Dublin St Stephen's Green (UK Parliament constituency)

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St Stephen's Green
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Dublin St Stephen's Green constituency within Dublin, as it existed from 1885 to 1918.
Dublin within Ireland. Map utilises the modern administrative boundaries.
1885–1922
Seats1
Created fromDublin City
Replaced byDublin South

St Stephen's Green, a division of Dublin, was a borough constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the United Kingdom House of Commons from 1885 until 1922 on the first past the post electoral system.

From the dissolution of 1922, shortly before the establishment of the Irish Free State, the area was no longer represented in the UK Parliament.

Boundaries[edit]

This constituency was named for St Stephen's Green and comprised parts of the south-east of the city of Dublin.[1]

From 1885 to 1918, it was defined as:[2]

Exchange Ward, Fitzwilliam Ward, Mansion House Wards, and those parts of the South Dock and Trinity wards not contained within the Dublin Harbour constituency, and that part of the parliamentary borough outside of the municipal borough boundary not contained within the Dublin Harbour constituency.

From 1918 to 1922, it was defined as:[3]

the Royal Exchange, Fitzwilliam and Mansion House wards and those parts of the South Dock and Trinity wards not contained within the Dublin Harbour constituency.

History[edit]

Prior to the 1885 general election, the city was the undivided two-member Dublin City constituency. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Dublin was divided into four divisions: College Green, Dublin Harbour, St Stephen's Green, and St Patrick's. Under the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918, the city was allocated seven seats: in addition to the four existing constituencies, the new divisions were Clontarf, St James's and St Michan's.[4]

Sinn Féin used the 1918 general election to elect members of Dáil Éireann, inviting all those elected in Ireland to sit as a Teachta Dála (known in English as a Deputy) in the Dáil rather than at Westminster, although only the Sinn Féin members attended. Thomas Kelly sat as a member of the First Dáil.

Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, the area was combined with the St Patrick's Division to form Dublin South, a 4-seat constituency for the Southern Ireland House of Commons and a single constituency at Westminster.[5] At the 1921 election for the Southern Ireland House of Commons, the four seats were won uncontested by Sinn Féin, who treated it as part of the election to the Second Dáil. Thomas Kelly was one of the four TDs for Dublin South.

Under s. 1(4) of the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922, no writ was to be issued "for a constituency in Ireland other than a constituency in Northern Ireland".[6] Therefore, no vote was held in Dublin South at the 1922 United Kingdom general election on 15 November 1922, shortly before the Irish Free State left the United Kingdom on 6 December 1922.

Members of Parliament[edit]

From To Member[7] Party
1885 1888 Edmund Dwyer Gray Irish Parliamentary
1888 1892 Thomas Alexander Dickson Liberal
1892 1898 William Kenny Liberal Unionist
1898 1900 James Henry Mussen Campbell Irish Unionist
1900[8][9][10] 1904 James McCann Irish Parliamentary
1904[11] 1910 Laurence Ambrose Waldron Irish Parliamentary
1910 1918 Patrick Joseph Brady Irish Parliamentary
1918 1922 Thomas Kelly Sinn Féin

Elections[edit]

Elections in the 1910s[edit]

1918 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Thomas Kelly 8,461 59.9 New
Irish Parliamentary Patrick Joseph Brady 2,902 20.6 Decrease35.9
Irish Unionist Henry Hanna 2,755 19.5 Decrease24.0
Majority 5,559 39.3 N/A
Turnout 14,118 71.5 Decrease8.9
Registered electors 19,759
Sinn Féin gain from Irish Parliamentary Swing N/A
December 1910 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary P. J. Brady 3,594 56.5 Increase1.6
Irish Unionist Reginald Herbert 2,765 43.5 Decrease1.6
Majority 829 13.0 Increase3.2
Turnout 6,359 80.4 Decrease4.4
Registered electors 7,909
Irish Parliamentary hold Swing Increase1.6
January 1910 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary P. J. Brady 3,683 54.9 Decrease6.2
Irish Unionist Henry Daniel Connor 3,021 45.1 Increase6.2
Majority 662 9.8 Decrease12.4
Turnout 6,704 84.8 Increase9.5
Registered electors 7,909
Irish Parliamentary hold Swing Decrease6.2

