North Kilkenny (UK Parliament constituency) facts for kids
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North Kilkenny was a special area in Ireland. From 1885 to 1922, people in this area voted for one person to represent them. This person was called a Member of Parliament (MP). The MP would go to the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom to speak for the people of North Kilkenny.
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What Was North Kilkenny?
A "constituency" is like a voting district. North Kilkenny covered the northern part of County Kilkenny. Before 1885, this area was part of a bigger constituency called County Kilkenny.
The borders of North Kilkenny changed over time:
- From 1885 to 1918: It included several areas called baronies, which are old land divisions.
- From 1918 to 1922: The area was redrawn. It then included the rural districts of Castecomer, Kilkenny, and Urlingford No. 1, plus the urban area of Kilkenny.
North Kilkenny stopped being a UK constituency on 26 October 1922. This happened just before the Irish Free State was formed in December 1922, making Ireland independent from the UK.
The First Dáil: Ireland's Own Parliament
Even though North Kilkenny was a UK constituency, something new happened in 1918. Many Irish people wanted their own parliament. This new parliament was called Dáil Éireann.
In 1918, there was a UK general election. But Sinn Féin, a political party that wanted an independent Ireland, used this election differently. They saw it as a way to elect members to their own Irish parliament, the Dáil.
The First Dáil met for the first time on 21 January 1919. Only the Sinn Féin members who were elected took part. Other Irish MPs could have joined, but they chose not to.
Later, the Dáil decided that future elections would also count as elections for Dáil Éireann. This meant that the people elected would be members of the Dáil.
From the Third Dáil onwards, the Dáil only represented the 26 counties that became the Irish Free State. North Kilkenny then became part of a new Irish constituency called Carlow–Kilkenny.
Who Represented North Kilkenny?
Here are the Members of Parliament (MPs) who represented North Kilkenny:
| Election | Member | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 December 1885 | Edward Marum | Irish Parliamentary | Passed away on 21 September 1890 | |
| 22 December 1890 | Sir John Pope-Hennessy | Anti-Parnellite | ||
| March 1891 | Irish National Federation | Passed away on 7 October 1891 | ||
| 29 October 1891 | Patrick McDermott | Irish National Federation | Later re-elected as an Irish Parliamentary Party candidate | |
| 10 October 1900 | Irish Parliamentary | Resigned from his seat | ||
| 26 February 1902 | Joseph Devlin | Irish Parliamentary | In 1906, he chose to represent Belfast West instead | |
| 3 March 1906 | Michael Meagher | Irish Parliamentary | ||
| 14 December 1918 | W. T. Cosgrave | Sinn Féin | Did not take his seat in the UK Parliament | |
| 26 October 1922 | UK constituency abolished | |||
Elections in North Kilkenny
Elections were held regularly to choose the MP for North Kilkenny. Sometimes, only one person ran for the seat, so they won without anyone else to vote for. This is called being "unopposed." Other times, there were several candidates, and people would vote for their preferred choice.
Here are some examples of how the elections went:
1885 General Election
In the 1885 election, Edward Marum from the Irish Parliamentary Party won by a large margin. He received 4,084 votes, which was 95.9% of all votes. The other candidate, Charles Bellew, received 174 votes.
1886 General Election
The next year, in 1886, Edward Marum was elected again. This time, he was unopposed, meaning no one else ran against him.
By-elections in the 1890s
When an MP left their seat (for example, if they passed away), a special election called a "by-election" was held.
- In December 1890, after Edward Marum passed away, John Pope Hennessy won the by-election.
- In October 1891, after Sir John Pope-Hennessy passed away, Patrick McDermott won the by-election. He was also unopposed.
Later Elections
- Patrick McDermott continued to represent North Kilkenny, winning elections in 1892, 1895, and 1900.
- In 1902, Joseph Devlin won a by-election. He was also elected for another area, Belfast West, and chose to represent that constituency instead.
- This led to another by-election in 1906, which was won by Michael Meagher. He continued to be the MP for North Kilkenny in the January and December 1910 general elections.
1918 General Election
The last election for North Kilkenny as a UK constituency was in 1918. W. T. Cosgrave from Sinn Féin won this election. However, like other Sinn Féin members, he did not take his seat in the UK Parliament. Instead, he became a member of the new Irish Dáil.
