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Waterford City was a United Kingdom parliamentary constituency, in southeast Ireland.[1]

Waterford City
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
1801–1922
Replaced by	Waterford–Tipperary East
Created from	Waterford City

Boundaries and boundary changes

As the constituency for the parliamentary borough of Waterford in County Waterford, it returned one MP 1801–1832, two in 1832–1885 and one 1885–1922.[2] It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.[3]

In 1918, the boundary was redefined to exclude the Kilculliheen area which had been transferred to County Kilkenny[4] under the 1898 Local Government (Ireland) Act.[5] It was defined as consisting of the county borough of Waterford and the district electoral divisions of Ballynakill, Kilbarry, Killoteran and Waterford Rural in the rural district of Waterford.

Following the dissolution of parliament in 1922 the area was no longer represented in the United Kingdom House of Commons.[6]

Politics

The constituency was a predominantly Nationalist area in 1918.[7] The seat was contested by William Redmond, the son of the IPP leader John Redmond whom he replaced in the Waterford City constituency in a by-election held in March 1918.[8] In the general election of December 1918, it was the only Irish seat the IPP won outside Ulster.[9]

The First Dáil

Sinn Féin contested the general election of 1918 on the platform that instead of taking up any seats they won in the United Kingdom Parliament, they would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin.[10] In republican theory every MP elected in Ireland was a potential Deputy to this assembly. In practice only the Sinn Féin members accepted the offer.

The revolutionary First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 and last met on 10 May 1921.[11] The First Dáil, according to a resolution passed on 10 May 1921, was formally dissolved on the assembling of the Second Dáil. This took place on 16 August 1921.

In 1921 Sinn Féin decided to use the UK authorised elections for the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland as a poll for the Irish Republic's Second Dáil. This area, in republican theory, was part of the five-seat Dáil constituency of Waterford–Tipperary East.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1801–32

Election		Member	Party	Life
	1801	William Congreve Alcock	Tory[12]	c. 1771–1813
	1803	Sir John Newport, Bt.[13]	Whig[12]	1756–1843

MPs 1832–85

Representation increased to two members

Election	1st Member		1st Party	2nd Member		2nd Party
1832		Henry Barron	Repeal Association[14]		William Christmas	Tory[12][14]
1834						Conservative[12][14]
1835					Thomas Wyse	Whig[12][15][16]
1841		William Christmas	Conservative[12][14]		William Morris Reade	Conservative[12][14]
1841		Henry Barron	Whig[12][15][16]		Thomas Wyse	Whig[12][15][16]
1847		Thomas Meagher	Repeal Association[14]		Daniel O'Connell Jnr	Repeal Association[14]
1848 by-election					Henry Barron	Whig[12][15][16]
1852			Ind. Irish[14]		Robert Keating	Ind. Irish[14]
1857		John Aloysius Blake	Ind. Irish[14]		Michael D. Hassard	Conservative[14]
1859			Liberal[14]
1865					Henry Barron	Liberal[14]
1868					James Delahunty	Liberal[14]
1869		Henry Barron	Liberal[14]
1870 by-election		Ralph Bernal Osborne	Liberal[14]
1874		Richard Power	Home Rule League[14]		Purcell O'Gorman	Home Rule League[14]
1880					Edmund Leamy	Parnellite Home Rule League[14]
1882			Irish Parliamentary Party[14]			Irish Parliamentary Party[14]
1885	Reduced to 1 seat

MPs 1885–1918

Representation reduced to one member

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Richard Power	Nationalist
	1890		Parnellite
	1892 by-election	John Redmond	Parnellite
	1900		Nationalist
	1918 by-election	William Redmond	Nationalist
1922		UK constituency abolished

Elections

The single-member elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system. Multi-member elections used the plurality-at-large voting system.[17]

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Waterford City [14][12][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Newport	Unopposed
	Whig hold

General election 1831: Waterford City [14][12][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John Newport	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,300
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Waterford City (2 seats)[14][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal	Henry Barron	570	28.9
	Tory	William Christmas	570	28.9
	Irish Repeal	Roger Hayes	453	23.0
	Whig	Thomas Wyse	379	19.2
Turnout			1,140	91.9
Registered electors			1,241
Majority			0	0.0
	Irish Repeal gain from Whig
Majority			117	5.9
	Tory win (new seat)

