Cashel (UK Parliament constituency)

Cashel is a former British Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

Cashel
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	County Tipperary
Borough	Cashel
1801–1870
Seats	1
Created from	Cashel
Replaced by	Tipperary

There were problems with the 21 November 1868 election in the borough. A petition was presented by the losing candidate, alleging corruption. As a result, the election was declared void. Parliament then passed the Sligo and Cashel Disfranchisement Act 1870. On 1 August 1870 Cashel lost the right to elect its own MP. The area was transferred to form part of the County Tipperary constituency.

History

The corporation of the city of Cashel existed, as the local government of its area, until it was abolished 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 city.

The corporation, under the style of the "Mayor, Aldermen, Bailiffs, Citizens, and Commons of the City of Cashel," consists of a mayor, aldermen (limited by the charter to 17 in number), two bailiffs, and an unlimited number of commons, aided by a recorder, town-clerk, two serjeants-at-mace, a sword-bearer, and a crier; a treasurer is also appointed. The mayor is elected annually on 29 June, by the court of common hall, and is one of three persons nominated by the aldermen from among themselves, but the choice may be extended to the citizens and commons, at the discretion of the aldermen; he is sworn into office on 29 Sept., and, with the concurrence of three aldermen, has power to appoint a deputy during illness or absence. The aldermen, on vacancies occurring, are chosen from among the freemen by the remaining aldermen, and hold office for life. The recorder, according to practice, is elected by the mayor and aldermen, but the charter gives the power to the entire body; he holds his office during good behaviour, and may appoint a deputy. The bailiffs, by the charter, are eligible from among the citizens, one by the mayor and aldermen and one by the corporation at large; according to practice they are elected annually on 29 June in the common hall from among the freemen, on the recommendation of the aldermen. The town-clerk is elected annually with the mayor and bailiffs; the sword-bearer is eligible by the whole body, and holds his office during good behaviour; and the serjeant-at-mace and the crier are appointed by the mayor. The freedom is obtained only by gift of the mayor and aldermen, who are the ruling body of the corporation, and have the entire management of its affairs. The city returned two members to the Irish parliament until the Union, since which it has sent one to the Imperial parliament. The right of election was vested solely in the corporation, but by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, has been extended to the £10 householders of an enlarged district, comprising an area of 3,974 acres [16.08 km²], which has been constituted the new electoral borough, and the limits of which are minutely described in the Appendix: the number of electors registered at the close of 1835 was 277, of whom 8 were freemen; the mayor is the returning officer.

Boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Cashel in County Tipperary.

The parliamentary boundaries of the cities and boroughs in Ireland were defined by the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 as:

The whole of the District under the Jurisdiction of the Mayor; and in addition thereto, The Space which lies between the Boundary of the said Jurisdiction and a straight Line to be drawn from the North-eastern Corner of the Enclosure Wall of the Charter School on the Dublin Road, in a South-easterly Direction, to the Point at which the Southernmost Killenaule Road is met by a Wall which runs thereto from the Northernmost Fethard Road, and which Point is about One hundred and seventy-six Yards North-west of the Point at which the Southernmost Killenaule Road leaves the Northernmost Fethard Road; And also the Space which lies between the Boundary of the said Jurisdiction and the following Boundary; (that is to say,) From the Point on the West of the Town at which the Boundary of the old Borough is met by a Wall which runs therefrom, first Westward and then Northward, to the Golden Road, Westward, along the said Wall to the Point at which the same meets the Golden Road; thence, Eastward, along the Golden Road (for about Twenty-two Yards) to the Point at which the same is met by a Ditch and Wall at the End of a Porter's Lodge; thence along the said Ditch and Wall (which bend Eastward) for about Seventy Yards; thence along the Continuation of the last-mentioned Ditch, Northward, for about One hundred Yards; thence along a Garden Wall continuing in the same Direction, Northward, for about One hundred and thirty Yards, to the Point at which the same meets a Wall which runs Westward therefrom; thence, Westward, along the last-mentioned Wall (for about Fifty-five Yards) to the Point at which the same meets a Wall which bends round Eastward to the Camas Road; thence along the last-mentioned Wall to the Point at which the same meets the Camas Road; thence along the Road which leads from the Camas Road into the Armel Road to the Point at which the same meets the Boundary of the old Borough.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Note
	1801, 1 January	Richard Bagwell		Resigned. Dean of Kilmacduagh, 1804 and Clogher, 1806
	1801, 9 December	John Bagwell
	1802, 27 July	Rt Hon. William Wickham	Whig
	1806, 17 November	Viscount Primrose	Whig
	1807, 25 May	Quinton Dick	Tory	Resigned
	1809, 15 April	Robert Peel	Tory	Later Prime Minister 1834–1835 and 1841–1846
	1812, 26 October	Sir Charles Saxton, Bt	Tory
	1818, 9 June	Richard Pennefather	Tory	Resigned
	1819, 4 March	Ebenezer John Collett	Tory[1]
	1830, 5 August	Mathew Pennefather	Tory[2]	Resigned
	1831, 16 July	Philip Pusey	Tory[2]
	1832, 14 December	James Roe	Repeal Association[3]
	1835, 14 January	Louis Perrin	Whig[2]	Appointed Judge of the Irish Court of Kings Bench
	1835, 4 September	Rt Hon. Stephen Woulfe	Whig[2]	Appointed Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland
	1838, 14 July	Joseph Stock	Whig[2][4]	Resigned
	1846, 5 February	Sir Timothy O'Brien, Bt	Repeal Association[3][5]	Re-elected as a Liberal candidate
	1852, 15 July		Independent Irish[3]
	1857, 3 April		Whig[6]
	1859, 6 May	John Lanigan	Liberal
	1865, 17 July	James Lyster O'Briene	Liberal	1868: Election declared void and borough disenfranchised
1870		Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Cashel ^[3][2][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Mathew Pennefather	Unopposed
Registered electors			26
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Cashel ^[3][2][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Mathew Pennefather	Unopposed
Registered electors			26
	Tory hold

