Clare (UK Parliament constituency)

Clare
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1801–1885
Number of members	Two
Replaced by	East Clare and West Clare

Clare was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Member of Parliament (MP) 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.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the whole of County Clare, except for the Borough of Ennis.

Members of Parliament

Year		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1801		Francis Nathaniel Burton			Hugh Dillon Massey
1802					Sir Edward O'Brien, 4th Baronet	Whig
1808		Augustine FitzGerald	Tory
1818		William Vesey-FitzGerald	Tory
1826					Lucius O'Brien	Tory
1828		Daniel O'Connell	Radical
1830		William Nugent Macnamara	Whig		James Patrick Mahon	Whig
1831					Maurice O'Connell	Radical
1832					Cornelius O'Brien	Whig
1847					Sir Lucius O'Brien, 5th Baronet	Conservative
1852		Sir John Forster Fitzgerald	Liberal		Cornelius O'Brien	Liberal
1857		Lord Francis Conyngham	Liberal		Francis Macnamara Calcutt	Independent 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

Elections

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.

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)
• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 4)