Portarlington (UK Parliament constituency)

Portarlington
Portarlington
Former borough constituency; for the House of Commons
County	Queen's County
Borough	Portarlington
1801–1885
Seats	1
Created from	Portarlington (IHC)
Replaced by	King's County Tullamore; Queen's County Leix;

Portarlington was a rotten borough and is a former United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

Boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Portarlington in Queen's County, now called County Laois.

Members of Parliament

	Member	Party
1801	Frederick Trench^[1]
March 1801	William Elliot
July 1802	Henry Parnell	Whig
December 1802	Thomas Tyrwhitt
March 1806	John Langston
November 1806	Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt
1807	Hon. William Lamb	Whig
1812	Arthur Shakespeare
1816	Richard Sharp	Whig
1819	David Ricardo	Whig
1824	James Farquhar	Tory^[2]
1830	Sir Charles Ogle, Bt	Tory^[3]
1831	Sir William Rae, Bt	Tory^[3]
1832	Thomas Gladstone	Tory^[3]^[4]
1834	Thomas Gladstone	Conservative^[3]^[4]
1835	George Dawson-Damer	Conservative^[3]^[4]
1846	George Dawson-Damer	Peelite^[5]^[6]
1847	Francis Plunkett Dunne	Whig^[5]^[6]^[7]
1852	Francis Plunkett Dunne	Conservative^[4]
1857	Lionel Dawson-Damer	Conservative^[4]
1865	James Anthony Lawson	Liberal^[4]
1868	Lionel Dawson-Damer	Conservative^[4]
1880	Bernard FitzPatrick	Conservative^[4]
1883	Robert French-Brewster	Conservative^[4]
1885	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Portarlington^[4]^[3]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Charles Ogle	Unopposed
Registered electors			15
	Tory hold

General election 1831: Portarlington^[4]^[3]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	William Rae	Unopposed
Registered electors			15
	Tory hold

General election 1832: Portarlington^[4]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tory	Thomas Gladstone	66	50.4
	Tory	George Dawson-Damer	65	49.6
Majority			1	0.8
Turnout			131	95.6
Registered electors			137
	Tory hold

General election 1835: Portarlington^[4]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	George Dawson-Damer	Unopposed
Registered electors			156
	Conservative hold

General election 1837: Portarlington^[4]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	George Dawson-Damer	80	55.2
	Whig	Francis Plunkett Dunne	65	44.8
Majority			15	10.4
Turnout			145	66.8
Registered electors			217
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	George Dawson-Damer	Unopposed
Registered electors			188
	Conservative hold

Dawson-Damer was appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 27 September 1841: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Dawson-Damer	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1847: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Whig	Francis Plunkett Dunne	Unopposed
Registered electors			221
	Whig gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1850s

Dunne was appointed Clerk of the Ordnance, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 8 March 1852: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis Plunkett Dunne	Unopposed
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1852: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Francis Plunkett Dunne	Unopposed
Registered electors			71
	Conservative gain from Whig

General election 1857: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Dawson-Damer	42	53.8	*N/A*
	Conservative	Francis Plunkett Dunne	36	46.2	N/A
Majority			6	7.6	N/A
Turnout			78	83.9	N/A
Registered electors			93
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Lionel Dawson-Damer	Unopposed
Registered electors			99
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	James Anthony Lawson	46	56.8	*New*
	Conservative	Lionel Dawson-Damer	35	43.2	N/A
Majority			11	13.6	N/A
Turnout			81	76.4	N/A
Registered electors			106
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1868: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Dawson-Damer	69	57.5	+14.3
	Liberal	James Anthony Lawson	51	42.5	−14.3
Majority			18	15.0	N/A
Turnout			120	89.6	+13.2
Registered electors			134
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+14.3

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lionel Dawson-Damer	76	59.4	+1.9
	Liberal	William D Barnett^[9]	52	40.6	−1.9
Majority			24	18.8	+3.8
Turnout			128	94.1	+4.5
Registered electors			136
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard FitzPatrick	116	86.6	+27.2
	Liberal	Robert Keating Clay	18	13.4	−27.2
Majority			98	73.2	+54.4
Turnout			134	91.2	−2.9
Registered electors			147
	Conservative hold		Swing	+27.2

FitzPatrick succeeded to the peerage, becoming Lord Castletown, causing a by-election.

By-election, 28 Feb 1883: Portarlington^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert French-Brewster	70	55.1	−31.5
	Liberal	Thomas Mayne	57	44.9	+31.5
Majority			13	10.2	−63.0
Turnout			127	92.0	+0.8
Registered electors			138
	Conservative hold		Swing	−31.5

References

^ Trench was created a peer in 1800, and so did not take up his seat at Westminster
^ Fisher, David R. "FARQUHAR, James (1764-1833), of Johnston Lodge, Laurencekirk; Hallgreen, Inverbervie, Kincardine and 13 Duke Street, Westminster, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 237–238. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 234–235, 308. ISBN 0901714127.
^ ^a ^b "The General Election". Brighton Gazette. 12 August 1847. p. 8. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b "Portarlington". Armagh Guardian. 10 August 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Irish Members Returned". Galway Vindicator, and Connaught Advertiser. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ ^a ^b Salmon, Philip. "Portarlington". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
^ "Advertisements and Notices". Freeman's Journal. 6 February 1874. p. 5. Retrieved 17 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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, B.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 "P" (part 2)

[1] Trench was created a peer in 1800, and so did not take up his seat at Westminster

[2] Fisher, David R. "FARQUHAR, James (1764-1833), of Johnston Lodge, Laurencekirk; Hallgreen, Inverbervie, Kincardine and 13 Duke Street, Westminster, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2020.

[stookssmith1842-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. pp. 237–238. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via Google Books.

[walker-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 234–235, 308. ISBN 0901714127.

[brighton1847-5] "The General Election". Brighton Gazette. 12 August 1847. p. 8. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[armagh1847-6] "Portarlington". Armagh Guardian. 10 August 1847. p. 1. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[7] "Irish Members Returned". Galway Vindicator, and Connaught Advertiser. 7 August 1847. p. 2. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[hop1820-1832-8] Salmon, Philip. "Portarlington". The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.

[9] "Advertisements and Notices". Freeman's Journal. 6 February 1874. p. 5. Retrieved 17 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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