South Louth (UK Parliament constituency)

South Louth was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected on a system of first-past-the-post, from 1885 to 1918. Prior to the 1885 general election and after the dissolution of Parliament in 1918 the area was part of the Louth constituency.

South Louth
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Seats	1
Created from	County Louth and Drogheda
Replaced by	County Louth

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the southern part of County Louth including the towns of Drogheda and Ardee. The seat was defined under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 as comprising the baronies of Drogheda and Ferrard, that part of the barony of Ardee not contained within the constituency of North Louth, and the county of the town of Drogheda.

Members of Parliament

Years	Member	Party
1885–1890	T. P. Gill	Irish Parliamentary Party
1891–1892		Irish National Federation
1892–1895	Daniel Ambrose	Irish National Federation
1896–1900	Richard McGhee	Irish National Federation
1900–1901	Joseph Nolan	Independent Nationalist
1901–1918		Irish Parliamentary Party
1918	constituency abolished: see County Louth

Elections

The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.

Elections in the 1880s

1885 general election: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	T. P. Gill	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,796
	Irish Parliamentary win (new seat)

1886 general election: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	T. P. Gill	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,796
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

1892 general election: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Daniel Ambrose	2,451	68.5	N/A
	Irish National League	Joseph Nolan	1,126	31.5	N/A
Majority			1,325	37.0	N/A
Turnout			3,577	66.0	N/A
Registered electors			5,418
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

1895 general election: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Daniel Ambrose	2,006	65.8	−2.7
	Irish National League	James Gubbins Fitzgerald	1,044	34.2	+2.7
Majority			962	31.6	−5.4
Turnout			3,050	58.4	−7.6
Registered electors			5,221
	Irish National Federation hold		Swing	−2.7

Ambrose's death causes a by-election.

By-Election 19 March 1896: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Richard McGhee	1,626	48.8	−17.0
	Irish National League	J. P. Nolan	1,249	37.5	+3.3
	Ind. Nationalist	Philip Callan	459	13.8	New
Majority			377	11.3	−20.3
Turnout			3,334	64.7	+6.3
Registered electors			5,155
	Irish National Federation hold		Swing	−10.2

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Nationalist	Joseph Nolan	1,233	56.9	N/A
	Irish Parliamentary	Richard McGhee	934	43.1	N/A
Majority			299	13.8	N/A
Turnout			2,167	39.5	−18.9
Registered electors			5,480
	Ind. Nationalist gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

1906 general election: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Joseph Nolan	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,997
	Irish Parliamentary gain from Ind. Nationalist

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Joseph Nolan	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,802
	Irish Parliamentary hold

December 1910 general election: South Louth^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Joseph Nolan	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,802
	Irish Parliamentary hold

References

1. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. p. 365. ISBN 0901714127.

• Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
• Debrett's Guide to the House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1918
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 4)