Portarlington (UK Parliament constituency)

Portarlington
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyQueen's County
BoroughPortarlington
1801–1885
Seats1
Created fromPortarlington (IHC)
Replaced by

Portarlington was a rotten borough and 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[edit]

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Portarlington in Queen's County, now called County Laois.

Members of Parliament[edit]

Election Member Party
1801 Frederick Trench[1]
March 1801 William Elliot
July 1802 Henry Parnell Whig
December 1802 Thomas Tyrwhitt
March 1806 John Langston
November 1806 Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt
1807 Hon. William Lamb Whig
1812 Arthur Shakespeare
1816 Richard Sharp Whig
1819 David Ricardo Whig
1824 James Farquhar Tory[2]
1830 Sir Charles Ogle, Bt Tory[3]
1831 Sir William Rae, Bt Tory[3]
1832 Thomas Gladstone Tory[3][4]
1834 Conservative[3][4]
1835 George Dawson-Damer Conservative[3][4]
1846 Peelite[5][6]
1847 Francis Plunkett Dunne Whig[5][6][7]
1852 Conservative[4]
1857 Lionel Dawson-Damer Conservative[4]
1865 James Anthony Lawson Liberal[4]
1868 Lionel Dawson-Damer Conservative[4]
1880 Bernard FitzPatrick Conservative[4]
1883 Robert French-Brewster Conservative[4]
1885 constituency abolished

Elections[edit]

Elections in the 1830s[edit]

General election 1830: Portarlington[4][3][8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Ogle Unopposed
Registered electors 15
Tory hold
General election 1831: Portarlington[4][3][8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory William Rae Unopposed
Registered electors 15
Tory hold
General election 1832: Portarlington[4][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Thomas Gladstone 66 50.4
Tory George Dawson-Damer 65 49.6
Majority 1 0.8
Turnout 131 95.6
Registered electors 137
Tory hold
General election 1835: Portarlington[4][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative George Dawson-Damer Unopposed
Registered electors 156
Conservative hold
General election 1837: Portarlington[4][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative George Dawson-Damer 80 55.2
Whig Francis Plunkett Dunne 65 44.8
Majority 15 10.4
Turnout 145 66.8
Registered electors 217
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s[edit]

General election 1841: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Dawson-Damer Unopposed
Registered electors 188
Conservative hold

Dawson-Damer was appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 27 September 1841: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Dawson-Damer Unopposed
Conservative hold
General election 1847: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Francis Plunkett Dunne Unopposed
Registered electors 221
Whig gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1850s[edit]

Dunne was appointed Clerk of the Ordnance, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 8 March 1852: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Francis Plunkett Dunne Unopposed
Conservative gain from Whig
General election 1852: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Francis Plunkett Dunne Unopposed
Registered electors 71
Conservative gain from Whig
General election 1857: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lionel Dawson-Damer 42 53.8 N/A
Conservative Francis Plunkett Dunne 36 46.2 N/A
Majority 6 7.6 N/A
Turnout 78 83.9 N/A
Registered electors 93
Conservative hold Swing N/A
General election 1859: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lionel Dawson-Damer Unopposed
Registered electors 99
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s[edit]

General election 1865: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Anthony Lawson 46 56.8 New
Conservative Lionel Dawson-Damer 35 43.2 N/A
Majority 11 13.6 N/A
Turnout 81 76.4 N/A
Registered electors 106
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing
General election 1868: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lionel Dawson-Damer 69 57.5 +14.3
Liberal James Anthony Lawson 51 42.5 −14.3
Majority 18 15.0 N/A
Turnout 120 89.6 +13.2
Registered electors 134
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +14.3

Elections in the 1870s[edit]

General election 1874: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lionel Dawson-Damer 76 59.4 +1.9
Liberal William D Barnett[9] 52 40.6 −1.9
Majority 24 18.8 +3.8
Turnout 128 94.1 +4.5
Registered electors 136
Conservative hold Swing +1.9

Elections in the 1880s[edit]

General election 1880: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bernard FitzPatrick 116 86.6 +27.2
Liberal Robert Keating Clay 18 13.4 −27.2
Majority 98 73.2 +54.4
Turnout 134 91.2 −2.9
Registered electors 147
Conservative hold Swing +27.2

FitzPatrick succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Castletown, causing a by-election.

By-election, 28 Feb 1883: Portarlington[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert French-Brewster 70 55.1 −31.5
Liberal Thomas Mayne 57 44.9 +31.5
Majority 13 10.2 -63.0
Turnout 127 92.0 +0.8
Registered electors 138
Conservative hold Swing −31.5

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Trench was created a peer in 1800, and so did not take up his seat at Westminster
  2. ^ Fisher, David R. "FARQUHAR, James (1764-1833), of Johnston Lodge, Laurencekirk; Hallgreen, Inverbervie, Kincardine and 13 Duke Street, Westminster, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 237–238. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ 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 Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 234–235, 308. ISBN 0901714127.
  5. ^ a b "The General Election". Brighton Gazette. 12 August 1847. p. 8. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ a b "Portarlington". Armagh Guardian. 10 August 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Irish Members Returned". Galway Vindicator, and Connaught Advertiser. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ a b Salmon, Philip. "Portarlington". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Advertisements and Notices". Freeman's Journal. 6 February 1874. p. 5. Retrieved 17 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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