Drogheda (UK Parliament constituency)

Drogheda
Former Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
1801–1885
Number of members One
Replaced by South 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 Parliament of Ireland.

Boundaries

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

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberPartyNote
1801, January 1 Edward Hardman 1801: Co-opted
1806, November 14 Henry Meade Ogle Tory
1807, November 14 Thomas Foster Whig[1]
1812, October 21 Henry Meade Ogle Tory[1]
1820, March 28 Henry Metcalfe Tory[1] Died
1822, March 9 William Meade Smyth Tory
1826, June 17 Peter Van Homrigh
1830, August 13 John Henry North Tory[1] Died
1831, October 20 Thomas Wallace Whig[1]
1832, December 15 Andrew Carew O'Dwyer Repeal Association[1][2]
1835, January 12 Unseated on petition. New writ issued.
1835, April 24 Unseated on petition
1835, June 21 Randal Edward Plunkett Conservative[1][2] Declared elected on petition
1837, August 3 William Somerville Whig[1][3][4]
1852, July 13 James McCann Independent Irish Re-elected as a Whig candidate
1857, April 4 Whig[5]
1859, May 7 Liberal
1865, July 17 Benjamin Whitworth Liberal Unseated on petition. New writ issued.
1869, March 15 Thomas Whitworth Liberal
1874, February 5 Dr William Hagarty O'Leary Home Rule League Died
1880, March 2 Benjamin Whitworth Home Rule League Last MP for the constituency
1885 Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1850s

General Election 1852: Drogheda[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Independent Irish James McCann 306 100.0
Whig William Somerville 0 0.0
Whig John Magee 0 0.0
Majority 306 100.0
Turnout 306 61.1
Registered electors 501
Independent Irish gain from Whig Swing
General Election 1857: Drogheda[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Whig James McCann 350 96.2 −3.8
Independent Irish Francis Brodigan[6] 14 3.8 N/A
Majority 336 92.3 −7.7
Turnout 364 56.1 −5.0
Registered electors 649
Whig gain from Independent Irish Swing N/A
General Election 1859: Drogheda[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal James McCann 308 59.8 −36.4
Liberal-Conservative Charles Marmaduke Middleton[7] 205 39.8 N/A
Liberal Francis Brodigan 2 0.4 −3.4
Majority 103 20.0 −72.3
Turnout 515 80.6 +24.5
Registered electors 639
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1865: Drogheda[2]
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[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth 365 68.5 −9.1
Conservative Francis McClintock 138 25.9 N/A
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.[8] 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."[9]

By-election, 15 March 1869: Drogheda[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Thomas Whitworth Unopposed
Registered electors 726
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General Election 1874: Drogheda[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Home Rule William Hagarty O'Leary 284 50.9 N/A
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth 274 49.1 −19.4
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

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

By-election, 2 Mar 1880: Drogheda[2][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Benjamin Whitworth 382 67.9 +18.8
Home Rule James Carlile McCoan 181 32.1 −18.8
Majority 201 35.7 N/A
Turnout 563 75.8 +3.1
Registered electors 743
Liberal gain from Home Rule Swing +18.8
General Election 1880: Drogheda[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Home Rule Benjamin Whitworth Unopposed
Registered electors 743
Home Rule hold
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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
  3. ↑  Norgate, Gerald le Grys (1898). "Somerville, William Meredyth". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography. 53. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  4. ↑ "Drogheda". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 18 August 1847. p. 6. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ "Wexford Independent". 7 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  6. ↑ "Results of the Irish Borough Elections". London Daily News. 8 April 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ "The General Election". London Evening Standard. 3 May 1859. p. 6. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  8. ↑ "Drogheda". London Daily News. 21 November 1868. p. 5. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "The Drogheda Election Petition". The Evening Freeman. 20 January 1869. p. 4. Retrieved 10 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  10. ↑ "Drogheda Election". North Devon Journal. 4 March 1880. p. 6. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
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