Dundalk was a parliamentary borough constituency in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, which returned one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union

Act of Union 1800

The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...

 of Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 took effect on 1 January 1801, replacing the Dundalk constituency

Dundalk (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Dundalk was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1801.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Dundalk was represented with two members.-1689–1801:...

 in the Parliament of Ireland

Parliament of Ireland

The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...

.

Boundaries

This constituency was the Parliamentary borough

Parliamentary borough

Parliamentary boroughs are a type of administrative division, usually covering urban areas, that are entitled to representation in a Parliament...

 of Dundalk

Dundalk

Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

 in County Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

.

History

The constituency was one of the two member borough constituencies in the Parliament of Ireland

Parliament of Ireland

The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...

, which became a single member United Kingdom constituency when the union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

The first member of the United Kingdom House of Commons was to be selected from the area's two MPs in the Irish Parliament, by drawing lots. However both members resigned so the seat could not be filled by co-option and a by-election was necessary. The by-election took place on 28 February 1801. The Right Honourable Isaac Corry

Isaac Corry

Isaac Corry FRS, PC , PC was an Irish and British Member of Parliament and lawyer.-Early career:Born in Newry, he was the son of Edward Corry , sometime Member of Parliament, and Catharine Bristow...

, a quite prominent political figure, was elected the first United Kingdom MP for Dundalk.

Corry was associated with what came to be called the Tory Party after the death of William Pitt the younger

William Pitt the Younger

William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...

 in 1806. Up until the extension of the franchise in 1832, the borough was strongly Tory in representation. The fact that no Tory or Conservative was elected after 1832 may say something about the unrepresentative nature of the old franchise.

Dundalk had a population of 9,256 in 1821. Walker records that the electorate in 1831 numbered 36. The population in 1831 had increased to 10,750. All the elections in the borough between 1801 and 1831 were unopposed returns.

The 132 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1832

-Seats summary:-Parties and leaders at the general election:The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807....

 was conducted on a new franchise. The registered electorate, under the new system, numbered 318. At the borough's first contested election of the century 295 people voted (Liberal 167, Conservative 128).

From 1832 to 1885 the constituency returned members who were Liberals or who belonged to a series of Irish based groups (the Repeal Association, the Independent Irish Party and the Home Rule League). The Liberals elected in Dundalk tended to have nationalist leanings.

The last MP for the constituency was the prominent Liberal lawyer-politician, Charles Russell

Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen

Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, GCMG, PC, was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.-Early life:...

. An Irish born Catholic, Russell was to be the lead Counsel for Charles Stewart Parnell

Charles Stewart Parnell

Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...

 during the inquiry into allegations which had appeared in The Times. In March 1887 it had been suggested that Parnell was complicit in the murders

Phoenix Park Murders

The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings on 6 May 1882 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Burke was the Permanent Undersecretary, the most senior Irish civil servant...

 of the Chief Secretary for Ireland

Chief Secretary for Ireland

The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...

 Lord Frederick Cavendish

Lord Frederick Cavendish

Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish was an English Liberal politician and protégé of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone...

 and the Permanent Under-Secretary for Ireland, T.H. Burke

Thomas Henry Burke (Irish politician)

Thomas Henry Burke was Permanent Under Secretary at the Irish Office for many years before being killed during the Phoenix Park Murders on Saturday 6 May 1882. The killing was carried out by an Irish republican organisation called the Irish National Invincibles...

