Carrickfergus was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland represented from 1801 to 1885 by one MP.

History and boundaries This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Carrickfergus which was a county corporate in County Antrim. Prior to 1801, Carrickfergus was a two-seat borough constituency in the Irish House of Commons. Under the Acts of Union 1800, which united the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, it was one of 33 boroughs to retain representation, but was reduced to one MP. Its first MP in 1801 was chosen by lot. The boundary commissioners indicated in their report of January 1832 that they were not authorised to propose a curtailment in the boundaries. It was defined by the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 as: "The County of the Town of Carrickfergus".

It was disenfranchised under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, which took effect at the 1885 general election. The county of the town of Carrickfergus became part of the county division of East Antrim.

Members of Parliament ElectionMemberPartyNote 1801, January 1 Noah Dalway 1801: Co-opted 1802, July 30 Lord Spencer Chichester Tory Resigned 1807, April 29 James Craig Whig Initially elected four weeks earlier, in the 31 March 1807 Carrickfergus by-election 1812, November 5 Arthur Chichester Tory 1818, July 1 Earl of Belfast Tory 1820, March 16 Sir Arthur Chichester, Bt Tory Created Baronet 13 September 1821 1830, August 10 Lord George Hill Whig 1832, December 9 Conway Richard Dobbs Tory Election declared void on petition 1833, March Writ suspended 1835, January 10 Peter Kirk Conservative 1847, August 3 Hon. Wellington Stapleton-Cotton Conservative 1857, April 2 William Cary Dobbs Conservative 1859, May 6 Robert Torrens Conservative 1868, November 21 Marriott Dalway Liberal-Conservative 1880, April 2 Thomas Greer Conservative Last MP for the constituency1885 Constituency abolished

Election results Elections in the 1830s

On petition, the election was declared void and the writ for the seat was suspended.

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1880s

Notes and references Notes

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

References