Galway Borough (UK Parliament constituency)

Galway Borough was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland. It returned one MP from 1801 to 1832, two MPs from 1832 to 1885 and one MP from 1885 to 1918. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

Galway Borough
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
County	County Galway
Borough	Galway
1801–1918
Seats	1 (1801–1832) 2 (1832–1885) 1 (1885–1918)
Created from	Galway Town (IHC)
Replaced by	Galway Connemara

Boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Galway in County Galway.

Members of Parliament

Year		Member	Party
	1801	St. George Daly
	1801	John Ponsonby
	1802	Denis Bowes Daly
	1805	James Daly
	1811	Frederick Ponsonby	Whig[1]
	1813	Valentine Blake	Tory[1]
	1820	Michael Prendergast	Tory[1]
	1826	James O'Hara	Non Partisan[2]
	1831	John Bodkin	Whig[1]

• Representation increased to two seats (1832)

Year			First member	First party	Second member	Second party
		1832	Andrew Henry Lynch	Repeal Association[3]	Lachlan MacLachlan[4]	Repeal Association[3]
		1833			Martin Joseph Blake	Repeal Association[3]
		1841	Sir Valentine Blake, Bt	Repeal Association[3]
		Feb. 1847	James Henry Monahan	Whig[3][5][6]
		Aug. 1847	Anthony O'Flaherty	Repeal Association[3]
		1852		Ind. Irish[3]		Ind. Irish[3]
		Apr. 1857		Whig[7]	Ulick de Burgh	Whig[8]
		Jul. 1857	Vacant[3]
		Feb. 1859	John Orrell Lever	Conservative[3]
		May. 1859				Liberal[3]
		1865	Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, Bt	Liberal[3]	Michael Morris	Liberal[3]
		1866				Conservative[3]
		1867			George Morris	Liberal[3]
		1868			William St Lawrence	Liberal[3]
		Feb. 1874	George Morris	Home Rule League[3]		Home Rule League[3]
		Mar. 1874			Frank Hugh O'Donnell	Home Rule League[3]
		Jun. 1874			Michael Francis Ward	Home Rule League[3]
		1880	T. P. O'Connor	Parnellite Home Rule League[3]	John Orrell Lever	Home Rule League[3]

• Representation reduced to one seat (1885)

Election		Member	Party
	1885	T. P. O'Connor	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1886	William O'Shea	Independent Nationalist
	1886	John Pinkerton	Irish Parliamentary Party
	18901		Irish National Federation (Anti-Parnellite)
	1900	Martin Morris	Irish Unionist Party
	1901	Arthur Lynch[9]	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1903	Charles Ramsay Devlin	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1906	Stephen Gwynn	Irish Parliamentary Party
1918		Constituency abolished

¹There was no election but the IPP split into two factions, and Pinkerton joined the faction opposing Parnell.

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Galway Borough^[3][1][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	James O'Hara (Irish politician)	381	55.5
	Irish Repeal	Valentine Blake	305	44.5
Majority			76	11.0
Turnout			686	c. 33.4
Registered electors			c. 2,052
	Nonpartisan hold		Swing

General election 1831: Galway Borough^[3][1][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	John James Bodkin	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,052
	Whig gain from Nonpartisan

General election 1832: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3][1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal	Andrew Henry Lynch	1,265	41.8
	Irish Repeal	Lachlan MacLachlan	951	31.5
	Irish Repeal	Martin Joseph Blake	807	26.7
Majority			144	4.8
Turnout			1,795	87.1
Registered electors			2,062
	Irish Repeal gain from Whig
	Irish Repeal win (new seat)

• On petition, MacLachlan was unseated in favour of Blake

General election 1835: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3][1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Andrew Henry Lynch	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Martin Joseph Blake	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,062
	Irish Repeal hold
	Irish Repeal hold

General election 1837: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3][1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Andrew Henry Lynch	565	42.5
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Martin Joseph Blake	462	34.7
	Conservative	Denis Daly	296	22.3
	Conservative	Robert Burke	7	0.5
Majority			166	12.4
Turnout			772	28.2
Registered electors			2,739
	Irish Repeal hold
	Irish Repeal hold

Lynch was appointed as a Master in Chancery, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 12 February 1838: Galway Borough^[3][1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Andrew Henry Lynch	445	73.7	+31.2
	Irish Repeal	Valentine Blake	159	26.3	N/A
Majority			286	47.4	+35.0
Turnout			604	c. 22.1	c. −6.1
Registered electors			c. 2,739
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	+31.2

