Limerick City (UK Parliament constituency)

Limerick City
Limerick City
Former borough constituency; for the House of Commons
County	County Limerick
Borough	Limerick
1801–1922
Seats	1 (1801–1832); 2 (1832–1885); 1 (1885–1922);
Created from	Limerick City (IHC)
Replaced by	Limerick City–Limerick East

Limerick City was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland. It returned one MP 1801–1832, two MPs 1832–1885 and one thereafter. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801. It ceased to be represented in the United Kingdom Parliament in 1922.

Boundaries

This was a borough constituency, comprising the parliamentary borough of Limerick in County Limerick. After 1885, It was south of Clare East but was otherwise surrounded by Limerick East.

Members of Parliament

One member 1801–1832

Election		Member	Party	Note
	1801, 1 January	Henry Deane Grady		1801: Co-opted
	1802, 16 July	Charles Vereker	Tory	Succeeded as the 2nd Viscount Gort
	1817, 25 July	Hon. John Vereker	Tory^[1]	Unseated on petition
	1820, 3 July	Thomas Spring Rice	Whig^[1]	Declared duly elected
1832		Constituency allocated two seats

Two members 1832–1885

Election		First member	First party	Second member	Second party
	1832, 21 December	William Roche	Repeal Association^[1]^[2]	Sir David Roche, Bt ^a	Repeal Association^[1]^[2]
	1841, 6 July	John O'Brien	Radical^[3]^[1]	Sir David Roche, Bt ^a	Repeal Association^[1]^[2]
	1844, 9 July		Radical^[3]^[1]	James Kelly	Repeal Association^[2]
	1847, 6 August		Repeal Association^[2]^[4]	John O'Connell ^a	Repeal Association^[2]^[4]
	1851, 1 August		Repeal Association^[2]^[4]	Henry Fitzalan-Howard	Independent Whig^[5]
	1852, 15 July	Robert Potter ^b	Ind. Irish^[2]	Francis William Russell ^b	Whig^[6]^[7]
	1854, 28 October	James O'Brien ^c	Whig^[6]
	1858, 15 February	George Gavin ^d	Ind. Irish^[8]
	1858, 21 May	James Spaight	Conservative^[2]
	1859, 5 May	George Gavin	Liberal^[2]		Liberal^[2]
	1871, 20 September	George Gavin	Liberal^[2]	Isaac Butt	Home Rule League^[2]
	1874, 5 February	Richard O'Shaughnessy ^e	Home Rule League^[2]	Isaac Butt	Home Rule League^[2]
	1879, 20 September	Richard O'Shaughnessy ^e	Home Rule League^[2]	Daniel Fitzgerald Gabbett	Home Rule League^[2]
	1883, 16 November	Edward McMahon	Home Rule League^[2]	Daniel Fitzgerald Gabbett	Home Rule League^[2]
1885		Constituency allocated one seat

Notes:-

^a Resigned.
^b Died.
^c Appointed a Judge of the Irish Court of Queen's Bench.
^d Unseated on petition and new writ issued.
^e Appointed Registrar of Petty Sessions Clerk.

One member 1885–1922

Election		Member	Party
	1885, 27 November	Henry Joseph Gill	Irish Parliamentary^[2]
	1888, 17 April	Francis Arthur O'Keefe	Irish Parliamentary^[2]
	1892, 7 July	Francis Arthur O'Keefe	Irish National Federation^[2]
	1895, 13 July	John Daly	Irish National League^[2]
	1895, 11 September	Francis Arthur O'Keefe	Irish National Federation^[2]
	1900, 4 October	Michael Joyce	Irish Parliamentary Party^[2]
	1918, 14 December	Michael Colivet	Sinn Féin^[2]
1922		Constituency abolished

Elections

In 1801–1832 and 1885–1922 the constituency used the first past the post electoral system to fill its one seat. In 1832–1885 the block vote was used to elect two members and first past the post to return one member at by-elections.

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Limerick City^[2]^[1]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Thomas Spring Rice	796	62.1
	Irish Repeal	Samuel Dickson	485	37.9
Majority			311	24.2
Turnout			1,281	c. 40.0
Registered electors			c. 3,200
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Limerick City^[2]^[1]^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Thomas Spring Rice	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,200
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Limerick City^[2]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal	William Roche (Irish politician)	1,648	38.1
	Irish Repeal	David Roche	1,285	29.7
	Tory	John Vereker	1,105	25.5
	Irish Repeal	Samuel Dickson	184	4.3
	Tory	Ralph Westropp	104	2.4
Majority			180	4.2
Turnout			2,444	85.2
Registered electors			2,868
	Irish Repeal gain from Whig
	Irish Repeal win (new seat)

