County Antrim, Ireland, was represented in the Irish House of Commons by a county constituency of two knights of the shire (or MPs) until the abolition of the Irish Parliament on 1 January 1801. It was enfranchised as a parliamentary constituency at an uncertain date, between the first known meeting of the Parliament in 1264 and the division of the area into baronies in 1584.
The county was represented in the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, under the Instrument of Government, after it was established in 1654 as part of the constituency of Down, Antrim and Armagh. Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 the Parliament of Ireland was re-established and the constituency again returned two Members of Parliament. In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by James II, County Antrim was represented with two members.
Under the Acts of Union 1800, the county was represented by the Westminster constituency of County Antrim with two MPs in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
Boundaries and boundary changes 1264-1800: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis discusses the administrative history of Antrim. It is uncertain when Antrim was made a County and given representation as such in Parliament. Something like the modern arrangements seems to have originated in 1584 when the Lord Deputy Sir John Perrot divided the area into baronies. The parliamentary boroughs of Antrim (from 1666), Belfast (1613), Carrickfergus (1326), Lisburn (1661) and Randalstown (1683) had separate representation.
Members of Parliament ElectionFirst MPSecond MP1585Edward Berkeley Shane McBrien O'Neill 1613Sir Fulke Conway Sir Moyses HillReturn of Members of Parliament, Part II (1878), p. 605 1634Arthur Chichester John Clotworthy 1639Sir Roger Langford 1660Sir John Clotworthy Sir George Rawdon 1661Sir John Skeffington, Bt John Davys 1665Sir Toby (or John) Poyntz Conway Hill, Esq 1689 Cormack O'Neile Randal MacDonnell 1692Sir Robert Colville Clotworthy Skeffington 1695Arthur Upton 1697 Hugh Colville 1703 Clotworthy Skeffington Clotworthy Upton November 1715 John Skeffington 1715 Sir Arthur Langford, 2nd Bt 1716Thomas Upton 1725John Upton 1727 John Skeffington 1741 Arthur Skeffington Henry Seymour Conway 1747 Hugh Skeffington 1768 Viscount Dunluce Viscount Beauchamp 1776 Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway James Willson 1783John O'Neill Hon. Hercules Rowley 1792Edward Jones-Agnew 1794 Hugh Boyd 1796John Staples 1798 Edmund Alexander Macnaghten 1801 Succeeded by the Westminster constituency of County Antrim Notes
Elections
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