City council Dublin City | Founded 1948 | |
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Seats 3 (1948–1977)
4 (1977–2016) Created Irish general election, 1948 Abolished Irish general election, 2016 | ||
Dublin South-East was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas, from 1948 to 2016. The method of election was the single transferable vote form of proportional representation (PR-STV).
Contents
Boundaries and history
1948–1961: The Pembroke East, Pembroke West and Rathmines East Wards, the portion of the Rathfarnham Ward lying to the east of a line drawn along Dartry Road and the portion of the Rathmines West Ward lying to the east of a line drawn as follows: Commencing at a point in the ward boundary due north of the middle of Rathmines Road Lower, thence southerly along Rathmines Road Lower and Rathmines Road Upper to the ward boundary.
1961–1969: The Pembroke East, Pembroke West, Rathfarnham, Rathfarnham South and Rathmines East wards.
1969–1977: The Mansion House, Pembroke East, Pembroke West, St. Kevin's and South Dock wards; that part of Rathmines East ward which is not included in the constituency of Dublin South-Central; and that part of Royal Exchange ward which is not included in the constituency of Dublin Central.
1977–1981: The following wards in the county borough of Dublin: Pembroke East A, Pembroke East B, Pembroke East C, Pembroke East D, Pembroke East E, Pembroke West A, Pembroke West B, Pembroke West C, Rathmines East A, Rathmines East B, Rathmines East C, Rathmines East D, Rathmines West C, South Dock; and in the administrative county of Dublin the district electoral division of Dundrum Number One.
1981–1992: In the county borough of Dublin the wards of Mansion House A, Mansion House B, Pembroke East A, Pembroke East B, Pembroke East C, Pembroke East E, Pembroke West A, Pembroke West B, Pembroke West C, Rathfarnham A, Rathmines East A, Rathmines East B, Rathmines East C, Rathmines East D, Rathmines West A, Rathmines West B, Rathmines West C, Rathmines West D, Rathmines West E, Rathmines West F, Royal Exchange A, Royal Exchange B, Saint Kevin's, South Dock, Wood Quay A, Wood Quay B.
1992–1997: In the county borough of Dublin the wards of Mansion House A, Mansion House B, Merchants Quay A, Merchants Quay B, Merchants Quay C, Merchants Quay D, Merchants Quay E, Pembroke East A, Pembroke East B, Pembroke East C, Pembroke East E, Pembroke West A, Pembroke West B, Pembroke West C, Rathfarnham, Rathmines East A, Rathmines East B, Rathmines East C, Rathmines East D, Rathmines West A, Rathmines West B, Rathmines West C, Rathmines West D, Rathmines West E, Rathmines West F, Royal Exchange A, Royal Exchange B, St. Kevin's, South Dock, Ushers B, Wood Quay A, Wood Quay B; and part of the ward of Ushers C.
1997–2002: In the county borough of Dublin the wards of Mansion House A, Mansion House B, Merchants Quay A, Pembroke East A, Pembroke East B, Pembroke East C, Pembroke East D, Pembroke East E, Pembroke West A, Pembroke West B, Pembroke West C, Rathfarnham, Rathmines East A, Rathmines East B, Rathmines East C, Rathmines East D, Rathmines West A, Rathmines West B, Rathmines West C, Rathmines West D, Rathmines West E, Rathmines West F, Royal Exchange A, Royal Exchange B, St. Kevin's, South Dock, Wood Quay A, Wood Quay B; and in the administrative county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown the district electoral divisions of Blackrock-Glenomena, Clonskeagh-Belfield; and part of the district electoral division of Blackrock-Booterstown.
2002–2016: In the city of Dublin the electoral divisions of Mansion House A, Mansion House B, Pembroke East A, Pembroke East B, Pembroke East C, Pembroke East D, Pembroke East E, Pembroke West A, Pembroke West B, Pembroke West C, Rathfarnham, Rathmines East A, Rathmines East B, Rathmines East C, Rathmines East D, Rathmines West A, Rathmines West B, Rathmines West C, Rathmines West D, Rathmines West E, Rathmines West F, Royal Exchange A, Royal Exchange B, St. Kevin's, South Dock, Wood Quay A, Wood Quay B.
The constituency was created under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947 and first contested at the 1948 general election. It included areas such as Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Harolds Cross, Sandymount, Ranelagh, Rathmines, Ringsend and the central business district of the city (including Trinity College, Dublin and St Stephen's Green).
The constituency was abolished and superseded by Dublin Bay South at the 2016 general election.
Constituency profile
By geographical area, Dublin South-East was the smallest constituency in the country. It had a diverse socio-economic profile and a large transient population which is reflected in the turnout: the constituency had one of the lowest turnouts in the country in 2007 and 2011.
Notable Dublin South-East TDs include former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, the former leader of the Progressive Democrats Michael McDowell, maverick left-wing politician Noël Browne and former Minister of Education Ruairi Quinn (who has the distinction of being its longest-serving, first elected in 1977 and continuously elected since February 1982). The former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, unsuccessfully contested the constituency for Fianna Fáil in 1987.
The 'Rumble in Ranelagh' is a term used by Irish journalists to describe an open argument that took place between candidates Michael McDowell and John Gormley in Ranelagh, while canvassing in the 2007 general election. Gormley twice defeated McDowell to take the last seat, in 1997 and again in 2007, both times by relatively small margins. The 1997 result led to a mammoth recount, the longest in Irish political history, before McDowell conceded defeat.
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.