The Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947 (No. 31) was a law in Ireland which revised Dáil constituencies. The new constituencies were first used for the 13th Dáil, elected at the 1948 general election on 4 February 1948.
This Act repealed the Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935, which defined the constituencies since the 1937 general election. It also increased the number of seats in the Dáil by 9 from 138 to 147. It was used at the 1951, 1954 and 1957 general elections.
The 1947 revision was repealed by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1961, which created a new schedule of constituencies first used at the 1961 general election for the 17th Dáil.
Background In 1947 the rapid rise of new party Clann na Poblachta threatened the position of the governing party Fianna Fáil. The government of Éamon de Valera introduced the Act, which increased the size of the Dáil from 138 to 147 and increased the number of three-seat constituencies from fifteen to twenty-two. The result was described by the journalist and historian Tim Pat Coogan as "a blatant attempt at gerrymander which no Six County Unionist could have bettered". The following February, at the 1948 general election, Clann na Poblachta secured ten seats instead of the nineteen they would have received proportional to their national vote. No Dáil constituency has had more than five seats since 1948. The Constitutional Convention's 2013 recommendation to increase proportionality by having larger constituencies was rejected by the Fine Gael–Labour government on the grounds that "the three, four or five seat Dáil constituency arrangement has served the State well since 1948".
Constituencies 1948–1961 Key to columns Constituency: The name of the constituency. Compass points follow the area name in this list, which was not always the case in the official version of the name. Created: The year of the election when a constituency of the same name was first defined. Seats: The number of TDs elected from the constituency under the Act. Change: Change in the number of seats since the last distribution of seats (which took effect in 1937).
Constituency Created Seats ChangeBorough constituenciesCork19215 + 1Dublin North-Central19483 + 3Dublin North-East19375 + 2Dublin North-West19213− 2Dublin South-Central19485 + 5Dublin South-East19483 + 5Dublin South-West19485 + 5County constituenciesCarlow–Kilkenny19485 + 5Cavan19214noneClare19214− 1Cork East19483 + 3Cork North19233− 1Cork South19483 + 3Cork West19233− 2Donegal East19374noneDonegal West19373noneDublin County19213− 2Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown19483 + 3Galway North19483 + 3Galway South19483 + 3Galway West19373noneKerry North19374noneKerry South19373noneKildare19483 + 3Leix–Offaly19215noneLimerick East19484 + 4Limerick West19483 + 3Longford–Westmeath19485 + 5Louth19233noneMayo North19233noneMayo South19234− 1Meath19483 + 3Monaghan19213noneRoscommon19234 + 1Sligo–Leitrim19485 + 5Tipperary North19483 + 3Tipperary South19484 + 4Waterford19234noneWexford19215noneWicklow19233none
Summary of changes This list summarises the changes in representation. It does not address revisions to the boundaries of constituencies. Constituency Created Seats ChangeAthlone–Longford19373abolishedCarlow–Kildare19373abolishedCarlow–Kilkenny19485new constituencyClare19214loses 1 seatCork Borough19215gains 1 seatCork East19483new constituencyCork North19233loses 1 seatCork South19483new constituencyCork South-East19373abolishedCork West19233loses 2 seatsDublin County19213loses 2 seatsDublin North-Central19483new constituencyDublin North-East19375gains 2 seatsDublin North-West19213loses 2 seatsDublin South19217abolishedDublin South-Central19485new constituencyDublin South-East19483new constituencyDublin South-West19485new constituencyDublin Townships19373abolishedDún Laoghaire and Rathdown19483new constituencyGalway East19374abolishedGalway North19483new constituencyGalway South19483new constituencyKildare19483new constituencyKilkenny19373abolishedLeitrim19373abolishedLimerick19237abolishedLimerick East19484new constituencyLimerick West19483new constituencyLongford–Westmeath19485new constituencyMayo South19234loses 1 seatMeath19483new constituencyMeath–Westmeath19375abolishedRoscommon19234gains 1 seatSligo19373abolishedSligo–Leitrim19485new constituencyTipperary19237abolishedTipperary North19483new constituencyTipperary South19484new constituency
See also Elections in the Republic of Ireland
References