Pennefather resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 16 July 1831: Cashel ^[3][2][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Philip Pusey	Unopposed
Registered electors			26
	Tory hold

General election 1832: Cashel ^[3][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal	James Roe (MP)	Unopposed
Registered electors			277
	Irish Repeal gain from Tory

General election 1835: Cashel ^[3][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Louis Perrin	166	74.8
	Conservative	Mathew Pennefather	56	25.2
Majority			110	49.6
Turnout			222	68.3
Registered electors			325
	Whig gain from Irish Repeal

Perrin was appointed as Attorney-General for Ireland, causing a by-election.

By-election, 28 April 1835: Cashel ^[3][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Louis Perrin	Unopposed
Registered electors			341
	Whig hold

Perrin was appointed as a Puisne justice of the King's Bench, causing a by-election.

By-election, 4 September 1835: Cashel ^[3][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Stephen Woulfe	Unopposed
Registered electors			351
	Whig hold

Woulfe was appointed as Solicitor-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 10 February 1837: Cashel ^[3][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Stephen Woulfe	Unopposed
Registered electors			373
	Whig hold

General election 1837: Cashel ^[3][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Stephen Woulfe	Unopposed
Registered electors			353
	Whig hold

Woulfe was appointed as Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Ireland, causing a by-election.

By-election, 14 July 1838: Cashel ^[3][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Joseph Stock	Unopposed
	Whig hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Cashel ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Joseph Stock	Unopposed
Registered electors			267
	Whig hold

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

By-election, 5 February 1846: Cashel ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	Timothy O'Brien	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal gain from Whig

General election 1847: Cashel ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	Timothy O'Brien	Unopposed
Registered electors			172
	Irish Repeal gain from Whig

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Cashel ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	Timothy O'Brien	60	75.9	N/A
	Conservative	Charles McGarel[8][9]	19	24.1	New
Majority			41	51.8	N/A
Turnout			79	71.2	N/A
Registered electors			111
	Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal		Swing

General election 1857: Cashel ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Timothy O'Brien	54	42.2	−33.7
	Conservative	Charles Hemphill[10]	39	30.5	+6.4
	Independent Irish	John Lanigan	35	27.3	−48.6
Majority			15	11.7	N/A
Turnout			128	94.8	+23.6
Registered electors			135
	Whig gain from Independent Irish		Swing	−20.1

General election 1859: Cashel ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Lanigan	91	83.5	+56.3
	Conservative	John Carden	10	9.2	−21.3
	Liberal-Conservative	Charles Hemphill[11]	8	7.3	N/A
Majority			81	74.3	+62.6
Turnout			109	74.1	−20.7
Registered electors			147
	Liberal hold		Swing	+39.7

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Cashel ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James O'Beirne	86	63.7	N/A
	Liberal	John Lanigan	49	36.3	−47.2
Majority			37	27.4	−46.9
Turnout			135	92.5	+18.4
Registered electors			146
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1868: Cashel^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James O'Beirne	100	54.3	−9.4
	Liberal	Henry Munster	84	45.7	+9.4
Majority			16	8.6	−18.8
Turnout			184	90.6	−1.9
Registered electors			203
	Liberal hold		Swing	−9.4

On petition, this election was declared void on account of bribery and the seat was disenfranchised.^[12] The seat was absorbed into Tipperary in 1870.

Notes

1. Salmon, Philip. "COLLETT, Ebenezer John (1755–1833), of Lockers House, Hemel Hempstead, Herts. and 19 Great George Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
2. Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 218. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via Google Books.
3. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 201–202, 258. ISBN 0901714127.
4. "Northern Liberator". 28 July 1838. p. 2. Retrieved 19 August 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "Cashel Election". Tipperary Vindicator. 7 August 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Election Intelligence". Kings County Chronicle. 18 March 1857. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. Salmon, Philip. "Cashel". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
8. "Limerick Reporter". 13 July 1852. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. Hawkins, Angus (2015). Victorian Political Culture: 'Habits of Heart & Mind'. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-19-872848-1. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
10. "Kings County Chronicle". 8 April 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Tipperary Free Press". 22 April 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Cashel". Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail. 23 April 1870. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 4 February 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

References

• 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.
• British Electoral Facts 1832–1987, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services, 5th edition, 1989)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)

External links

• Part of the Library Ireland: Irish History and Culture website containing the text of A Topographical Directory of Ireland, by Samuel Lewis (a work published by S. Lewis & Co of London in 1837) including an article on Cashel