West Mayo (UK Parliament constituency)

This article is about 1885–1922 constituency of the United Kingdom House of Commons and of the 1919–1921 First Dáil. For the 1969–1997 constituency, see Mayo West (Dáil constituency).

West Mayo 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 1922.

West Mayo
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1922
Seats	1
Created from	Mayo
Replaced by	Mayo North and West

Prior to the 1885 general election the area was part of the two-seat Mayo constituency. From 1922, on the establishment of the Irish Free State, it was not represented in the UK Parliament.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the western part of County Mayo.

1885–1922: The baronies of Burrishoole and Murrisk, and that part of the barony of Carra not contained within the constituency of South Mayo.

Members of Parliament

Years	Member	Party
1885–1890	John Deasy	Irish Parliamentary Party
1891–1893		Irish National Federation
1893–1900	Robert Ambrose	Irish National Federation
1900–1910		Irish Parliamentary Party
1910–1918	William Doris	Irish Parliamentary Party
1918–1922	Joseph MacBride	Sinn Féin

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

1885 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John Deasy	4,790	97.3
	Irish Conservative	Robert Vesey Stoney	131	2.7
Majority			4,659	94.6
Turnout			4,921	61.4
Registered electors			8,009
	Irish Parliamentary win (new seat)

1886 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John Deasy	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,009
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

1892 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	John Deasy	3,456	85.0	N/A
	Ind. Nationalist	John O'Connor Power	611	15.0	New
Majority			2,845	70.0	N/A
Turnout			4,067	38.2	N/A
Registered electors			10,644
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

Deasy resigns, causing a by-election.

By-election, 1893: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Robert Ambrose	Unopposed
Registered electors			11,262
	Irish National Federation hold

1895 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Robert Ambrose	Unopposed
Registered electors			10,900
	Irish National Federation hold

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Robert Ambrose	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,436
	Irish Parliamentary hold

1906 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Robert Ambrose	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,941
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Doris	Unopposed
Registered electors			9,436
	Irish Parliamentary hold

December 1910 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	William Doris	3,931	78.4	N/A
	All-for-Ireland	William O'Brien	1,082	21.6	N/A
Majority			2,849	56.8	N/A
Turnout			5,013	60.7	N/A
Registered electors			8,261
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

1918 general election: West Mayo^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Joseph MacBride	10,195	86.7	New
	Irish Parliamentary	William Doris	1,568	13.3	−65.1
Majority			8,627	73.4	N/A
Turnout			11,763	54.3	−6.4
Registered electors			21,667
	Sinn Féin gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

The 65.1% drop in the Irish Parliamentary Party vote is the largest decrease in a party's vote between successive House of Commons elections in a single constituency. Between elections, the First World War and Easter Rising had changed the political landscape, and the Representation of the People Act 1918 had greatly increased the electorate.^[2]

References

1. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 366, 394. ISBN 0901714127.
2. "The Irish General Election of 1918". www.ark.ac.uk.

• 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 "M" (part 2)