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	Valentine Blake	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal	Martin Joseph Blake	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,600
	Irish Repeal hold
	Irish Repeal hold

Valentine Blake's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 17 February 1847: Galway Borough^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	James Henry Monahan	510	50.2	New
	Irish Repeal	Anthony O'Flaherty	506	49.8	N/A
Majority			4	0.4	N/A
Turnout			1,016	74.2	N/A
Registered electors			1,369
	Whig gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	N/A

General election 1847: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	Anthony O'Flaherty	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal	Martin Joseph Blake	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,369
	Irish Repeal hold
	Irish Repeal hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	Anthony O'Flaherty	632	48.1	N/A
	Independent Irish	Martin Joseph Blake	411	31.3	N/A
	Whig	Ulick de Burgh	272	20.7	New
Majority			139	10.6	N/A
Turnout			658 (est)	63.4 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			1,038
	Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	N/A
	Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Ulick de Burgh	646	40.7	+20.0
	Whig	Anthony O'Flaherty	508	32.0	−16.1
	Independent Irish	Theodore Patrick French	433	27.3	−4.0
Majority			75	4.7	N/A
Turnout			794 (est)	67.2 (est)	+3.8
Registered electors			1,115
	Whig gain from Independent Irish		Swing	+11.0
	Whig gain from Independent Irish		Swing	−3.0

In July 1857, on petition, O'Flaherty was unseated—as he was guilty, by his agents, of bribery—and a new writ was then issued in February 1859.^[11]

By-election, 11 February 1859: Galway Borough^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Orrell Lever	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,300
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1859: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Orrell Lever	743	39.2	N/A
	Liberal	Ulick de Burgh	603	31.8	−8.9
	Liberal	Theodore Patrick French	548	28.9	+1.6
Majority			140	7.4	N/A
Turnout			947 (est)	72.8 (est)	+5.6
Registered electors			1,300
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Morris	883	47.3	+15.5
	Liberal	Rowland Blennerhassett	672	36.0	+7.1
	Conservative	John Orrell Lever	291	15.6	−23.6
	Independent Liberal	Nicholas Stubber	22	1.2	New
Majority			381	20.3	N/A
Turnout			1,080 (est)	91.4 (est)	+18.6
Registered electors			1,182
	Liberal hold		Swing	+13.7
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.5

Morris was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

1866 Galway Borough by-election (1 seat)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Morris	756	81.5	+65.9
	Independent Liberal	Nicholas Stubber	172	18.5	+17.3
Majority			584	63.0	+42.7
Turnout			928	78.6	−12.8
Registered electors			1,180
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	−9.6

Morris was appointed Attorney-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

February 1867 Galway Borough by-election (1 seat)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Morris	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Morris resigned after being appointed a judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

April 1867 Galway Borough by-election (1 seat)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Morris	Unopposed
	Liberal gain from Conservative

General election 1868: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William St Lawrence	826	36.3	−11.0
	Liberal	Rowland Blennerhassett	804	35.3	−0.7
	Liberal	Martin Francis O'Flaherty	432	19.0	N/A
	Conservative	James O'Hare	213	9.4	−6.2
Majority			372	16.3	−4.0
Turnout			1,244 (est)	90.1 (est)	−1.3
Registered electors			1,381
	Liberal hold		Swing	−4.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.2

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	George Morris	761	42.9	New
	Home Rule	William St Lawrence	604	34.0	−2.3
	Home Rule	Frank Hugh O'Donnell	409	23.1	New
Majority			195	10.9	N/A
Turnout			887 (est)	61.4 (est)	−28.7
Registered electors			1,444
	Home Rule gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

St Lawrence succeeded to the peerage, becoming Earl of Howth.

March 1874 Galway Borough by-election (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Frank Hugh O'Donnell	579	61.8	N/A
	Liberal	Pierce Joyce	358	38.2	New
Majority			221	23.6	+12.7
Turnout			937	64.9	+3.5
Registered electors			1,444
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A

On petition, O'Donnell was unseated.

