Clonmel was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one MP from 1801 to 1885. It was represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.
Contents
History
The corporation of Clonmel, which was the local government of its area, was reformed by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840. The parliamentary borough was not affected by this change in administrative arrangements.
Samuel Lewis, writing in 1837, described the oligarchic constitution of the unreformed borough.
"The corporation is of great antiquity, and probably exists by prescription. Numerous charters have at various times been granted since the reign of Edw. I.; that under which the borough is now governed was granted in the 6th of Jas. I. (1608), and, under the title of "The Mayor, Bailiffs, Free Burgesses, and Commonalty of the Town or Borough of Clonmel," ordains that the corporation shall consist of a mayor, two bailiffs, twenty free burgesses (including the mayor and bailiffs), and a commonalty, with a recorder, chamberlain, town-clerk, and other officers. The freedom was formerly obtained by nomination of a burgess to the common council, a majority of whom decided on the admission; but at present the rights of birth, extending only to the eldest son, apprenticeship to a freeman within the borough, and marriage with a freeman's daughter, are recognised as titles to it. The borough returned two members to the Irish Parliament till the Union, since which time it has sent one to the Imperial Parliament. The elective franchise was vested in the freemen at large, amounting, in the year 1832, to 94 in number; but by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, it has extended to the £10 householders: the number of voters registered at the close of 1835 was 805; the mayor is the returning officer. The electoral boundary, under the act of the 2nd and 3rd of Wm. IV., cap. 89, is confined to the town, including Long Island on the south and a space on the north side of the river for buildings contemplated in that quarter, and comprises an area of 361 statute acres, the limits of which are minutely described in the Appendix. The jurisdiction of the corporation extends over a large rural district comprising about 4800 statute acres, of which 3800 are in the county of Waterford, and 1000 in Tipperary: the mayor and recorder are justices of the peace."
The constituency was disenfranchised under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, which took effect at the 1885 general election.
Boundaries
This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Clonmel in County Tipperary. In December 1831, boundary commissioners proposed boundaries for the borough. The boundary of the borough was defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 as:
Under the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868, any part of a municipal borough not contained within the boundaries of parliamentary boroughs was brought within the parliamentary borough. In the case of Clonmel, the municipal borough was defined in terms of the parliamentary borough, so it was not affected by this legislation.
Elections
Elections in the 1830s
Ronayne's death caused a by-election.
Ball was appointed as Attorney General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.
Ball was appointed a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1840s
Pigot was appointed Attorney General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.
Pigot resigned after being appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, causing a by-election.
Elections in the 1850s
Lawless' death caused a by-election.
O'Connell resigned after being appointed Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper at Dublin Castle, causing a by-election.
Bagwell was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.