Elections in the 1900s[edit]

1906 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary Laurence Ambrose Waldron 4,055 61.1 Increase6.7
Irish Unionist William Ireland 2,581 38.9 Decrease6.7
Majority 1,474 22.2 Increase13.4
Turnout 6,636 75.3 Increase3.0
Registered electors 8,816
Irish Parliamentary hold Swing Increase6.7
1904 Dublin St Stephen's Green by-election[14][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary Laurence Ambrose Waldron 3,457 55.1 Increase0.7
Irish Unionist Charles Louis Matheson 2,821 44.9 Decrease0.7
Majority 636 10.2 Increase1.4
Turnout 6,278 78.3 Increase6.0
Registered electors 8,018
Irish Parliamentary hold Swing Increase0.7

Death of McCann

1900 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[14][8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary James McCann 3,429 54.4 Increase7.7
Irish Unionist James Campbell 2,873 45.6 Decrease7.7
Majority 556 8.8 N/A
Turnout 6,302 72.3 Decrease6.6
Registered electors 8,714
Irish Parliamentary gain from Liberal Unionist Swing Increase7.7

Elections in the 1890s[edit]

1898 Dublin St Stephen's Green by-election[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist James Campbell 3,525 51.0 Decrease2.3
Irish National League George Plunkett 3,387 49.0 Increase2.3
Majority 138 2.0 N/A
Turnout 6,912 79.1 Increase0.2
Registered electors 8,735
Irish Unionist gain from Liberal Unionist Swing Decrease2.3

Kenny appointed a Judge of the High Court

1895 Dublin St Stephen's Green by-election[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist William Kenny 3,325 53.5 Increase0.2
Irish National League Pierce Mahoney 2,893 46.5 Decrease0.2
Majority 432 7.0 Increase0.4
Turnout 6,218 78.9 Steady
Registered electors 8,697
Liberal Unionist hold Swing Increase0.2

Kenny appointed Solicitor-General

1895 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist William Kenny 3,661 53.3 Increase8.0
Irish National League George Plunkett 3,205 46.7 Increase1.6
Majority 456 6.6 Increase6.4
Turnout 6,866 78.9 Decrease9.0
Registered electors 8,697
Liberal Unionist hold Swing Increase3.2
1892 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Unionist William Kenny 2,893 45.3 Increase11.4
Irish National League Joseph Meade 2,878 45.1 New
Irish National Federation William Lovell Pearson 615 9.6 New
Majority 15 0.2 N/A
Turnout 6,386 87.9 Increase13.5
Registered electors 7,261
Liberal Unionist gain from Irish Parliamentary Swing N/A

Elections in the 1880s[edit]

1888 Dublin St Stephen's Green by-election[15]
Registered electors 10,530[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Thomas Alexander Dickson 4,819 62.2 New
Irish Conservative Robert Sexton 2,932 37.8 Increase3.9
Majority 1,887 24.4 N/A
Turnout 7,751 73.6 Decrease0.8
Registered electors 10,530
Liberal gain from Irish Parliamentary Swing N/A

Death of Gray

1886 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary Edmund Dwyer Gray 5,008 66.1 Increase4.8
Liberal Unionist Sir Edward Sullivan, 2nd Baronet 2,565 33.9 Decrease4.8
Majority 2,443 32.2 Increase9.6
Turnout 7,573 74.4 Decrease10.2
Registered electors 10,184
Irish Parliamentary hold Swing Increase4.8
1885 general election: Dublin St Stephen's Green[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Parliamentary Edmund Dwyer Gray 5,277 61.3
Irish Conservative Edward Guinness 3,334 38.7
Majority 1,943 22.6
Turnout 8,611 84.6
Registered electors 10,184
Irish Parliamentary win (new seat)

