Wexford Borough (UK Parliament constituency)

UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland, 1801–1885

For other similarly named constituencies, see Wexford (disambiguation).

Wexford Borough

Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
County| County Wexford
Borough| Wexford
1801–1885
Seats| 1
Created from| Wexford Borough (IHC)
Replaced by| South Wexford

Wexford Borough was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament (MP). It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

## Boundaries

[edit]

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

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

Election | Member | Party | Note

|
|
|

| 1801-01-01 | Francis Leigh |  | 1801: Co-opted; Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
| 1801-02-20 | Ponsonby Tottenham |  |
| 1802-07-09 | Richard Nevill 1 | Tory |
| 1806-11-10 | Sir Robert Wigram, Bt | Tory[1] |
| 1807-05-21 | Richard Nevill 1 | Tory | Resigned (appointed Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds)
| 1810-03-03 | Captain Peter Parker R.N. | Tory | Resigned (appointed Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds)
| 1811-07-01 | Richard Nevill 1 | Tory | Resigned (appointed Steward of the Manor of East Hendred)
| 1813-03-03 | Vice Admiral John Fish | Tory | Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster)
| 1814-08-09 | Richard Nevill 1 | Tory | Resigned (appointed Escheator of Ulster)
| 1819-03-01 | Captain Henry Evans R.N. | Tory |
| 1820-03-20 | William Wigram | Tory[1] |
| 1826-06-19 | Rear Admiral Henry Evans | Tory | Resigned (appointed Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds)
| 1829-06-03 | Robert Wigram 2 | Tory[1] | Unseated on petition
| 1830-03-15 3 | Sir Edward Dering, Bt | Tory[1] | Declared duly elected
| 1830-08-07 | William Wigram | Tory[1] | Unseated on petition
| 1831-02-21 3 | Sir Edward Dering, Bt | Ultra-Tory | Declared duly elected
| 1831-05-06 | Charles Arthur Walker | Whig | Re-elected as a candidate of the Repeal Association
| 1832-12-14 | Repeal Association[2] | Re-elected as a candidate of a Liberal/Repealer pact
| 1841-07-12 | Sir Thomas Esmonde, Bt | Whig[1][3] |
| 1847-08-04 | John Thomas Devereux | Repeal Association[2] | Re-elected as an Independent Irish candidate
| 1852-07-09 | Ind. Irish[2] | Re-elected as a Liberal candidate
| 1857-03-20 | Whig |
| 1859-05-03 | John Edward Redmond | Liberal[2] | The grand uncle of John Redmond (1856–1918)
| 1865-07-17 | Richard Joseph Devereux | Liberal[2] | Resigned
| 1872-04-26 | William Archer Redmond | Home Rule League[2] | The grandfather of William Redmond (1886–1932). Died 1880.
| 1880-11-24 | Tim Healy | Home Rule League[2] | Joined new organisation
| 1882 4 | Irish Parliamentary[2] | Resigned to contest Monaghan
| 1883-07-17 | Willie Redmond | Irish Parliamentary[2] | Last MP for the constituency
1885-11-18 | Constituency abolished

Notes:-

* 1 Stooks Smith names the MP 1802-1806 as Richard Neville Furness, 1807-1810 as Richard Neville, 1811-1813 as Robert Neville and 1814-1819 as Richard Neville. Walker names the MP for all these terms as Richard Nevill.
* 2 From 1832 known as Robert Fitzwygram.
* 3 Not an election - date when the previous member was unseated and the petitioner was declared duly elected.
* 4 Not an election - change of party allegiance.

## Elections

[edit]

### Elections in the 1830s

[edit]

General election 1830: Wexford Borough[2][1][4] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Tory | William Wigram | 31  | 52.5
| Ultra-Tory | Edward Dering | 28  | 47.5
Majority  | 3  | 5.0
Turnout | 59  | c. 36.9
Registered electors | c. 160 |
| Tory hold

* On petition, Wigram was unseated and Dering was declared elected.

General election 1831: Wexford Borough[2][1][4] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Whig | Charles Arthur Walker | Unopposed
Registered electors | 160  |
| Whig gain from Tory
General election 1832: Wexford Borough[2][1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Irish Repeal | Charles Arthur Walker | Unopposed
Registered electors | 269  |
| Irish Repeal gain from Whig
General election 1835: Wexford Borough[2][1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Irish Repeal (Whig) | Charles Arthur Walker | Unopposed
Registered electors | 373  |
| Irish Repeal hold
General election 1837: Wexford Borough[2][1] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|

| Irish Repeal (Whig) | Charles Arthur Walker | Unopposed
Registered electors | 361  |
| Irish Repeal hold

### Elections in the 1840s

[edit]

