Queen's County Ossory (UK Parliament constituency)

Ossory, a division of Queen's County, was a constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament to the United Kingdom House of Commons from 1885 to 1918.

Queen's County Ossory
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Seats	1
Created from	Queen's County
Replaced by	Queen's County

Prior to the 1885 general election and after the dissolution of Parliament in 1918 the area was part of the Queen's County constituency. After the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, it was not represented in the UK Parliament, as Laois was no longer part of the United Kingdom.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the western part of Queen's County now known as County Laois.

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 defined the division as including the Baronies of Clandonagh, Clarmallagh, Maryborough West, Tinnahinch, and Upper Woods, and that part of the Barony of Portnahinch contained within the parish of Ardea.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Arthur O'Connor a	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1886	Stephen O'Mara	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1886	William Archibald Macdonald	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1892	Eugene Crean	Irish National Federation
	1900	William P. Delany	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1916 by-election	John Lalor Fitzpatrick	Irish Parliamentary Party
1918		Constituency merged into Queen's County

Note:-

• ^a O'Connor was returned by more than one seat and elected to sit for East Donegal.

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

1885 general election: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Arthur O'Connor	3,959	93.1
	Irish Conservative	Richard Caldbeck	293	6.9
Majority			3,666	86.2
Turnout			4,252	75.7
Registered electors			5,617
	Irish Parliamentary win (new seat)

O'Connor is also elected MP for East Donegal and opts to sit there, causing a by-election.

By-election, 1886: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Stephen O'Mara	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,617
	Irish Parliamentary hold

1886 general election: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Archibald Macdonald	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,617
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

1892 general election: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Eugene Crean	3,666	87.5	N/A
	Irish Unionist	Robert Staples	523	12.5	New
Majority			3,143	75.0	N/A
Turnout			4,189	59.8	N/A
Registered electors			7,007
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

1895 general election: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Eugene Crean	2,986	74.7	−12.8
	Irish Unionist	William Hutcheson Poë	630	15.8	+3.3
	Ind. Nationalist	William Archibald Macdonald	383	9.6	New
Majority			2,356	58.9	−16.1
Turnout			3,999	74.0	+14.2
Registered electors			5,401
	Irish National Federation hold		Swing	−8.1

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Delany	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,521
	Irish Parliamentary hold

1906 general election: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Delany	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,824
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Delany	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,786
	Irish Parliamentary hold

December 1910 general election: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Delany	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,786
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Delany's death causes a by-election.

By-election, 1916: Ossory^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John Lalor Fitzpatrick	2,003	55.3	N/A
	Ind. Nationalist	James J. Aird	1,616	44.7	New
Majority			387	10.6	N/A
Turnout			3,619	74.7	N/A
Registered electors			4,842
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

References

1. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. p. 370. ISBN 0901714127.

• Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O"