General election 1835: Limerick City^[2]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	William Roche (Irish politician)	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	David Roche	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,976
	Irish Repeal hold
	Irish Repeal hold

General election 1837: Limerick City^[2]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	William Roche (Irish politician)	973	40.2
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	David Roche	960	39.7
	Conservative	William Monsell	387	16.0
	Conservative	Thomas Wilson	101	4.2
Majority			573	23.7
Turnout			1,355	38.3
Registered electors			3,534
	Irish Repeal hold
	Irish Repeal hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Radical	John O'Brien	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal	David Roche	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,893
	Radical gain from Irish Repeal
	Irish Repeal hold

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

By-election, 9 July 1844: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	James Kelly	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal hold

General election 1847: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	John O'Connell	583	50.4	*N/A*
	Irish Repeal	John O'Brien	537	46.4	*N/A*
	Irish Confederate	Richard O'Gorman	37	3.2	New
Majority			500	43.2	N/A
Turnout			579 (est)	28.1 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			2,063
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	N/A
	Irish Repeal gain from Radical		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1850s

O'Connell resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 1 August 1851: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Whig	Henry Fitzalan-Howard	Unopposed
	Ind. Whig gain from Irish Repeal

General election 1852: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	Robert Potter	512	33.6	*N/A*
	Whig	Francis William Russell	461	30.2	*N/A*
	Whig	James O'Brien	457	30.0	N/A
	Irish Conservative	Thadeus McDonnell	94	6.2	New
Turnout			762 (est)	66.6 (est)	+35.5
Registered electors			1,144
Majority			51	3.4	N/A
	Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal		Swing
Majority			367	0.2	N/A
	Whig gain from Ind. Whig

Potter's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 28 October 1854: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James O'Brien	Unopposed
	Whig gain from Independent Irish

General election 1857: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Francis William Russell	Unopposed
	Whig	James O'Brien	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,913
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Independent Irish

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

By-election, 15 February 1858: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	George Gavin	782	51.6	*N/A*
	Whig	John Ball^[8]	733	48.4	N/A
Majority			49	3.2	N/A
Turnout			1,515	79.2	N/A
Registered electors			1,913
	Independent Irish gain from Whig		Swing	N/A

On petition, Gavin was unseated, causing a by-election.

By-election, 21 May 1858: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	James Spaight	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1859: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis William Russell	1,208	41.4	*N/A*
	Liberal	George Gavin	902	30.9	*N/A*
	Irish Conservative	James Spaight	807	27.7	New
Majority			95	3.2	N/A
Turnout			1,458 (est)	72.4 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			2,013
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal gain from Irish Conservative		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Gavin	1,004	40.1	+9.2
	Liberal	Francis William Russell	838	33.5	−7.9
	Irish Conservative	James Spaight	658	26.3	−1.4
	Irish Conservative	Josh Seaward	4	0.2	N/A
Majority			180	7.2	+4.0
Turnout			1,579 (est)	78.8 (est)	+6.4
Registered electors			2,005
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	−3.6

General election 1868: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Gavin	1,026	37.6	−2.5
	Liberal	Francis William Russell	794	29.1	−4.4
	Liberal-Conservative	Peter Tait^[10]	720	26.4	N/A
	Ind. Nationalist	Richard Pigott	187	6.9	New
Majority			74	2.7	−5.5
Turnout			1,364 (est)	67.1 (est)	−11.7
Registered electors			2,032
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

Russell's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 20 Sep 1871: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Home Rule	Isaac Butt	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,193
	Home Rule gain from Liberal

General election 1874: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Isaac Butt	856	30.3	*N/A*
	Home Rule	Richard O'Shaughnessy	848	30.0	*N/A*
	Irish Conservative	James Spaight	587	20.8	New
	Home Rule	Peter Tait	291	10.3	−16.1
	Home Rule	Charles Smyth Vereker	242	8.6	N/A
Majority			261	9.2	N/A
Turnout			1,706 (est)	85.1 (est)	+18.0
Registered electors			2,004
	Home Rule gain from Liberal
	Home Rule gain from Liberal

Butt's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 23 May 1879: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Daniel Fitzgerald Gabbett	860	56.7	−22.5
	Irish Conservative	James Spaight	658	43.3	+22.5
Majority			202	13.4	+4.2
Turnout			1,518	78.7	−6.4
Registered electors			1,930
	Home Rule hold		Swing	−22.5

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Richard O'Shaughnessy	1,109	40.8	+10.8
	Home Rule	Daniel Fitzgerald Gabbett	989	36.4	+6.1
	Irish Conservative	James Spaight	620	22.8	+2.0
Majority			369	13.6	+4.4
Turnout			1,729 (est)	89.4 (est)	+4.3
Registered electors			1,934
	Home Rule hold		Swing	+4.9
	Home Rule hold		Swing	+3.6

O'Shaughnessy resigned after being appointed a registrar of petty sessions clerk, causing a by-election.