General election 1841: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Whig | Thomas Esmonde | 145  | 59.2  | New
| Conservative | James Bourne | 100  | 40.8  | New
Majority  | 45  | 18.4  | N/A
Turnout | 245  | 81.4  | N/A
Registered electors | 301  |  |
| Whig gain from Irish Repeal | Swing | N/A |
General election 1847: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Irish Repeal | John Thomas Devereux | Unopposed
Registered electors | 375  |  |
| Irish Repeal gain from Whig

### Elections in the 1850s

[edit]

General election 1852: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Independent Irish | John Thomas Devereux | Unopposed
Registered electors | 348  |  |
| Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal
General election 1857: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Whig | John Thomas Devereux | Unopposed
Registered electors | 314  |  |
| Whig gain from Independent Irish
General election 1859: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | John Redmond | Unopposed
Registered electors | 301  |  |
| Liberal hold

### Elections in the 1860s

[edit]

General election 1865: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | Richard Joseph Devereux | 153  | 58.8  | N/A
| Liberal | John Redmond | 107  | 41.2  | N/A
Majority  | 46  | 17.6  | N/A
Turnout | 260  | 77.8  | N/A
Registered electors | 334  |  |
| Liberal hold | Swing | N/A |
General election 1868: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | Richard Joseph Devereux | Unopposed
Registered electors | 520  |  |
| Liberal hold

On petition, Devereux was unseated due to "informality" in the return, causing a by-election at which he was re-elected.[5]

By-election, 26 February 1869: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | Richard Joseph Devereux | Unopposed
Registered electors | 520  |  |
| Liberal hold

### Elections in the 1870s

[edit]

Devereux resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 26 Apr 1872: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Home Rule | William Archer Redmond | 321  | 86.3  | New
| Home Rule | Walter Redmond  | 51  | 13.7  | New
Majority  | 270  | 72.6  | N/A
Turnout | 372  | 69.5  | N/A
Registered electors | 535  |  |
| Home Rule gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |
General election 1874: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Home Rule | William Archer Redmond | 323  | 81.6  | N/A
| Liberal | Sir Frederick Hughes, 7th Baronet  | 73  | 18.4  | N/A
Majority  | 250  | 63.2  | N/A
Turnout | 396  | 79.0  | N/A
Registered electors | 501  |  |
| Home Rule gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A |

### Elections in the 1880s

[edit]

General election 1880: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Home Rule | William Archer Redmond | 292  | 75.5  | −6.1
| Liberal | Sir Frederick Hughes, 7th Baronet  | 95  | 24.5  | +6.1
Majority  | 197  | 51.0  | −12.2
Turnout | 387  | 80.8  | +1.8
Registered electors | 479  |  |
| Home Rule hold | Swing | −6.1  |

Redmond's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 24 Nov 1880: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Home Rule | Tim Healy | Unopposed
Registered electors | 479  |  |
| Home Rule hold

Healy resigned to stand at the 1883 by-election in Monaghan, causing a by-election.

By-election, 17 July 1883: Wexford Borough[2] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Irish Parliamentary | Willie Redmond | 307  | 70.9  | −4.6
| Liberal | Charles Owen O'Conor | 126  | 29.1  | +4.6
Majority  | 181  | 41.8  | −9.2
Turnout | 433  | 83.0  | +2.2
Registered electors | 522  |  |
| Irish Parliamentary hold | Swing | −4.6  |

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

|

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 243. Retrieved 14 October 2018 - via Google Books.
2. ^ 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 aa Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 243–244, 321. ISBN 0901714127.
3. ^ "Evening Mail". 21 June 1841. p. 3. Retrieved 26 August 2019 - via British Newspaper Archive.
4. ^ a b Salmon, Philip. "Wexford". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
5. ^ "To the Electors of the Borough of Wexford". Wexford Independent. 24 February 1869. p. 3. Retrieved 22 March 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 "W" (part 3)

* v
* t
* e

Parliamentary constituencies in County Wexford

Parliament of Ireland
to 1800|

* Bannow (????-1800)
* Clonmines (????-1800)
* Enniscorthy (1613-1800)
* Fethard (1613-1800)
* Gorey (????-1800)
* New Ross (????-1800)
* Taghmon (????-1800)
* Wexford Borough (????-1800)
* County Wexford (????-1800)

Westminster 1801-1922
and First Dáil 1918|

* New Ross (1801-1885)
* Wexford County (1801-1885)
* Wexford Borough (1801-1885)
* North Wexford (1885-1922)
* South Wexford (1885-1922)

Dáil Éireann
1918–present|

| Historic|

(none)

|

Current|

* Wexford (1921-)

Proposed|

* Wicklow–Wexford

European Parliament
1979-present|

* Leinster (1979-2004)
* East (2004-2014)
* South (2014-)

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

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