County council Clare County Council Founded 1921 | EP constituency South Created Irish elections, 1921 | |
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Seats 4 (1921–1923)
5 (1923–1948)
4 (1948–1969)
3 (1969–1981)
4 (1981–) TDs Pat Breen (FG)
Joe Carey (FG)
Timmy Dooley (FF)
Michael Harty (Ind) Points of interest Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, Bunratty Castle, Aillwee Cave, Poulnabrone dolmen Destinations Shannon - County Clare, The Burren, Ennis, Doolin, Lough Derg | ||
Clare is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies (Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs). The method of election is the single transferable vote form of proportional representation (PR-STV).
Contents
- Map of Co Clare Ireland
- History and boundaries
- TDs
- 1968 by election
- 1959 by election
- 1945 by election
- References
Map of Co. Clare, Ireland
History and boundaries
The constituency's boundaries have varied widely since its formation in 1921, but the boundaries in use for the 2016 general election span almost the entire area of the county, taking in Ennis, Shannon, Kilrush, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Ennistymon. A small part of the south-east of the county around Ballyglass is in the Limerick City constituency.
Clare is historically a Fianna Fáil stronghold. The party founder, Taoiseach and President Éamon de Valera served the constituency for 38 years, from 1921 to 1959. His granddaughter, Síle de Valera, retired as TD for the area at the 2007 general election. Other notable former deputies include President Patrick Hillery, the long-serving Ceann Comhairle (chairman of the Dáil) Patrick Hogan and Moosajee Bhamjee who was the first Muslim TD.
The Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013 defines the constituency as:
"The county of Clare, except the part thereof which is comprised in the constituency of Limerick City."TDs
Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns. For details of the order in which seats were won at each election, see the detailed results of that election.
1968 by-election
Following the death of Fine Gael TD William Murphy, a by-election was held on 14 March 1968. The seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Sylvester Barrett.
1959 by-election
Following the election of Éamon de Valera as President of Ireland, a by-election was held on 22 July 1959. The seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Seán Ó Ceallaigh.
1945 by-election
Following the death of Fine Gael TD Patrick Burke, a by-election was held on 4 December 1945. The seat was won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Patrick Shanahan.