County Louth (UK Parliament constituency)

County Louth
County Louth
Former county constituency; for the House of Commons
County	County Louth
1801–1885
Seats	2
Created from	Louth County
Replaced by	North Louth and South Louth
1918–1922
Seats	1
Created from	North Louth and South Louth
Replaced by	Louth–Meath

County Louth, otherwise known as Louth County or Louth, is a former parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), and one from 1918 to 1922.

Boundaries

From 1801 to 1885, the constituency comprised the whole of County Louth, except for the parliamentary boroughs of Drogheda and Dundalk. Between 1885 and 1918 the county was divided into the county division constituencies North Louth and South Louth. In 1918, the reunited constituency covered the entire county of Louth plus a small part of County Meath near Drogheda.

History

Louth was a constituency in the first Dáil election in December 1918 when Sinn Féin won by 255 votes, its narrowest margin of victory in that election. John J. O'Kelly, a native of Kerry, resident in Glasnevin (Dublin), was Louth's first TD. The constituency was merged with Meath to form the 5 seat Louth–Meath constituency for the 2nd and 3rd Dála. In 1923 Louth became a new 3 seat constituency.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1801–85

Election	1st Member		1st Party		2nd Party
1801, 1 January		John Foster		William Fortescue
1806, 18 November			Tory	Richard Jocelyn	Tory
1807, 19 May				John Jocelyn
1810, 10 February				Richard Jocelyn	Tory
1820, 10 August				John Jocelyn
1821, 27 September		Thomas Skeffington
1824, 21 February		John Leslie Foster	Tory^[1]
1826, 21 June		John Leslie Foster	Tory^[1]	Alexander Dawson	Radical^[1]^[2]
1830, 13 August		John McClintock	Tory^[1]
1831, 18 May		Richard Lalor Sheil	Repeal Association^[1]
1831, 28 September		Richard Lalor Sheil	Repeal Association^[1]	Sir Patrick Bellew, Bt	Whig^[1]
1832, 21 December		Thomas FitzGerald	Repeal Association	Richard Bellew	Repeal Association
1834, 24 December		Sir Patrick Bellew, Bt	Whig^[1]
1837, 5 August		Henry Chester	Whig^[1]
1840, 31 July		Thomas Fortescue	Whig^[1]^[3]
1841, 15 July		Thomas Vesey Dawson	Whig^[1]^[4]		Whig^[1]^[5]^[6]^[7]
1847, 10 August		Chichester Fortescue	Whig^[7]^[8]^[9]		Whig^[1]^[5]^[6]^[7]
1852, 22 July				Tristram Kennedy	Ind. Irish^[10]
1857, 10 April				John McClintock	Conservative^[10]^[8]
1859, 16 May			Liberal^[10]	Richard Bellew	Liberal^[10]
1865, 15 April				Tristram Kennedy	Liberal^[10]
1868, 24 November				Matthew Dease	Liberal^[10]
1874, 14 February		Alexander Martin Sullivan	Home Rule League^[10]	Philip Callan^[11]	Home Rule League^[10]
1874, 9 April				George Kirk	Home Rule League^[10]
1880, 9 April				Philip Callan	Home Rule League^[10]
1880, 31 May		Henry Bellingham	Home Rule League^[10]	Philip Callan	Home Rule League^[10]
1885	Constituency divided: see North Louth and South Louth

MPs 1918–22

Election	Member		Party
1918		John J. O'Kelly	Sinn Féin
1922	Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]^[1]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Radical	Alexander Dawson (MP)	294	32.9
	Tory	John McClintock	256	28.6
	Irish Repeal	Richard Lalor Sheil	213	23.8
	Irish Repeal	Richard Bellew	131	14.7
Turnout			569	81.6
Registered electors			697
Majority			38	4.3
	Radical hold		Swing
Majority			43	4.8
	Tory hold		Swing

General election 1831: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]^[1]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Radical	Alexander Dawson (MP)	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal	Richard Lalor Sheil	Unopposed
Registered electors			697
	Radical hold
	Irish Repeal gain from Tory