June 1874 Galway Borough by-election (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Michael Francis Ward	726	71.6	N/A
	Liberal	James Henry Monahan	288	28.4	N/A
Majority			438	43.2	+32.3
Turnout			1,014	70.2	+8.8
Registered electors			1,444
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Galway Borough (2 seats)^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	John Orrell Lever	501	34.1	N/A
	Parnellite Home Rule League	T. P. O'Connor	487	33.2	N/A
	Home Rule	Hugh Tarpey	481	32.7	N/A
Majority			6	0.5	−10.4
Turnout			988 (est)	78.4 (est)	+17.0
Registered electors			1,261
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A

1885 general election: Galway Borough^[12][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	T. P. O'Connor	1,335	89.1	N/A
	Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union	Thomas George Palmer Hallett	164	10.9	New
Majority			1,171	78.2	N/A
Turnout			1,499	66.2	−12.2 (est)
Registered electors			2,265
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

O'Connor is also elected for Liverpool Scotland and opts to sit there, prompting a by-election.

1886 Galway Borough by-election^[12][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Nationalist	William O'Shea	942	94.6	N/A
	Ind. Nationalist	Michael Aloysius Lynch	54	5.4	N/A
Majority			888	89.2	+11.0
Turnout			996	66.2	0.0
Registered electors			2,265
	Ind. Nationalist gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

1886 general election: Galway Borough^[12][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John Pinkerton	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,265
	Irish Parliamentary gain from Ind. Nationalist

Elections in the 1890s

1892 general election: Galway Borough^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	John Pinkerton	644	52.1	N/A
	Irish National League	Arthur Lynch	593	47.9	N/A
Majority			51	4.2	N/A
Turnout			1,237	64.8	N/A
Registered electors			1,909
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

1895 general election: Galway Borough^[12][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	John Pinkerton	596	40.9	−11.2
	Irish National League	Edmund Leamy	465	31.9	−16.0
	Irish Unionist	Martin Morris	395	27.1	New
Majority			131	9.0	+4.8
Turnout			1,456	82.8	+18.0
Registered electors			1,759
	Irish National Federation hold		Swing	+2.4

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: Galway Borough^[12][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Martin Morris	882	53.6	+26.5
	Irish Parliamentary	Edmund Leamy	763	46.4	−26.4'"`UNIQ−−ref−00000091−QINU`"'
Majority			119	7.2	N/A
Turnout			1,645	74.5	−8.3
Registered electors			2,209
	Irish Unionist gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	+26.5

Morris is elevated to the peerage as Lord Killanin, prompting a by-election.

1901 Galway Borough by-election^[13][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Arthur Lynch	1,247	72.5	+26.1
	Irish Unionist	Horace Plunkett	472	27.5	−26.1
Majority			775	45.0	N/A
Turnout			1,719	79.4	+4.9
Registered electors			2,166
	Irish Parliamentary gain from Irish Unionist		Swing	+26.1

Lynch is adjudged guilty of high treason, prompting a by-election.

1903 Galway Borough by-election^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Charles Ramsay Devlin	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,347
	Irish Parliamentary hold

1906 general election: Galway Borough^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Charles Ramsay Devlin	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,202
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Devlin resigns, causing a by-election.

1906 Galway Borough by-election^[13][3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Stephen Gwynn	983	63.7	N/A
	Ind. Nationalist	John Shawe-Taylor	559	36.3	New
Majority			424	27.4	N/A
Turnout			1,542	70.0	N/A
Registered electors			2,202
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: Galway Borough^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Stephen Gwynn	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,306
	Irish Parliamentary hold

December 1910 general election: Galway Borough^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Stephen Gwynn	1,062	84.0	N/A
	Ind. Unionist	James Leslie Wanklyn	203	16.0	New
Majority			859	68.0	N/A
Turnout			1,265	54.9	N/A
Registered electors			2,306
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Notes

1. Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 228–229.
2. Farrell, Stephen. "O'HARA, James (1796-1838), of West Lodge, co. Galway". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
3. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 217–218, 281–283, 350–351. ISBN 0901714127.
4. 1832: On petition, Lachlan MacLachlan was unseated and Martin Joseph Blake declared elected (Walker, page 52)
5. "The Galway Election". Enniskillen Chronicle and Erne Packet. 22 February 1847. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "The Galway Election". Inverness Courier. 24 February 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. Ollivier, John (1841). Ollivier's parliamentary and political directory for the Session 1841, 1848, Volume 1. p. 27.
8. "The New Parliament". Dublin Weekly Nation. 18 April 1857. p. 8. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "No. 27382". The London Gazette. 3 December 1901. p. 8559.
10. Farrell, Stephen. "Galway". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
11. "Imperial Parliament". The Ipswich Journal. 18 July 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Election intelligence". The Times. No. 36555. London. 9 September 1901. p. 10.
13. "Galway Borough Election". Nottingham Evening Post. 5 November 1906. Retrieved 15 October 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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)
• 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 "G" (part 1)