# Wicklow (UK Parliament constituency)

County Wicklow was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
At the 1885 general election, under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, County Wicklow was divided into two parliamentary divisions: East Wicklow and West Wicklow.

## Boundaries

This constituency comprised the whole of County Wicklow.

## Members of Parliament

| Year | 1st Member | 1st Member | 1st Party | 2nd Member | 2nd Member | 2nd Party |
| 1801 | | William Hoare Hume | | | vacant until the by-election held in Jan 1801 | |
| Jan 1801 | | William Hoare Hume | | | George Ponsonby | Whig |
| 1806 | | William Hoare Hume | | | William Tighe | |
| Feb 1816 | | Hon. Granville Proby | Whig | | William Tighe | |
| Apr 1816 | | Hon. Granville Proby | Whig | | George Ponsonby | Whig |
| Aug 1817 | | Hon. Granville Proby | Whig | | William Parnell-Hayes | |
| 1821 | | Hon. Granville Proby | Whig | | James Grattan | Whig |
| Jul 1829 | | Sir Ralph Howard, Bt | Whig | | James Grattan | Whig |
| 1841 | | Sir Ralph Howard, Bt | Whig | | William Acton | Conservative |
| 1847 | | Viscount Milton | Whig | | William Acton | Conservative |
| Apr 1848 | | Viscount Milton | Whig | | Sir Ralph Howard, Bt | Whig |
| 1852 | | Viscount Milton | Whig | | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | Conservative |
| Feb 1858 | | Lord Proby | Whig | | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | Conservative |
| 1859 | | Lord Proby | Liberal | | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | Conservative |
| Nov 1868 | | Hon. Henry Wentworth-FitzWilliam | Liberal | | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | Conservative |
| 1874 | | William Richard O'Byrne | Home Rule League | | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | Conservative |
| 1880 | | William Joseph Corbet | Parnellite Home Rule League | | James Carlile McCoan | Parnellite Home Rule League |
| 1881 | | William Joseph Corbet | Parnellite Home Rule League | | James Carlile McCoan | Independent |
| 1885 | Constituency divided: see East Wicklow and West Wicklow | Constituency divided: see East Wicklow and West Wicklow | Constituency divided: see East Wicklow and West Wicklow | Constituency divided: see East Wicklow and West Wicklow | Constituency divided: see East Wicklow and West Wicklow | Constituency divided: see East Wicklow and West Wicklow |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | James Grattan | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig | Ralph Howard | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 785 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1831: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | James Grattan | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig | Ralph Howard | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 785 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1832: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | James Grattan | 717 | 32.3 |
| | Whig | Ralph Howard | 710 | 32.0 |
| | Tory | William Acton | 661 | 29.8 |
| | Tory | John Humphreys | 132 | 5.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 49 | 2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,384 | 88.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,566 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1835: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | James Grattan | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig | Ralph Howard | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,679 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1837: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | James Grattan | 697 | 34.5 |
| | Whig | Ralph Howard | 696 | 34.4 |
| | Conservative | William Acton | 623 | 30.8 |
| | Conservative | John Humphreys | 6 | 0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 73 | 3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,323 | 69.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,900 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Acton | 663 | 36.2 | +5.1 |
| | Whig | Ralph Howard | 603 | 33.0 | −1.4 |
| | Whig | James Grattan | 563 | 30.8 | −3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 100 | 5.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,235 | 80.7 | +11.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,530 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +5.1 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −2.0 | |
General election 1847: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | William Wentworth-FitzWilliam | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | William Acton | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,836 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
Acton resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.
By-election, 27 April 1848: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Ralph Howard | 368 | 50.9 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Charles Monck | 355 | 49.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 723 | 52.2 (est) | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,386 (1847 figure) | | |
| | Whig gain from Conservative | Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | William Wentworth-FitzWilliam | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Hume | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,330 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1857: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | William Wentworth-FitzWilliam | 1,970 | 42.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Hume | 1,610 | 34.9 | N/A |
| | Whig | Richard Monck | 1,030 | 22.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,305 (est) | 68.6 (est) | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,358 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 360 | 7.8 | N/A |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | N/A | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 580 | 12.6 | N/A |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |
Wentworth-FitzWilliam succeeded to the peerage, becoming 6th Earl FitzWilliam, causing a by-election.
By-election, 25 February 1858: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Granville Proby | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1859: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Granville Proby | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Hume | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,368 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
Proby was appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 18 July 1859: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Granville Proby | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,368 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Granville Proby | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,537 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |
General election 1868: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Henry Wentworth-FitzWilliam | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Conservative | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,613 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Conservative hold |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Home Rule | William Richard O'Byrne | 1,511 | 36.6 | New |
| | Conservative | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | 1,141 | 27.6 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Henry Wentworth-FitzWilliam | 927 | 22.4 | N/A |
| | Home Rule | John Howard Parnell | 553 | 13.4 | New |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,066 (est) | 57.7 (est) | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,579 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 584 | 14.2 | N/A |
| | Home Rule gain from Liberal | Home Rule gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 214 | 5.2 | N/A |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Wicklow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Parnellite Home Rule League | William Joseph Corbet | 1,433 | 30.3 | −6.3 |
| | Parnellite Home Rule League | James Carlile McCoan | 1,240 | 26.3 | +12.9 |
| | Conservative | William Wentworth FitzWilliam Dick | 1,233 | 26.1 | +12.3 |
| | Conservative | Robert Cornwallis Gun-Cunninghame | 451 | 9.5 | −4.3 |
| | Liberal | David Mahony | 366 | 7.7 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,362 (est) | 71.3 (est) | +13.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,312 | | |
| | Home Rule hold | Home Rule hold | Swing | −1.0 | |
| | Home Rule gain from Conservative | Home Rule gain from Conservative | Swing | +0.3 | |