Dawson's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 28 September 1831: County Louth^[10]^[1]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Patrick Bellew	Unopposed
Registered electors			697
	Whig gain from Radical

General election 1832: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Repeal	Thomas FitzGerald (MP for County Louth)	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal	Richard Bellew	Unopposed
Registered electors			863
	Irish Repeal hold
	Irish Repeal gain from Radical

FitzGerald's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 24 December 1834: County Louth^[10]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Patrick Bellew	Unopposed
	Whig gain from Irish Repeal

General election 1835: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Patrick Bellew	497	40.8
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Richard Bellew	456	37.4
	Conservative	Chichester Thomas Skeffington Foster	265	21.8
Turnout			c. 609	c. 67.4
Registered electors			904
Majority			41	3.4
	Whig gain from Irish Repeal
Majority			191	15.6
	Irish Repeal hold

General election 1837: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Henry Chester (MP)	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Richard Bellew	Unopposed
Registered electors			995
	Whig hold
	Irish Repeal hold

Elections in the 1840s

Chester resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 31 July 1840: County Louth^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Fortescue	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1841: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Richard Bellew	447	36.1	*N/A*
	Whig	Thomas Vesey Dawson	430	34.7	*N/A*
	Conservative	Matthew Fortescue	358	28.9	New
	Conservative	John McClintock	4	0.3	New
Majority			72	5.8	N/A
Turnout			832	86.6	N/A
Registered electors			961
	Whig hold		Swing
	Whig gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	N/A

General election 1847: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Richard Bellew	Unopposed
	Whig	Chichester Fortescue	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,410
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Chichester Fortescue	1,152	38.0	*N/A*
	Independent Irish	Tristram Kennedy	999	32.9	*N/A*
	Conservative	John McClintock	884	29.1	New
Turnout			1,518 (est)	73.1 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			2,078
Majority			153	5.1	N/A
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			115	3.8	N/A
	Independent Irish gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

Fortescue was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 27 February 1854: County Louth^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Chichester Fortescue	916	54.5	+16.5
	Independent Irish	John MacNamara Cantwell	766	45.5	+12.6
Majority			150	9.0	+3.9
Turnout			1,682	80.9	+7.8
Registered electors			2,078
	Whig hold		Swing	+2.0

General election 1857: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Chichester Fortescue	1,376	36.8	−1.2
	Conservative	John McClintock	1,059	28.4	−0.7
	Whig	Richard Bellew	894	23.9	N/A
	Independent Irish	Tristram Kennedy	406	10.9	−22.0
Turnout			1,868 (est)	77.3 (est)	+4.2
Registered electors			2,418
Majority			317	8.5	+3.5
	Whig hold		Swing	−0.4
Majority			653	17.5	N/A
	Conservative gain from Independent Irish		Swing	+5.2

General election 1859: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Chichester Fortescue	1,379	36.8	—
	Liberal	Richard Bellew	1,208	32.2	+8.3
	Conservative	John McClintock	1,138	30.4	+2.0
	Conservative	Frederick John Foster	23	0.6	N/A
Majority			70	1.8	−6.7
Turnout			1,874 (est)	76.8 (est)	−0.5
Registered electors			2,439
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.5
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.7

Elections in the 1860s

Bellew resigned after he was appointed a law commissioner, causing a by-election.

By-election, 15 April 1865 (1 seat) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Tristram Kennedy	1,002	52.1	−16.9
	Conservative	John McClintock	923	47.9	+16.9
Majority			79	4.2	+2.4
Turnout			1,925	78.9	+2.1
Registered electors			2,441
	Liberal hold		Swing	−16.9

General election 1865: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue	628	50.3	+13.5
	Liberal	Tristram Kennedy	607	48.6	+16.4
	Conservative	Frederick John Foster	8	0.6	—
	Conservative	John McClintock	6	0.5	−29.9
Majority			599	48.0	+46.2
Turnout			625 (est)	25.6 (est)	−51.2
Registered electors			2,441
	Liberal hold		Swing	+14.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	+15.7