General election 1835: Waterford City (2 seats)[14][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Wyse	587	34.2	+15.0
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Henry Barron	561	32.7	−19.2
	Conservative	William Christmas	440	25.6	+11.2
	Conservative	William Morris Reade	129	7.5	−7.0
Turnout			965	65.5	−26.4
Registered electors			1,473
Majority			26	1.5	N/A
	Whig gain from Conservative		Swing	+6.5
Majority			121	7.1	+7.1
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	−10.7

General election 1837: Waterford City (2 seats)[14][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Wyse	632	31.5	−2.7
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Henry Barron	602	30.0	−2.7
	Conservative	William Beresford	427	21.3	−4.3
	Conservative	John Tracy O'Reilly	347	17.3	+9.8
Turnout			1,035	69.7	+4.2
Registered electors			1,486
Majority			30	1.5	±0.0
	Whig hold		Swing	−2.7
Majority			175	8.7	+1.6
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	−2.7

Wyse was appointed as a Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 6 September 1839: Waterford City[14][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Thomas Wyse	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Christmas	285	30.2	+8.9
	Conservative	William Morris Reade	259	27.4	+10.1
	Whig	Henry Barron	202	21.4	−10.1
	Whig	Thomas Wyse	199	21.1	−8.9
Majority			57	6.0	N/A
Turnout			c. 473	c. 59.0	c. −10.7
Registered electors			802
	Conservative gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	+8.9
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+10.1

On petition, Christmas and Reade were unseated and Wyse and Barron were declared elected on 13 June 1842.

General election 1847: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	Thomas Meagher	521	33.3	New
	Irish Repeal	Daniel O'Connell Jr.	499	31.9	New
	Whig	Henry Barron	294	18.8	−2.6
	Whig	Thomas Wyse	252	16.1	−5.0
Majority			205	13.1	N/A
Turnout			783 (est)	46.2 (est)	−12.8
Registered electors			1,696
	Irish Repeal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Irish Repeal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

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

By-election, 1 March 1848: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Henry Barron	318	41.1	+6.2
	Irish Repeal	Patrick Costello	301	38.9	−26.3
	Irish Confederate	Thomas Francis Meagher	154	19.9	New
Majority			17	2.2	N/A
Turnout			773	45.6 (est)	−0.6
Registered electors			1,696 (1847 figure)
	Whig gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	+16.3

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	Thomas Meagher	463	29.5	−3.8
	Independent Irish	Robert Keating	445	28.3	−3.6
	Conservative	William Christmas	355	22.6	New
	Whig	Henry Barron	309	19.7	−15.2
Majority			90	5.7	−7.4
Turnout			786 (est)	69.3 (est)	+27.1
Registered electors			1,135
	Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	+1.9
	Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	+2.0

General election 1857: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	John Aloysius Blake	519	33.1	−24.7
	Conservative	Michael D. Hassard	479	30.5	+7.9
	Whig	Henry Barron	330	21.0	+1.3
	Radical	Andrew O'Dwyer[19][20]	242	15.4	New
Turnout			785 (est)	67.7 (est)	−1.6
Registered electors			1,160
Majority			40	2.6	-3.1
	Independent Irish hold		Swing	−16.3
Majority			149	9.5	N/A
	Conservative gain from Independent Irish		Swing	+16.3

General election 1859: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael D. Hassard	536	35.3	+4.8
	Liberal	John Aloysius Blake	529	34.8	+1.7
	Liberal	Henry Barron	455	29.9	+8.9
Majority			7	0.5	−9.0
Turnout			760 (est)	67.0 (est)	−0.7
Registered electors			1,134
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.4

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Aloysius Blake	592	40.8	+6.0
	Liberal	Henry Barron	516	35.5	+5.6
	Liberal	John Barrington	344	23.7	N/A
Majority			172	11.8	N/A
Turnout			726 (est)	62.8 (est)	−4.2
Registered electors			1,156
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Aloysius Blake	796	44.0	+3.2
	Liberal	James Delahunty	583	32.2	N/A
	Liberal	Henry Barron	430	23.8	+0.1
Majority			153	8.4	−3.4
Turnout			905 (est)	65.4 (est)	+2.6
Registered electors			1,383
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Blake resigned after he was appointed inspector of Irish fisheries, causing a by-election.

