Antrim County (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Antrim County

Former county constituency
for the Irish House of Commons
County| County Antrim
Province| Ulster
Former constituency
Created| Uncertain
Abolished| 1800
Seats| 2
Replaced by| Antrim

Antrim County was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.

Following the Acts of Union 1800 the constituency became Antrim (UK Parliament constituency).

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Boundaries and Boundary Changes
* 3 Members of Parliament
* 3.1 Elections
* 4 References
* 5 Bibliography

## History[edit]

The county constituency was enfranchised as a parliamentary constituency at an uncertain date, between the first known meeting of the Parliament in 1264 and the division of the area into baronies in 1584. It sent two knights of the shire to the Irish House of Commons.

The county was represented in the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, under the Instrument of Government, after it was established in 1654 as part of constituency of Down, Antrim and Armagh (constituency). Following the restoration of the King in 1660 the Parliament of Ireland was re-established and the constituency again returned two Members of Parliament. In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Antrim County was represented with two members.[1]

## Boundaries and Boundary Changes[edit]

1264-1800: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis discusses the administrative history of Antrim. It is uncertain when Antrim was made a County and given representation as such in Parliament. Something like the modern arrangements seem to have originated in 1584 when the Lord Deputy Sir John Perrot divided the area into baronies. From whatever point the county constituency existed it comprised the whole of County Antrim, excluding the parts in the borough constituencies of Antrim Borough (from 1666), Belfast (1613), Carrickfergus (1326), Lisburn (1661) and Randalstown (1683).

## Members of Parliament[edit]

Election |  | First member | First party |  | Second member | Second party

|
|
|
|
|
|

1585 |  | Edward Berkeley |  |  | Shane McBrien O'Neill |
1613 |  | Sir Fulke Conway |  |  | Sir Moyses Hill[2] |
1634 |  | Arthur Chichester |  |  | John Clotworthy |
1639 |  | Sir Roger Langford |
1660 |  | Sir John Clotworthy |  |  | Sir George Rawdon[3] |
1661 |  | Sir John Skeffington, Bt |  |  | John Davys |
1665 |  | Sir Toby (or John) Poyntz,
vice Skeffington succeeded as 2nd Viscount Massereene[a] |  |  | Conway Hill, Esq,
vice Davys, long absent without leave[2] |
1689 Patriot Parliament |  | Cormack O'Neile |  |  | Randal MacDonnell  |
1692  |  | Sir Robert Colville |  |  | Clotworthy Skeffington  |
1695  |  | Arthur Upton |
1697  |  | Hugh Colville |
1703  |  | Clotworthy Skeffington  |  |  | Clotworthy Upton[4] |
November 1715  |  | John Skeffington[b] |
1715  |  | Sir Arthur Langford, 2nd Bt |
1716  |  | Thomas Upton |
1725  |  | John Upton |
1727  |  | John Skeffington |
1741  |  | Arthur Skeffington |  |  | Henry Seymour Conway |
1747  |  | Hugh Skeffington |
1768  |  | Viscount Dunluce |  |  | Viscount Beauchamp |
1776  |  | Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway |  |  | James Willson |
1783  |  | John O'Neill |  |  | Hon. Hercules Rowley |
1792  |  | Edward Jones-Agnew |
1794  |  | Hugh Boyd |
1796  |  | John Staples |
1798  |  | Edmund Alexander Macnaghten |
1801 |  | Succeeded by the Westminster constituency Antrim

Notes

1. ^ The Lord Lieutenant wrote to the Sheriff of Antrim on 2 November 1665 recommending Poyntz as the successor of Skeffington, who had inherited a peerage in September as Viscount Massereene. In the absence of evidence to the contrary it is assumed that, in this period, such a recommendation was tantamount to election.
2. ^ Declared not duly elected in 1715.

### Elections[edit]

General Election 1761: Antrim County[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

|  | Henry Seymour Conway | 663  |  |
|  | Hugh Skeffington | 659  |  |
|  | John O'Neill | 406  |  |
|  | C. O'Hara  | 351  |  |
General Election 1768: Antrim County[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

|  | Viscount Dunluce | Uncontested  |  |
|  | Viscount Beauchamp | Uncontested  |  |
General Election 1776: Antrim County[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

|  | Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway | 1,246  |  |
|  | James Willson | 1,234  |  |
|  | Hugh Skeffington | 1,125  |  |
|  | M. Dalway  | 1,021  |  |
General Election 1783: Antrim County[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

|  | John O'Neill | Uncontested  |  |
|  | Hon. Hercules Rowley | Uncontested  |  |
General Election 1790: Antrim County[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

|  | John O'Neill | 1,939  |  |
|  | Hon. Hercules Rowley | 1,867  |  |
|  | J. Leslie  | 1,708  |  |
|  | Edmund Alexander Macnaghten | 1,499  |  |
Turnout | 3,507  |  |
Antrim County by-election, 1793[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

|  | Hugh Boyd | Uncontested  |  |
Antrim County by-election, 1795[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

|  | John Staples | Uncontested  |  |
General Election 1797: Antrim County[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

|  | John Staples | 1,984  |  |
|  | Edmund Alexander Macnaghten | 1,518  |  |
|  | Edward Jones-Agnew | 981  |  |
Turnout | 4,483  |  |

## References[edit]

1. ^ O'Hart 2007, p. 500.
2. ^ a b Return of Members of Parliament, Part II (1878), p. 605
3. ^ Clarke, Aidan. Prelude to Restoration in Ireland: The End of the Commonwealth, 1659–1660.
4. ^ Bergin 2009.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Johnston-Liik, E. M. (2006). MPs in Dublin: Companion to History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800. Ulster Historical Foundation. p. 235\. ISBN 9781903688601.

