Drogheda was a parliamentary borough constituency in Ireland, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801, replacing the Drogheda constituency in the Irish House of Commons.

Boundaries This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Drogheda in County Louth.

Members of Parliament ElectionMemberPartyNote 1 January 1801 Edward Hardman 1801: Co-opted 14 November 1806 Henry Meade Ogle Tory 14 November 1807 Thomas Foster Whig 21 October 1812 Henry Meade Ogle Tory 28 March 1820 Henry Metcalfe Tory Died 9 March 1822 William Meade Smyth Tory 17 June 1826 Peter Van Homrigh Tory 13 August 1830 John Henry North Tory Died 20 October 1831 Thomas Wallace Whig 15 December 1832 Andrew Carew O'DwyerRepeal Association 21 January 1835 Unseated on petition. New writ issued. 24 April 1835 Unseated on petition 29 June 1835 Randal Edward Plunkett Conservative Declared elected on petition 3 August 1837 William Somerville Whig 13 July 1852 James McCann Independent Irish Re-elected as a Whig candidate 4 April 1857 Whig 7 May 1859 Liberal 17 July 1865 Benjamin Whitworth Liberal Unseated on petition. New writ issued. 15 March 1869 Thomas Whitworth Liberal 5 February 1874 Dr William Hagarty O'Leary Home Rule League Died 2 March 1880 Benjamin Whitworth Home Rule League Last MP for the constituency1885 Constituency abolished

Elections Elections in the 1830s

North's death caused a by-election.

Stooks Smith gives the poll as 237 for O'Dwyer and 12 for Ball, but Walker's numbers have been used above.

On petition, O'Dwyer was unseated for "want of qualification", causing a by-election.

Stooks Smith gives the poll as 313 for O'Dwyer and 130 for Plunkett but Walker's figures have been used here. On petition, O'Dwyer's election was declared void and Plunkett was declared elected, on 21 June 1835.

Elections in the 1840s

Elections in the 1850s

Elections in the 1860s

Polling for the 1868 election was marred by riots at or outside the polling house, during which people were fired upon by the military, and one man was seriously injured. Although this was later not shown to have affected the result significantly, on petition, Whitworth was unseated for separate findings of an "organised system of intimidation and force was established by Mr. Whitworth and his friends and agents."

Elections in the 1870s

Elections in the 1880s O'Leary's death caused a by-election.

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)