# Carlow (UK Parliament constituency)

Carlow was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) from 1801 to 1885.

## History and boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Carlow in County Carlow. It succeeded the two-seat constituency of Carlow in the Irish House of Commons. Its one MP was chosen by lot to sit in the First Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1801.
The borough was defined by the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 as:
   "From the Point below the Town at which the River Barrow is met by the Southern Wall of the Grounds of the House belonging to Mr. Carey, Adjutant to the Carlow Militia, Eastward, along the said Wall to the Point at which the same meets the Kilkenny Road; thence in a straight Line to the Southern Corner of the Infirmary; thence in a straight Line to the Point a little above the Barracks at which the River Burren is joined by a small Stream; thence up the said Stream, and across the Tullow Road, to the Point at which the same Stream is met by a Hedge which runs down thereto from opposite the Southern End of the Plantation attached to the House on the Baltinglass Road which belongs to Mr. Hunt and is occupied by Mr. Butler; thence along the said Hedge to the Point at which the same meets the Baltinglass Road; thence in a straight Line in the Direction of the Cupola of the Lunatic Asylum to the Point at which such straight Line cuts a Road which runs between the Baltinglass Road and the Dublin Road; thence in a straight Line to a Gate on the Eastern Side of the Dublin Road which is distant about One hundred Yards to the North of the North-eastern Corner of the Enclosure Wall of the Lunatic Asylum; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the Road to Athy is met by the North Boundary of the Demesne of the Roman Catholic Bishop; thence along the said Boundary till it meets the River at the Point; thence along the River to the North Corner of the Wall of the Burial Ground; thence in a straight Line to the Spire of Graigue Church; thence in a straight Line to the Summer House in Mr. Wilson's Garden; thence in a straight Line to the Point first described."
It was disfranchised by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, becoming part of the constituency of County Carlow.

## Members of Parliament

Notable MPs for Carlow included F. J. Robinson, later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as Viscount Goderich, the zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors, and the historian and writer John Dalberg-Acton, later known as Lord Acton.
| Election | Member | Party | Party | Note |
| 1801 | Hon. Henry Prittie | | | Succeeded as the 2nd Baron Dunalley |
| 1801 | Hon. Francis Aldborough Prittie | | | Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster) |
| 1801 | Charles Ormsby | | Tory | Appointed Recorder of Prince of Wales Island |
| 1806 | Michael Symes | | |
| 1806 | Hon. F. J. Robinson | | Pittite | |
| 1807 | Andrew Strahan | | Tory |
| 1812 | Frederick Falkiner | | |
| 1818 | Charles Harvey-Saville-Onley | | Tory |
| 1826 | Charles Bury | | Tory | |
| 1830 | Charles Bury | | Tory | |
| 1831 | Charles Bury | | Tory | |
| 1832 | Nicholas Aylward Vigors | | Irish Repeal |
| 1835 | Francis Bruen | | Conservative |
| 1837 | William Henry Maule | | Whig | Appointed a Baron of the English Court of Exchequer |
| 1839 | Francis Bruen | | Conservative | Unseated on petition |
| 1839 | Thomas Gisborne | | Whig | Seated on petition |
| 1841 | Brownlow Layard | | Whig |
| 1847 | John Sadleir | | Whig |
| 1852 | John Sadleir | | Independent Irish | Accepted an office. Defeated for re-election as a Liberal. |
| 1853 | John Alexander | | Conservative |
| 1859 | Sir John Dalberg-Acton, Bt | | Liberal |
| 1865 | Thomas Stock | | Liberal |
| 1868 | William Fagan | | Liberal |
| 1874 | Henry Owen Lewis | | Home Rule |
| 1880 | Charles Dawson | | Home Rule | Member of the Parnellite faction |
| 1885 | 1885 | Constituency merged into County Carlow | Constituency merged into County Carlow | Constituency merged into County Carlow |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Charles Bury | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13 | |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1831: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Charles Bury | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13 | |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1832: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Irish Repeal | Nicholas Aylward Vigors | 145 | 54.7 |
| | Tory | Francis Bruen | 120 | 45.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 25 | 9.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 265 | 95.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 278 | |
| | Irish Repeal gain from Tory | Irish Repeal gain from Tory | Irish Repeal gain from Tory | Irish Repeal gain from Tory |
1835 general election: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Francis Bruen | 150 | 52.8 | +7.5 |
| | Irish Repeal (Whig) | Nicholas Aylward Vigors | 134 | 47.2 | −7.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16 | 5.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 284 | 92.5 | −2.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 307 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Irish Repeal | Conservative gain from Irish Repeal | Swing | +7.5 | |
General election 1837: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | William Henry Maule | 180 | 52.9 | +5.7 |
| | Conservative | Francis Bruen | 158 | 46.5 | −6.3 |
| | Ind. Conservative | Philip Bagenal | 2 | 0.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22 | 6.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 340 | 61.3 | −31.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 555 | | |
| | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | +6.0 | |
Maule was appointed as Baron of the Exchequer in England, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 27 February 1839: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Francis Bruen | 167 | 50.5 | +4.0 |
| | Whig | Thomas Gisborne | 164 | 49.5 | −3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3 | 1.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 331 | c. 59.6 | c. −1.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | c. 555 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +3.7 | |
After meeting 59 times, an election committee amended the poll to 160 for Gisborne and 159 for Bruen and, in July 1839, Gisborne was declared elected.

