| County Clare | |
| Type: | county |
| Region: | Ireland |
| County: | County Clare |
| Parliament: | uk |
| Year: | 1801 |
| Abolished: | 1885 |
| Elects Howmany: | 2 |
| Previous: | County Clare |
County Clare was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
At the 1885 general election, County Clare was split into two divisions: East Clare and West Clare.
This constituency comprised the whole of County Clare, except for the borough of Ennis.
| Year | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1801 | Francis Nathaniel Burton | < | -- party --> | Hugh Massey | |||
| 1802 | Sir Edward O'Brien, 4th Baronet | Whig | |||||
| 1808 | Augustine FitzGerald | Tory | |||||
| 1818 | William Vesey-FitzGerald | Tory[1] | |||||
| 1826 | Lucius O'Brien | Tory[2] | |||||
| 1828 | Daniel O'Connell | Radical[3] | |||||
| 1830 | William Nugent Macnamara | Repeal Association | James Patrick Mahon | Whig | |||
| 1831 | Maurice O'Connell | Repeal Association | |||||
| 1832 | Cornelius O'Brien | Repeal Association | |||||
| 1847 | Sir Lucius O'Brien, 5th Baronet | Conservative | |||||
| 1852 | Sir John Forster Fitzgerald | Whig[4] | Cornelius O'Brien | Ind. Irish | |||
| 1857 | Lord Francis Conyngham | Ind. Irish[5] [6] | Francis Macnamara Calcutt | Ind. Irish | |||
| 1859 | Crofton Moore Vandeleur | Conservative | Luke White | Liberal | |||
| 1860 | Francis Macnamara Calcutt | Liberal | |||||
| 1863 | Sir Colman O'Loghlen, 2nd Baronet | Liberal | |||||
| 1874 | Lord Francis Conyngham | Irish Nationalist | Irish Nationalist | ||||
| 1877 | Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, 3rd Baronet | Irish Nationalist | |||||
| 1879 | James Patrick Mahon | Irish Nationalist | |||||
| 1880 | William O'Shea | Independent Nationalist | |||||
| 1885 | Constituency divided into East Clare and West Clare | ||||||
On petition, Mahon was unseated and a by-election was called.
On petition, Fitzgerald and O'Brien were unseated, due to a "system of intimidation" being present at the 1852 election, and a writ was moved for a by-election.[7]
On petition, White was unseated, causing a by-election.
Calcutt died, causing a by-election.
O'Loghlen was appointed Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces, requiring a by-election.
O'Loghlen's death caused a by-election.
O'Loghlen was declared to have resigned after accepting office as Attorney General of Victoria, Australia, causing a by-election.
There was a notorious riot at Sixmilebridge on polling day in 1852, in which soldiers shot dead seven protesters.
The Clare by-election in 1828 was notable as this was the first time since the reformation that an openly Roman Catholic MP, Daniel O'Connell was elected.