By-election, 22 November 1869: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Barron	487	50.8	+27.0
	Liberal	Ralph Bernal Osborne	471	49.2	N/A
Majority			16	1.6	−6.8
Turnout			958	69.3	+3.9
Registered electors			1,383
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1870s

Barron was unseated on petition, causing a by-election.

By-election, 25 Feb 1870: Waterford City (1 seat)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ralph Bernal Osborne	483	50.4	N/A
	Independent Nationalist	Patrick Joseph Smyth	475	49.6	New
Majority			8	0.8	−7.8
Turnout			958	69.3	0.0
Registered electors			1,383
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1874: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Richard Power	526	27.8	New
	Home Rule	Purcell O'Gorman	480	25.4	New
	Conservative	Edward Gibson	365	19.3	New
	Home Rule	James Delahunty	360	19.0	New
	Liberal	Ralph Bernal Osborne	160	8.5	N/A
Majority			115	6.1	N/A
Turnout			1,208 (est)	87.7 (est)	+22.3
Registered electors			1,378
	Home Rule gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Waterford City (2 seats)[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Richard Power	661	42.0	+14.2
	Parnellite Home Rule League	Edmund Leamy	494	31.4	+12.4
	Home Rule	Purcell O'Gorman	420	26.7	+1.3
Majority			74	4.6	−1.5
Turnout			788 (est)	54.3 (est)	−33.4
Registered electors			1,449
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A

1885 general election: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Richard Power	2,420	89.8	N/A
	Conservative	Fitzmaurice Gustavus Bloomfield	276	10.2	New
Majority			2,144	79.6	N/A
Turnout			2,696	68.3	+14.0 (est)
Registered electors			3,946
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

1886 general election: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Richard Power	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,946
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

Power died, causing a by-election.

By-election 1891: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National League	John Redmond	1,775	59.1	N/A
	Irish National Federation	Michael Davitt	1,229	40.9	N/A
Majority			546	18.2	N/A
Turnout			3,004	74.2	N/A
Registered electors			4,046
	Irish National League gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

1892 general election: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National League	John Redmond	1,676	56.4	N/A
	Irish National Federation	David Sheehy	1,293	43.6	N/A
Majority			383	12.8	N/A
Turnout			2,969	74.7	N/A
Registered electors			3,974
	Irish National League gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

1895 general election: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National League	John Redmond	1,788	59.3	+2.9
	Irish National Federation	Thomas Joseph Farrell	1,229	40.7	−2.9
Majority			559	18.6	+5.8
Turnout			3,017	76.8	+2.1
Registered electors			3,927
	Irish National League hold		Swing	+2.9

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John Redmond	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,941
	Irish Parliamentary hold

1906 general election: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John Redmond	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,354
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John Redmond	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,104
	Irish Parliamentary hold

December 1910 general election: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John Redmond	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,104
	Irish Parliamentary hold

By-election, 1918: Waterford City[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Redmond	1,242	62.5	N/A
	Sinn Féin	Vincent White	745	37.5	New
Majority			497	25.0	N/A
Turnout			1,987	66.9	N/A
Registered electors			2,972
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 14 December 1918: Waterford City

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Redmond	4,915	52.6	N/A
	Sinn Féin	Vincent White	4,431	47.4	N/A
Majority			484	5.2	N/A
Turnout			9,346	77.5	N/A
Registered electors			12,063
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

See also

• List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland
• Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918
• List of MPs elected in the 1918 United Kingdom general election
• Historic Dáil constituencies
• Members of the 1st Dáil

References

Sources

• GITHENS-MAZER, Jonathan. Myths and Memories of the Easter Rising, Cultural and Political Nationalism in Ireland. Dublin and Portland, OR: Irish Academic Press, 2006, 238p.
• 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. Royal Irish Academy.
• Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1978). Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume II 1886–1918. The Harvester Press.
• Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1979). 'Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume III 1919–1945. The Harvester Press.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 1)

External links

• History of Parliament: Constituencies 1790–1820

Notes and References

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