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Brownlow Layard | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 417 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1847: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | John Sadleir | 164 | 61.9 | N/A |
| | Whig | Brownlow Layard | 101 | 38.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 63 | 23.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 265 | 40.9 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 648 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent Irish | John Sadleir | 112 | 54.1 | −7.8 |
| | Conservative | Robert Clayton Browne | 95 | 45.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17 | 8.2 | −15.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 207 | 87.3 | +46.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 237 | | |
| | Independent Irish gain from Whig | Independent Irish gain from Whig | Swing | N/A | |
Sadleir was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 20 January 1853: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Alexander | 97 | 51.6 | +5.7 |
| | Whig | John Sadleir | 91 | 48.4 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6 | 3.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 188 | 90.4 | +3.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 208 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Independent Irish | Conservative gain from Independent Irish | Swing | +5.7 | |
General election 1857: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Alexander | 127 | 61.7 | +15.8 |
| | Whig | Arthur Edward Valette Ponsonby | 79 | 38.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 48 | 23.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 206 | 85.8 | −1.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 240 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Independent Irish | Conservative gain from Independent Irish | Swing | +15.8 | |
General election 1859: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Dalberg-Acton | 117 | 53.2 | +14.9 |
| | Conservative | John Alexander | 103 | 46.8 | −14.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14 | 6.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 220 | 93.2 | +7.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 236 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +14.9 | |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Thomas Stock | 126 | 54.1 | +0.9 |
| | Conservative | Horace Rochfort | 107 | 45.9 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19 | 8.2 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 233 | 91.4 | −1.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 255 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.9 | |
General election 1868: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William Fagan | 174 | 53.7 | −0.4 |
| | Conservative | Horace Rochfort | 150 | 46.3 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24 | 7.4 | −0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 324 | 92.0 | +0.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 352 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −0.4 | |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Home Rule | Henry Owen Lewis | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 303 | | |
| | Home Rule gain from Liberal | Home Rule gain from Liberal | Home Rule gain from Liberal | Home Rule gain from Liberal | Home Rule gain from Liberal |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Carlow Borough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Parnellite Home Rule League | Charles Dawson | 149 | 52.5 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Henry Thomas Butler | 135 | 47.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14 | 5.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 284 | 94.0 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 302 | | |
| | Home Rule hold | Home Rule hold | Swing | N/A | |