Parkinson-Fortescue was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

1866 County Louth by-election (1 seat) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,441
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue	Unopposed
	Liberal	Matthew Dease	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,443
	Liberal hold
	Liberal hold

Parkinson-Fortescue was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

1869 County Louth by-election (1 seat) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,443
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Alexander Martin Sullivan	1,250	37.6	*New*
	Home Rule	Philip Callan	1,202	36.2	*New*
	Liberal	Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue	608	18.3	N/A
	Liberal	Matthew Dease	265	8.0	N/A
Majority			594	17.9	N/A
Turnout			1,834 (est)	79.2 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			2,316
	Home Rule gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Callan was also elected MP for Dundalk and opted to sit there.

1874 County Louth by-election (1 seat) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	George Kirk	997	66.3	−7.5
	Home Rule	Bernard Charles Molloy	507	33.7	+7.4
Majority			490	32.6	+14.7
Turnout			1,504	64.9	−14.3
Registered electors			2,316
	Home Rule hold		Swing	-7.5

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: County Louth (2 seats) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Philip Callan	902	37.6	+1.4
	Home Rule	Alexander Martin Sullivan	830	34.6	−3.0
	Home Rule	George Kirk	668	27.8	N/A
Majority			162	6.8	−11.1
Turnout			1,570 (est)	75.1 (est)	−4.1
Registered electors			2,091
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A

Sullivan declined to take the seat, causing a by-election.

1880 County Louth by-election (1 seat) ^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Home Rule	Henry Bellingham	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,091
	Home Rule hold

Elections in the 1910s

1918 general election: County Louth^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	John J. O'Kelly	10,770	50.6	*New*
	Irish Parliamentary	Richard Hazleton	10,515	49.4	N/A
Majority			255	1.2	N/A
Turnout			21,285	73.0	N/A
Registered electors			29,176
	Sinn Féin win (new seat)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 235. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via Google Books.
^ Salmon, Philip. "DAWSON, Alexander (1771-1831), of Riverstown and Ardee, co. Louth". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
^ "Louth Election". Wexford Independent. 5 August 1840. p. 4. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Freeman's Journal". 13 July 1847. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Election Movements". Kings County Chronicle. 7 July 1847. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Vindicator". 24 July 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b "The Irish Members". Dublin Weekly Nation. 14 August 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b "County Louth Election". Dublin Weekly Nation. 17 July 1852. p. 12. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Louth Election". The Evening Freeman. 20 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 229–230, 299–300, 393. ISBN 0901714127.
^ Philip Callan was also returned for Dundalk, for which he chose to sit
^ ^a ^b ^c Salmon, Philip. "Co. Louth". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
^ Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, Volume 50. 1843. Retrieved 25 August 2019 – via Google Books.

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)
Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
"County Louth: the Irish political revolution and the 1918 general election" by O. S. Kelly (MA thesis, 2006, UCD)
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 4)

[stookssmith1842-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 235. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via Google Books.

[2] Salmon, Philip. "DAWSON, Alexander (1771-1831), of Riverstown and Ardee, co. Louth". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.

[3] "Louth Election". Wexford Independent. 5 August 1840. p. 4. Retrieved 24 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[4] "Freeman's Journal". 13 July 1847. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[5] "Election Movements". Kings County Chronicle. 7 July 1847. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[6] "Vindicator". 24 July 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[dublin1847-7] "The Irish Members". Dublin Weekly Nation. 14 August 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[dublin1852-8] "County Louth Election". Dublin Weekly Nation. 17 July 1852. p. 12. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[9] "Louth Election". The Evening Freeman. 20 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[walker-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 229–230, 299–300, 393. ISBN 0901714127.

[11] Philip Callan was also returned for Dundalk, for which he chose to sit

[hop1820-1832-12] Salmon, Philip. "Co. Louth". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.

[13] Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, Volume 50. 1843. Retrieved 25 August 2019 – via Google Books.

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