Dwyer Repeal Association[1][3]
21 January 1835 Unseated on petition. New writ issued.
24 April 1835 Unseated on petition
29 June 1835 Randal Edward Plunkett Conservative[1][3] Declared elected on petition
3 August 1837 William Somerville Whig[1][4][5]
13 July 1852 James McCann Independent Irish Re-elected as a Whig candidate
4 April 1857 Whig[6]
7 May 1859 Liberal
17 July 1865 Benjamin Whitworth Liberal Unseated on petition. New writ issued.
15 March 1869 Thomas Whitworth Liberal
5 February 1874 Dr William Hagarty O'Leary Home Rule League Died
2 March 1880 Benjamin Whitworth Home Rule League Last MP for the constituency
1885 Constituency abolished

Elections[edit]

Elections in the 1830s[edit]

General election 1830: Drogheda[3][1][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Tory John Henry North 373 58.2
Irish Repeal Maurice O'Connell 268 41.8
Majority 105 16.4
Turnout 641 68.5
Registered electors 936
Tory hold Swing
General election 1831: Drogheda[3][1][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Tory John Henry North 355 55.5 −2.7
Whig Thomas Wallace 285 44.5 New
Majority 70 11.0 -5.4
Turnout 640 55.7 −12.8
Registered electors 1,150
Tory hold Swing −2.7

North's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 20 October 1831: Drogheda[3][1][7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Thomas Wallace Unopposed
Whig gain from Tory
General election 1832: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Repeal Andrew Carew O'Dwyer 249 100.0 N/A
Tory Francis Ball 0 0.0 -55.5
Majority 249 100.0 N/A
Turnout 249 44.5 −11.2
Registered electors 560
Irish Repeal gain from Tory Swing N/A
  • Stooks Smith gives the poll as 237 for O'Dwyer and 12 for Ball, but Walker's numbers have been used above.[1]
General election 1835: Drogheda[3][1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Irish Repeal (Whig) Andrew Carew O'Dwyer Unopposed
Registered electors 651
Irish Repeal hold

On petition, O'Dwyer was unseated for "want of qualification", causing a by-election.[7]

By-election, 24 April 1835: Drogheda[3][1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Irish Repeal (Whig) Andrew Carew O'Dwyer 320 71.0
Conservative Randall Edward Plunkett 131 29.0
Majority 189 42.0
Turnout 451 69.3
Registered electors 651
Irish Repeal hold
  • Stooks Smith gives the poll as 313 for O'Dwyer and 130 for Plunkett but Walker's figures have been used here.[1] On petition, O'Dwyer's election was declared void and Plunkett was declared elected, on 21 June 1835.[3]
General election 1837: Drogheda[3][1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig William Somerville Unopposed
Registered electors 799
Whig gain from Irish Repeal

Elections in the 1840s[edit]

General election 1841: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Somerville Unopposed
Registered electors 506
Whig hold
General election 1847: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Somerville 155 50.5 N/A
Irish Repeal Thomas Lamie Murray 152 49.5 New
Majority 3 1.0 N/A
Turnout 307 41.8 N/A
Registered electors 734
Whig hold Swing

Elections in the 1850s[edit]

General election 1852: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Irish James McCann 306 100.0 +50.5
Whig William Somerville 0 0.0 −50.5
Whig John Magee 0 0.0 N/A
Majority 306 100.0 N/A
Turnout 306 61.1 +19.3
Registered electors 501
Independent Irish gain from Whig Swing +50.5
General election 1857: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig James McCann 350 96.2 +96.2
Independent Irish Francis Brodigan[8] 14 3.8 -96.2
Majority 336 92.4 -7.6
Turnout 364 56.1 −5.0
Registered electors 649
Whig gain from Independent Irish Swing N/A
General election 1859: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James McCann 308 59.8 −36.4
Liberal-Conservative Charles Marmaduke Middleton[9] 205 39.8 New
Liberal Francis Brodigan 2 0.4 −3.4
Majority 103 20.0 -72.4
Turnout 515 80.6 +24.5
Registered electors 639
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1860s[edit]

General election 1865: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth 291 77.6 +17.8
Liberal Francis Brodigan 84 22.4 +22.0
Majority 207 55.2 +35.2
Turnout 375 64.5 −16.1
Registered electors 581
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1868: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth 365 68.5 −9.1
Conservative Francis McClintock 138 25.9 New
Liberal Francis Brodigan 30 5.6 −16.8
Majority 227 42.6 −12.6
Turnout 533 73.4 +8.9
Registered electors 726
Liberal hold Swing +3.9

Polling for the 1868 election was marred by riots at or outside the polling house, during which people were fired upon by the military, and one man was seriously injured.[10] Although this was later not shown to have affected the result significantly, on petition, Whitworth was unseated for separate findings of an "organised system of intimidation and force was established by Mr. Whitworth and his friends and agents."[11]

By-election, 15 March 1869: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Thomas Whitworth Unopposed
Registered electors 726
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s[edit]

General election 1874: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Home Rule William Hagarty O'Leary 284 50.9 New
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth 274 49.1 -25.0
Majority 10 1.8 N/A
Turnout 558 72.7 −0.7
Registered electors 768
Home Rule gain from Liberal Swing N/A

Elections in the 1880s[edit]

O'Leary's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 2 Mar 1880: Drogheda[3][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth 382 67.9 +18.8
Home Rule James Carlile McCoan 181 32.1 −18.8
Majority 201 35.8 N/A
Turnout 563 75.8 +3.1
Registered electors 743
Liberal gain from Home Rule Swing +18.8
General election 1880: Drogheda[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth Unopposed
Registered electors 743
Liberal gain from Home Rule

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 223. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b Farrell, Stephen. "IV. Ireland". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 209–210, 270. ISBN 0901714127.
  4. ^ Norgate, Gerald le Grys (1898). "Somerville, William Meredyth" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 53. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  5. ^ "Drogheda". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 18 August 1847. p. 6. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Wexford Independent". 7 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ a b c d Salmon, Philip. "Drogheda". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Results of the Irish Borough Elections". London Daily News. 8 April 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "The General Election". London Evening Standard. 3 May 1859. p. 6. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Drogheda". London Daily News. 21 November 1868. p. 5. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  11. ^ "The Drogheda Election Petition". The Evening Freeman. 20 January 1869. p. 4. Retrieved 10 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ "Drogheda Election". North Devon Journal. 4 March 1880. p. 6. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
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