Notes, citations and sources[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ "Report of the Boundary Commission (Ireland): Map". Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. DIPPAM: Documenting Ireland, Parliament, People and Migration. p. 18. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23)". Archive.org. Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. p. 143. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Report of the Boundary Commission (Ireland)". Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. DIPPAM: Documenting Ireland, Parliament, People and Migration. p. 35. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Redistribution of seats (Ireland) Act, 1918". Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Government of Ireland Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5, c. 67): Fifth Schedule". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 (12 & 13 Geo. 5, c. 4)". Historical Documents. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012.
  7. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 1)
  8. ^ a b Campbell was defeated 'very largely because of the actions of die-hard unionists' - see D.George Boyce, Alan O'Day (editors) 'Defenders of the Union: A Survey of British and Irish Unionism Since 1801', page 123 Archived 15 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b 'Unionist abstentionism helped to unseat Campbell' - see Alvin Jackson, 'Ireland 1798-1998: War, Peace and Beyond',page 226 Archived 15 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ 'He lost the seat partly because middle-class Protestants, like their Catholic counterparts, were involved in a widespread flight to the suburbs, where the air was cleaner and the rates lower.' - Pádraig Yeates, 'A City in Wartime – Dublin 1914–1918: The Easter Rising 1916', [1] Archived 15 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ a b '[This] by-election ... revealed how deep the divisions in unionist ranks ran, but it was also a harbinger of the future. Senior figures within the Unionist Party were not inclined to contest the seat, especially as the new nationalist-backed ‘independent’ candidate, Laurence Waldron, was a stockbroker and former unionist who would be a moderating influence in the House of Commons. Several leading business figures, including Sir William Goulding, chairman of the Great Southern and Western Railway, and Lord Iveagh, head of the Guinness dynasty, resigned from the Unionist Representative Association in protest at a grass-roots revolt that led to the association supporting the candidacy of Norris Godard, a Crown solicitor. It was a foolish nomination, as Godard could stand only by relinquishing his lucrative government post, which he declined to do. The former Unionist MP for the constituency, James Campbell KC, was available to stand and had the added advantage of being wealthy enough to finance his own campaign, but the Unionist Representative Association would not have him. There followed an unseemly row about the rival candidacies of another lawyer, C. L. Matheson, and Michael McCarthy, a colourful renegade nationalist from Cork who was popular with militant unionists because of his books denouncing the evils of Catholicism. Matheson secured the nomination but, as expected, was defeated by Waldron.' - Pádraig Yeates, 'A City in Wartime – Dublin 1914–1918: The Easter Rising 1916', [2] Archived 15 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine In fact, Campbell had been elected as one of the MPs for Dublin University in 1903. McCarthy's article is at Michael McCarthy (Irish lawyer)
  12. ^ "The Irish General Election of 1918". Ark.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 24 August 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  13. ^ General Election: 14 December 1918 – Dublin St Stephen's Archived 24 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, ElectionsIreland.org
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i Walker, B. M. Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Royal Irish Academy. p. 346.
  15. ^ The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 194 (218 in web page)
  16. ^ Walker, Brian Mercer (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. p. 142. ISBN 0-901714-12-7.
  17. ^ Walker, B. M. Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Royal Irish Academy. p. 138.
  18. ^ Walker, B. M. Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Royal Irish Academy. p. 132.

Sources[edit]

  • Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 345–346, 388. ISBN 0901714127.
  • Boundary Commission (Ireland) established in 1917 to redistribute seats in the House of Commons under the terms of the Representation of the People Bill, 1917 (1917). "Schedule 10 : Parliamentary borough of Dublin" (PDF). Report. Vol. CSO/RP/1917/29520/36. National Archives of Ireland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links[edit]

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