# County Antrim (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

County Antrim was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.
Following the Acts of Union 1800 the constituency became Antrim (UK Parliament constituency).

## History

The county constituency was enfranchised as a parliamentary constituency at an uncertain date, between the first known meeting of the Parliament in 1264 and the division of the area into baronies in 1584. It sent two knights of the shire to the Irish House of Commons.
The county was represented in the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, under the Instrument of Government, after it was established in 1654 as part of the constituency of Down, Antrim and Armagh (constituency). Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 the Parliament of Ireland was re-established and the constituency again returned two Members of Parliament. In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, County Antrim was represented with two members.

## Boundaries and Boundary Changes

1264-1800: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis discusses the administrative history of Antrim. It is uncertain when Antrim was made a County and given representation as such in Parliament. Something like the modern arrangements seems to have originated in 1584 when the Lord Deputy Sir John Perrot divided the area into baronies. From whatever point the county constituency existed it comprised the whole of County Antrim, excluding the parts in the borough constituencies of Antrim (from 1666), Belfast (1613), Carrickfergus (1326), Lisburn (1661) and Randalstown (1683).

## Members of Parliament

| Election | First member | First party | | Second member | Second party |
| 1585 | Edward Berkeley | | | Shane McBrien O'Neill | |
| 1613 | Sir Fulke Conway | | | Sir Moyses Hill | |
| 1634 | Arthur Chichester | | | John Clotworthy | |
| 1639 | Arthur Chichester | | | Sir Roger Langford | |
| 1660 | Sir John Clotworthy | | | Sir George Rawdon | |
| 1661 | Sir John Skeffington, Bt | | | John Davys | |
| 1665 | Sir Toby (or John) Poyntz, vice Skeffington succeeded as 2nd Viscount Massereene | | | Conway Hill, Esq, vice Davys, long absent without leave | |
| 1689 Patriot Parliament | Cormack O'Neile | | | Randal MacDonnell | |
| 1692 | Sir Robert Colville | | | Clotworthy Skeffington | |
| 1695 | Sir Robert Colville | | | Arthur Upton | |
| 1697 | Hugh Colville | | | Arthur Upton | |
| 1703 | Clotworthy Skeffington | | | Clotworthy Upton | |
| November 1715 | John Skeffington | | | Clotworthy Upton | |
| 1715 | Sir Arthur Langford, 2nd Bt | | | Clotworthy Upton | |
| 1716 | Thomas Upton | | | Clotworthy Upton | |
| 1725 | Thomas Upton | | | John Upton | |
| 1727 | John Skeffington | | | John Upton | |
| 1741 | Arthur Skeffington | | | Henry Seymour Conway | |
| 1747 | Hugh Skeffington | | | Henry Seymour Conway | |
| 1768 | Viscount Dunluce | | | Viscount Beauchamp | |
| 1776 | Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway | | | James Willson | |
| 1783 | John O'Neill | | | Hon. Hercules Rowley | |
| 1792 | John O'Neill | | | Edward Jones-Agnew | |
| 1794 | Hugh Boyd | | | Edward Jones-Agnew | |
| 1796 | John Staples | | | Edward Jones-Agnew | |
| 1798 | John Staples | | | Edmund Alexander Macnaghten | |
| 1801 | Succeeded by the Westminster constituency Antrim | Succeeded by the Westminster constituency Antrim | Succeeded by the Westminster constituency Antrim | Succeeded by the Westminster constituency Antrim | Succeeded by the Westminster constituency Antrim |

### Notes

* ↑ The Lord Lieutenant wrote to the Sheriff of Antrim on 2 November 1665 recommending Poyntz as the successor of Skeffington, who had inherited a peerage in September as Viscount Massereene. In the absence of evidence to the contrary it is assumed that, in this period, such a recommendation was tantamount to election.
* ↑ Declared not duly elected in 1715.

### Elections

General Election 1761: County Antrim :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Henry Seymour Conway | 663 |
| Hugh Skeffington | 659 |
| John O'Neill | 406 |
| C. O'Hara | 351 |
General Election 1768: County Antrim :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | | Viscount Dunluce | Uncontested | | |
| | | Viscount Beauchamp | Uncontested | | |
General Election 1776: County Antrim :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway | 1,246 |
| James Willson | 1,234 |
| Hugh Skeffington | 1,125 |
| M. Dalway | 1,021 |
General Election 1783: County Antrim :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | | John O'Neill | Uncontested | | |
| | | Hon. Hercules Rowley | Uncontested | | |
General Election 1790: County Antrim :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | | John O'Neill | 1,939 |
| | | Hon. Hercules Rowley | 1,867 |
| | | J. Leslie | 1,708 |
| | | Edmund Alexander Macnaghten | 1,499 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,507 |
County Antrim by-election, 1793 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | | Hugh Boyd | Uncontested | | |
County Antrim by-election, 1795 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | | John Staples | Uncontested | | |
General Election 1797: County Antrim :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | | John Staples | 1,984 |
| | | Edmund Alexander Macnaghten | 1,518 |
| | | Edward Jones-Agnew | 981 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,483 |