Dublin City was an Irish borough constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It comprised the city of Dublin in the county of Dublin, and was represented by two Members of Parliament from its creation in 1801 until 1885.

In 1885, Dublin City was split into four divisions which were separate single-member constituencies: College Green, Dublin Harbour, St Stephen's Green and St Patrick's.

History

Under article 4 of the Acts of Union 1800, Dublin was one of two boroughs which has retained two seats among the initial 100 Irish MPs sitting in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801.

A report into the boundaries was undertaken in 1831. The report found that the Circular Road was "in a popular sense, generally regarded as the Boundary of the Town". The Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 defined the boundaries of the parliamentary borough as:

Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the representation of the parliamentary borough was increased to 4 members, and it was divided into four divisions: College Green, Dublin Harbour, St Stephen's Green and St Patrick's.

Profile The city of Dublin was accounted a county of itself, although it remained connected with County Dublin for certain purposes. A Topographical Directory of Ireland (1837), describes the parliamentary history of the city:Part of the Library Ireland: Irish History and Culture website containing the text of A Topographical Directory of Ireland, by Samuel Lewis (a work published by S. Lewis & Co of London in 1837) including an article on the city of Dublin

Members of Parliament Year1st Member1st Party2nd Member2nd Party 1801, 1 January John Claudius BeresfordBeresford resigned 1804. Tory Rt Hon. George Ogle Tory 1802, 21 July John La Touche Whig 1804, 31 March Sir Robert Shaw, Bt Tory 1806, 19 November Rt Hon. Henry GrattanGrattan died 1820. Whig 1820, 30 June Thomas Ellis Tory 1826, 12 June Henry Grattan Whig George Moore Tory 1830, 4 August Frederick Shaw Tory 1831, 19 MayHarty and Perrin were unseated on petition and a new writ was issued, 1831. Robert Harty Whig Louis Perrin Whig 1832, 18 August Frederick Shaw Tory Viscount Ingestre Tory 1832, 22 DecemberO'Connell and Ruthven were re-elected in 1835, as the candidates of a Whig/Repealer electoral pact. As the result of an election petition, the result of the 1835 election was reversed. O'Connell and Ruthven were unseated, with Hamilton and West being declared duly elected, on 16 May 1836. Daniel O'Connell Repeal Association Edward Southwell Ruthven Repeal Association 1836, 16 May George Alexander Hamilton Conservative John Beattie West Conservative 1837, 5 AugustO'Connell and Hutton were the candidates, in 1837, of a Whig/Repealer electoral pact. Daniel O'Connell Repeal Association Robert Hutton Whig 1841, 10 July John Beattie WestWest died 1842. Conservative Sir Edward Grogan, BtGrogan was a Baronet from 23 April 1859. Conservative 1842, 29 January William Henry Gregory Conservative 1847, 7 August John Reynolds Repeal Association 1852, 12 July John Vance Conservative 1865, 17 July Sir Benjamin Guinness, Bt Conservative Jonathan Pim Liberal 1868, 1 June Sir Arthur Guinness, BtOn petition after the 1868 general election, Guinness was unseated and a new writ was issued in 1870. Conservative 1870, 18 August Sir Dominic Corrigan, Bt Liberal 1874, 6 February Sir Arthur Guinness, Bt Conservative Maurice BrooksThe Home Rule League was replaced by the Irish Parliamentary Party in 1882. Home Rule League 1880, 5 April Robert Dyer Lyons Liberal 1882 Irish Parliamentary1885 constituency abolished

Elections From 1832 (when registers of electors were first prepared) a turnout figure is given, for the percentage of the registered electors who voted. If the number of registered electors eligible to take part in a contested election is unknown, then the last known electorate figure is used to calculate an estimated turnout. If the numbers of registered electors and electors taking part in the poll are known, an exact turnout figure is calculated. In two-member elections (in which an elector could cast one or two votes as he chose), where the exact number of electors participating is unknown, an estimated turnout figure is given. This is calculated by dividing the total number of votes cast by two. To the extent that electors used only one of their votes the estimated turnout figure is an underestimate.

Elections in the 1800s

Elections in the 1810s

Elections in the 1820s

Elections in the 1830s

On petition, Harty and Perrin were unseated, causing a by-election.

On petition, O'Connell and Ruthven were unseated and Hamilton and West were declared elected on 16 May 1836

Elections in the 1840s

West's death caused a by-election.

On petition, the poll was amended and 92 votes were struck off Reynolds, although this did not cause him to be declared unelected.

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Guinness' death caused a by-election.

Transparency of results Following the election, a publication was printed listing the names of those who had voted, and for whom. The listing was categorised by the seventeen individual wards and districts of Dublin, and a further category solely reserved for the Freemen of Dublin. A similar publication was produced for the voters in the wider County of Dublin.

Elections in the 1870s On petition, Guinness was unseated.

Elections in the 1880s

Notes

Sources The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)

References