. Letters were produced to support the allegations. As a result of Russell's masterly cross-examination of Richard Pigott, the forger of the letters, the Commission of Enquiry vindicated Parnell.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Note
	1801, January 1 United Kingdom general election, 1801 The United Kingdom general election, 1801 was not an election as such, but the co-option of members to serve in the first Parliament to be held after the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801...	seat vacant	...	Both members in the Irish Parliament had resigned
	1801, February 28	Rt Hon. Isaac Corry Isaac Corry Isaac Corry FRS, PC , PC was an Irish and British Member of Parliament and lawyer.-Early career:Born in Newry, he was the son of Edward Corry , sometime Member of Parliament, and Catharine Bristow...	Tory
	1802, July 15 United Kingdom general election, 1802 The United Kingdom general election, 1802 was the election to the 2nd Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the first to be held after the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...	Richard Archdall	Tory
	1806, November 22 United Kingdom general election, 1806 The United Kingdom general election, 1806 was the election of members to the 3rd Parliament of the United Kingdom. This was the second general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland....	John Metge	Tory	Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
	1807, January 20	Josias Dupré Porcher	Tory	1807, May United Kingdom general election, 1807 The election to the 4th Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1807 was the third general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland.... : Also returned by and elected to sit for Old Sarum Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency) Old Sarum was the most infamous of the so-called 'rotten boroughs', a parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which was effectively controlled by a single person, until it was abolished under the Reform Act 1832. The constituency was the site of what had been...
	1807, August 4	Patrick Crawford Bruce		Resigned
	1808, July 27	Thomas Hughes		Died
	1812, February 21	Frederick Trench Frederick Trench (British Army officer) General Sir Frederick William Trench KCH , was a British soldier and Tory politician.Trench was the son of Michael Frederick Trench, a barrister and amateur architect, of Heywood, only son of Reverend Frederick Trench, of Ballinakill, in Queen's County...	Tory
	1812, October 26 United Kingdom general election, 1812 The election to the 5th Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1812 was the fourth general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland....	John Metge	Tory	Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
	1813, January 2	Lyndon Evelyn Lyndon Evelyn Lyndon Evelyn was a Tory Member of Parliament in the British Parliament.He represented the Scottish constituency of Wigtown Burghs 1809-1812, Dundalk in Ireland 1813-1818 and St Ives in Cornwall 1820-1826....	Tory
	1818, June 29 United Kingdom general election, 1818 The 1818 general election of the United Kingdom saw the Whigs gain a few seats, but the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool retained a majority of around 90 seats...	Gerrard Callaghan	Tory
	1820, March 24 United Kingdom general election, 1820 The 1820 UK general election, held shortly after the Radical War in Scotland and the Cato Street Conspiracy. In this atmosphere, the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool were able to win a substantial majority over the Whigs....	John Metge	Tory	Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
	1820, June 29	George Hartopp	Tory	Died
	1824, May 5	Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Bt Robert Inglis Sir Robert Harry Inglis, 2nd Baronet FRS was an English Conservative politician, noted for his staunch High church views.He was the son of Sir Hugh Inglis, a minor politician and MP for Ashburton...	Tory
	1826, June 12 United Kingdom general election, 1826 The 1826 United Kingdom general election saw the Tories under the Earl of Liverpool win a substantial and increased majority over the Whigs. In Ireland, Home Rule candidates, working with the Whigs, won large gains from Unionist candidates....	Charles Barclay	Tory
	1830, August 14 United Kingdom general election, 1830 The 1830 United Kingdom general election, was triggered by the death of King George IV and produced the first parliament of the reign of his successor, William IV. Fought in the aftermath of the Swing Riots, it saw electoral reform become a major election issue...	Hon. John Hobart Cradock	Tory
	1831, May 13 United Kingdom general election, 1831 The 1831 general election in the United Kingdom saw a landslide win by supporters of electoral reform, which was the major election issue. As a result it was the last unreformed election, as the Parliament which resulted ensured the passage of the Reform Act 1832. Polling was held from 28 April to...	James Edward Gordon	Tory
	1832, December 19 United Kingdom general election, 1832 -Seats summary:-Parties and leaders at the general election:The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807....	William O'Reilly William O'Reilly (MP) William Joseph O'Reilly was MP for the Irish constituency of Dundalk from 1832 to 1835. The family resided at Knock Abbey Castle....	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1835, January 14 United Kingdom general election, 1835 The 1835 United Kingdom general election was called when Parliament was dissolved on 29 December 1834. Polling took place between 6 January and 6 February 1835, and the results saw Robert Peel's Conservatives make large gains from their low of the 1832 election, but the Whigs maintained a large...	William Sharman Crawford William Sharman Crawford William Sharman Crawford was an Irish politician with liberal and radical views; he supported Catholic Emancipation and the rights of tenants. He was a Member of the British parliament for Dundalk in 1835–1837 and for Rochdale in 1841–1852. He was High Sheriff of Down for 1811.He died at...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1837, August 2 United Kingdom general election, 1837 The 1837 United Kingdom general election saw Robert Peel's Conservatives close further on the position of the Whigs, who won their fourth election of the decade....	Thomas Nicholas Redington Thomas Nicholas Redington Sir Thomas Nicholas Redington KCB was an Irish administrator, politician and civil servant.Redington, only son of Christopher Redington , a captain in the army, by Frances, only daughter of Henry Dowell of Cadiz, was born at Kilcornan, Oranmore, County Galway...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...	Appointed Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
	1846, July 31	Daniel O'Connell, Jnr Daniel O'Connell, Jnr Daniel O'Connell was one of seven children of Daniel and Mary O'Connell of Ireland. He served in the British Parliament from 1846 to 1847 as Member of Parliament for Dundalk, and from 1853 to 1863 as MP for Tralee.His brothers Maurice, John and Morgan were also MPs.-References:*Bishop, Erin. 1999...	Repeal Association Repeal Association The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell to campaign for a repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland....
	1847, August 6 United Kingdom general election, 1847 -Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...	Charles Carroll MacTavish	Repeal Association Repeal Association The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell to campaign for a repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland....	Unseated on petition
	1848, March 20	William Torrens McCullagh	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...	Declared duly elected, on petition
	1852, July 15 United Kingdom general election, 1852 The July 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed election in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/Liberal party became the party of the rising...	Sir George Bowyer, Bt Sir George Bowyer, 7th Baronet Sir George Bowyer, 7th Baronet and 3rd Baronet DL was a British Barrister-at-Law and Liberal politician.Born in Radley Hall in Berkshire , he was the son of Sir George Bowyer, 6th Baronet and Anne Hammond Douglas. Bowyer was a cadet at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and was then called to...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...	Became a member of the Independent Irish Party
	1852		Independent Irish Independent Irish Party The Independent Irish Party was an Irish political party founded in July 1852 by 40 Liberal Irish MPs who had been elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes mentioned as the Irish Independent Opposition Party, and colloquially known as the...	Re-elected as a Liberal candidate
	1857, April 2 United Kingdom general election, 1857 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...		Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
	1868, November 21 United Kingdom general election, 1868 The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...	Philip Callan Philip Callan Philip Callan MP Philip Callan MP Philip Callan MP (born 1837, was the son of Owen Callan MP, of Cookstown House Ardee (where Philip Callan was born). Philip Callan studied Law at Trinity College, Dublin, and also at Kings Inns as can be seen in his papers for Kings Inns Admittance...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...	Re-elected as a Home Rule League candidate
	1874, February 5 United Kingdom general election, 1874 -Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...		Home Rule League Home Rule League The Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a political party which campaigned for home rule for the country of Ireland from 1873 to 1882, when it was replaced by the Irish Parliamentary Party.-Origins:...	Also returned by County Louth County Louth (UK Parliament constituency) 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... , but elects to sit here
	1880, April 2 United Kingdom general election, 1880 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...	Charles Russell Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, GCMG, PC, was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.-Early life:...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...	Last MP from the constituency
1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...		Constituency abolished