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Ennis (UK Parliament constituency)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ennis
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyCounty Clare
BoroughEnnis
18011885
Seats1
Created fromEnnis
Replaced byEast Clare

Ennis is a former United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

Boundaries

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This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Ennis in County Clare.

Members of Parliament

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Election Member Party Note
1801 John Ormsby Vandeleur Tory 1801: Co-opted
1802 Rt Hon. James Fitzgerald Tory Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
1808 Rt Hon. William Vesey-Fitzgerald Tory a
1812 Rt Hon. James Fitzgerald Tory Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
1813 Rt Hon. William Vesey-Fitzgerald Tory a
1818 Spencer Perceval Tory Not the Prime Minister assassinated in 1812 but his son
1820 Sir Ross Mahon, Bt Tory Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
1820 Richard Wellesley Tory
1826 Thomas Frankland Lewis Tory[1] Resigned
1828 William Smith O'Brien Tory[2] b
1831 Rt Hon. William Vesey-Fitzgerald Tory[3] Succeeded as the 2nd Baron FitzGerald and Veseya
1832 Sir Augustine Fitzgerald, Bt Tory[4]
1832 Francis McNamara Repeal Association[3]
1835 Hewitt Bridgeman Radical[5][6]
1847 James Patrick Mahon Repeal Association[7][8]
1852 John Fitzgerald Ind. Irish[7] Appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland, as a Whig
1855 Whig[9]
1859 Liberal Appointed Judge of the Irish Queen's Bench
1860 William Stacpoole Liberal Sought re-election as a Home Rule League candidate
1874 Home Rule League Died
1879 James Lysaght Finegan Home Rule League 1880 United Kingdom general election: Supporter of Parnellite faction. Resigned.
1882 Matthew Joseph Kenny Irish Parliamentary Last MP for the constituency
1885 Constituency abolished

Notes:-

  • a William Vesey Fitzgerald (MP for Ennis 1808–1812 and 1813–1818) appears to be the same person as William Vesey-Fitzgerald, the MP from 1831 to 1832. Walker includes all three terms as MP for Ennis in one index entry. The History of Parliament website confirms it was the same person and that he was also MP for Clare in 1818–1828, Newport, Cornwall in 1829 and Lostwithiel in 1830.[10]
  • b Stooks Smith classifies O'Brien as a Whig MP, but the Wikipedia biographical article suggests he was a Conservative MP (i.e. a Tory) in 1828–1831.

Elections

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Elections in the 1830s

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General election 1830: Ennis[7][3][11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory William Smith O'Brien Unopposed
Registered electors 13
Tory hold
General election 1831: Ennis[7][3][11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory William Vesey-FitzGerald Unopposed
Registered electors 13
Tory hold

Vesey-FitzGerald succeeded to the peerage, becoming 2nd Baron FitzGerald and Vesey and causing a by-election.

By-election, 28 February 1832: Ennis[7][3][11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Augustine FitzGerald Unopposed
Registered electors 13
Tory hold
General election 1832: Ennis[7][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Irish Repeal Francis McNamara (British politician) 111 53.4
Radical Hewitt Bridgeman Snr. 84 40.4
Tory Michael Finucane 10 4.8
Radical Hewitt Bridgeman, Jnr. 3 1.4
Majority 27 13.0
Turnout 208 87.8
Registered electors 237
Irish Repeal gain from Tory
General election 1835: Ennis[7][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Hewitt Bridgeman 100 51.5 +10.7
Conservative Michael Finucane 94 48.5 +43.7
Majority 6 3.0 N/A
Turnout 194 81.5 −6.3
Registered electors 238
Radical gain from Irish Repeal Swing −16.3
General election 1837: Ennis[7][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Hewitt Bridgeman Unopposed
Registered electors 353
Radical hold

Elections in the 1840s

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General election 1841: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical Hewitt Bridgeman Unopposed
Registered electors 161
Radical hold
General election 1847: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Repeal James Patrick Mahon Unopposed
Registered electors 212
Irish Repeal gain from Radical

Elections in the 1850s

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General election 1852: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Irish John FitzGerald 59 56.2 New
Whig James Patrick Mahon 46 43.8 N/A
Majority 13 12.4 N/A
Turnout 105 73.4 N/A
Registered electors 143
Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal Swing N/A

FitzGerald was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 8 March 1855: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John FitzGerald Unopposed
Registered electors 303
Whig gain from Independent Irish

FitzGerald was appointed Attorney-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 8 April 1856: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John FitzGerald Unopposed
Whig gain from Independent Irish
General election 1857: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John FitzGerald Unopposed
Registered electors 161
Whig gain from Independent Irish
General election 1859: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John FitzGerald Unopposed
Registered electors 191
Liberal hold

FitzGerald was appointed Attorney-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 29 June 1859: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John FitzGerald Unopposed
Registered electors 191
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

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Fitzgerald resigned after being appointed a judge of the Queen's Bench, causing a by-election.

By-election, 20 February 1860: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Stacpoole Unopposed
Liberal hold
General election 1865: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Stacpoole 97 72.9 N/A
Liberal Chartres Brew Molony 36 27.1 N/A
Majority 61 45.8 N/A
Turnout 133 70.4 N/A
Registered electors 189
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1868: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Stacpoole Unopposed
Registered electors 231
Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

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General election 1874: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Home Rule William Stacpoole 115 53.7 N/A
Home Rule The O'Gorman Mahon 99 46.3 New
Majority 16 7.4 N/A
Turnout 214 88.4 N/A
Registered electors 242
Home Rule gain from Liberal Swing N/A

Stacpoole's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 26 July 1879: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Home Rule James Lysaght Finegan 83 38.8 N/A
Home Rule William O'Brien 77 36.0 N/A
Conservative William Henry Wilson Fitzgerald 54 25.2 New
Majority 6 2.8 −4.6
Turnout 214 86.6 −1.8
Registered electors 247
Home Rule hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1880s

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General election 1880: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Parnellite Home Rule League James Lysaght Finegan 124 56.6 N/A
Home Rule William O'Brien 95 43.4 N/A
Majority 29 13.2 +5.8
Turnout 219 88.7 +0.3
Registered electors 247
Home Rule hold Swing N/A

Finegan resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 14 Nov 1882: Ennis[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary Matthew Joseph Kenny 136 58.9 +2.3
Conservative Robert William Carey Reeves 95 41.1 New
Majority 41 17.8 +4.6
Turnout 231 87.8 −0.9
Registered electors 263
Irish Parliamentary hold Swing N/A

References

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  1. ^ Escott, Margaret. "LEWIS, Thomas Frankland (1780-1855), of Harpton Court, Rad". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. ^ Farrell, Stephen. "SMITH O'BRIEN, William (1803-1864)". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 227.
  4. ^ Farrell, Stephen; Fisher, David R. "FITZGERALD, Sir Augustine, 1st bt. (?1765-1834), of Carrigoran, co. Clare". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  5. ^ Churton, Edward (1838). The Assembled Commons or Parliamentary Biographer. p. 38.
  6. ^ "The New Parliament". Clare Journal, and Ennis Advertiser. 12 February 1835. p. 4. Retrieved 21 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 215, 278–279. ISBN 0901714127.
  8. ^ "Mr. O'Gorman Mahon and the Repeal Association". Cork Examiner. 9 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "The Advocate; or, Irish Industrial Journal". 25 March 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "VESEY FITZGERALD (formerly FITZGERALD), William (?1782–1843), of Inchicronan, co. Clare". History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  11. ^ a b c Farrell, Stephen. "Ennis". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2020.