By-election, 16 Nov 1883: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Edward McMahon	922	66.1	−11.1
	Irish Conservative	James Spaight	473	33.9	+11.1
Majority			449	32.2	+18.6
Turnout			1,395	71.0	−18.4 (est)
Registered electors			1,964
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	+11.1

For the 1885 election, the seat was reduced to one MP.

1885 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Henry Joseph Gill	3,098	83.0	+5.8
	Irish Conservative	James Spaight	635	17.0	−5.8
Majority			2,463	66.0	+52.4
Turnout			3,733	62.1	−27.3 (est)
Registered electors			6,010
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	+5.8

1886 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Henry Joseph Gill	Unopposed
	Irish Parliamentary hold

By-election 1888: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Francis Arthur O'Keefe	Unopposed
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

1892 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Francis Arthur O'Keefe	1,878	55.8	*N/A*
	Irish National League	Pat O'Brien	1,490	44.2	N/A
Majority			388	11.6	N/A
Turnout			3,368	66.2	N/A
Registered electors			5,084
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

1895 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National League	John Daly	Unopposed
	Irish National League gain from Irish National Federation

Daly, who was serving a term of life imprisonment, was elected unopposed after the Official Nationalist candidate (O'Keefe) withdrew in his favour. As a convicted felon, Daly was not eligible to sit in the House of Commons, and the election was declared void.

By-election, 1895: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Francis Arthur O'Keefe	1,851	51.2	*N/A*
	Irish National League	Joseph Nolan	1,764	48.8	N/A
Majority			87	2.4	N/A
Turnout			3,615	66.9	N/A
Registered electors			5,407
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish National League		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Michael Joyce	2,521	84.2	*N/A*
	Irish Unionist	Francis Edgar Kearney	474	15.8	New
Majority			2,047	68.4	N/A
Turnout			2,995	68.3	N/A
Registered electors			5,297
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

1906 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Michael Joyce	Unopposed
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Michael Joyce	2,137	68.7	*N/A*
	All-for-Ireland	John Rice	973	31.3	N/A
Majority			1,164	37.4	N/A
Turnout			3,110	66.4	N/A
Registered electors			4,686
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

December 1910 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Michael Joyce	2,452	78.2	+9.5
	All-for-Ireland	John Rice	682	21.8	−9.5
Majority			1,770	56.4	+19.0
Turnout			3,134	66.9	+0.5
Registered electors			4,686
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	+9.5

1918 general election: Limerick City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Michael Colivet	Unopposed
	Sinn Féin gain from Irish Parliamentary

References

^ ^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. 232–233.
^ ^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 ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba Walker 1978.
^ Warwick, William Atkinson (1841). The House of Commons: As Elected to the Fourteenth Parliament of the United Kingdom, Being the Second of Victoria. London: Saunders and Otley. p. 150.
^ ^a ^b "Freeman's Journal". 2 August 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 5 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ Kent, William Charles Mark (1891). "Howard, Henry Granville Fitzalan" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 28. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
^ ^a ^b "Freeman's Journal". 24 March 1857. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 5 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Dublin Evening Mail". 11 March 1857. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 5 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b "Gavin and Ball". Kilkenny Journal, and Leinster Commercial and Literary Advertiser. County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland. 24 January 1858. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b Farrell, Stephen. "Limerick". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
^ "Limerick City". The Irishman. 28 November 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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, B. M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Royal Irish Academy. pp. 224–225, 291–293, 360.
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)

[stookssmith1842-1] ^ ^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. 232–233.

[FOOTNOTEWalker1978-2] ^ ^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 ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba Walker 1978.

[3] Warwick, William Atkinson (1841). The House of Commons: As Elected to the Fourteenth Parliament of the United Kingdom, Being the Second of Victoria. London: Saunders and Otley. p. 150.

[freeman1847-4] "Freeman's Journal". 2 August 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 5 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[5] Kent, William Charles Mark (1891). "Howard, Henry Granville Fitzalan" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 28. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

[freeman1857-6] "Freeman's Journal". 24 March 1857. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 5 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[7] "Dublin Evening Mail". 11 March 1857. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 5 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[gavinball-8] "Gavin and Ball". Kilkenny Journal, and Leinster Commercial and Literary Advertiser. County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland. 24 January 1858. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[hop1820-1832-9] Farrell, Stephen. "Limerick". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.

[10] "Limerick City". The Irishman. 28 November 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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