## Bibliography[edit]

* Bergin, John (2009). "Upton, Arthur". In Kinsella, Eoin; Clavin, Terry; Evers, Liz; Gallagher, Niav; Maume, Patrick; O'Riordan, Turlough (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Royal Irish Academy; Cambridge University Press. doi:10.3318/dib.008767.v1. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
* O'Hart, John (2007). The Irish and Anglo-Irish Landed Gentry: When Cromwell came to Ireland. Vol. II. Heritage Books. ISBN 978-0-7884-1927-0.
* Leigh Rayment's historical List of Members of the Irish House of Commons. Cites: Johnston-Liik, Edith Mary (2002). The History of the Irish Parliament 1692-1800 (6 volumes). Ulster Historical Foundation.

* v
* t
* e

Parliamentary constituencies in County Antrim and the city of Belfast

Parliament of Ireland
to 1800|

* Antrim Borough (1666-1800)
* Antrim County (???-1800)
* Belfast (1613-1800)
* Carrickfergus (1326-1800)
* Lisburn (1661-1800)
* Randalstown (???-1800)

Westminster 1801-present|

| Historic|

* Antrim (1801-85, 1922-50)
* Mid Antrim (1885-1922)
* Belfast (1801-85)
* Belfast Cromac (1918-22)
* Belfast Duncairn (1918-22)
* Belfast Falls (1918-22)
* Belfast Ormeau (1918-22)
* Belfast Pottinger (1918-22)
* Belfast Shankill (1918-22)
* Belfast St Anne's (1918-22)
* Belfast Victoria (1918-22)
* Belfast Woodvale (1918-22)
* Carrickfergus (1801-85)
* Lisburn (1801-85)
* Queen's University of Belfast (1918-50)

|

Current|

* East Antrim (1885-1922, 1983--)
* North Antrim (1885-1922, 1950--)
* South Antrim (1885-1922, 1950--)
* Belfast East (1885-1918, 1922--)
* Belfast North (1885-1918, 1922--)
* Belfast South (1885-1918, 1922--)
* Belfast West (1885-1918, 1922--)
* Lagan Valley 1983--

Dáil Éireann
Revolutionary era 1919-1922|

| First Dáil
1919–21|

| Seats taken|

(none)

|

No seats taken|

* East Antrim
* Mid Antrim
* North Antrim
* South Antrim
* Belfast Cromac
* Belfast Duncairn
* Belfast Falls
* Belfast Ormeau
* Belfast Pottinger
* Belfast St Anne's
* Belfast Shankill
* Belfast Victoria
* Belfast Woodvale
* Queen's University of Belfast

Second Dáil
1921–22|

| Seats taken|

(none)

|

No seats taken|

* Antrim
* Belfast East
* Belfast North
* Belfast South
* Belfast West
* Queen's University of Belfast

Parliament of Northern Ireland
1921-72|

| 1921-29|

* Antrim (1921–29)
* Belfast East (1921–29)
* Belfast North (1921–29)
* Belfast South (1921–29)
* West Belfast (1921–29)
* Queen's University of Belfast (1921–69)

|

1929-72|

* Bannside (1929–72)
* Belfast Ballynafeigh (1929–72)
* Belfast Bloomfield (1929–72)
* Belfast Central (1929–72)
* Belfast Clifton (1929–72)
* Belfast Cromac (1929–72)
* Belfast Dock (1929–72)
* Belfast Duncairn (1929–72)
* Belfast Falls (1929–72)
* Belfast Oldpark (1929–72)
* Belfast Pottinger (1929–72)
* Belfast Shankill (1929–72)
* Belfast St Anne's (1929–72)
* Belfast Victoria (1929–72)
* Belfast Willowfield (1929–72)
* Belfast Windsor (1929–72)
* Belfast Woodvale (1929–72)
* Carrick (1929–72)
* Larkfield (1969–72)
* Larne (1929–72)
* Mid Antrim (1929–72)
* Newtownabbey (1969–72)
* North Antrim (1929–72)
* Queen's University of Belfast (1921–69)
* South Antrim (1929–72)

Northern Ireland Assemblies|

| Assembly 1973-74
Constitutional Convention 1975-76
Assembly 1982-86|

* North Antrim
* South Antrim
* Belfast East
* Belfast North
* Belfast South
* Belfast West

|

Northern Ireland Forum 1996-98
Assembly (1998–present)|

* East Antrim
* North Antrim
* South Antrim
* Belfast East
* Belfast North
* Belfast South
* Belfast West
* Lagan Valley

European Parliament
1979-2020|

* Northern Ireland

Constituencies in Ireland by county

Republic of Ireland|

* Carlow
* Cavan
* Clare
* Cork
* Donegal
* Dublin
* Galway
* Kerry
* Kildare
* Kilkenny
* Laois
* Leitrim
* Limerick
* Longford
* Louth
* Mayo
* Meath
* Monaghan
* Offaly
* Roscommon
* Sligo
* Tipperary
* Waterford
* Westmeath
* Wexford
* Wicklow

Northern Ireland|

* Antrim
* Armagh
* Down
* Fermanagh
* Londonderry
* Tyrone

Coordinates: 54°42′40″N 6°11′46″W﻿ / ﻿54.711°N 6.196°W﻿ / 54.711; -6.196
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