Dublin Central (Dáil constituency)
Dublin Central 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) on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). History. A Dublin Central constituency was created for the first time in 1969 and used at the 1969 and 1973 general elections. It originally spanned both sides of the River Liffey and took in inner city Dublin. It was abolished in 1977 as part of the Tullymander with the constituency being  divided between Dublin North-Central, Dublin Cabra and Dublin South-Central. In its current incarnation, the seat was created in 1980, taking in most of the abolished Dublin Cabra constituency together with the inner half of Dublin North-Central and smaller parts of the abolished Dublin Finglas. Boundaries. The Dublin Central constituency is located in the north inner city and suburbs of Dublin and encompasses an area to the north side of the river Liffey including: Stoneybatter, Mountjoy Square, Phibsborough, Cabra, Dorset Street, Henrietta Street, O'Connell Street, Arbour Hill, Navan Road, Glasnevin, North Wall, East Wall and Drumcondra. It comprises  the local electoral areas of Ballymun, North Inner City and Cabra-Finglas. The Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017 defines the constituency as: Constituency profile. Dublin Central is regarded as one of the most social and ethnically diverse constituencies in Ireland. It contains Dublin's main shopping district and financial areas. The constituency consists of largely traditional working class areas such as East Wall, North Strand, Summerhill, Ballybough, Sheriff Street and Cabra with more suburban middle class Glasnevin and Lower Drumcondra on the northern fringes of the constituency. For many years it was the constituency of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern  who won the first seat in the constituency at every election from its creation in 1981 until his retirement in 2011. It was a highly competitive constituency with the Labour Party, Sinn Féin and left-wing independents such as Tony Gregory drawing much support. Fianna Fáil have not been represented in the constituency since the 2011 general election. Elections. 2009 by-election. Following the death of independent TD Tony Gregory, a by-election was held on 5 June 2009. It was won by Independent candidate Maureen O'Sullivan. 1983 by-election. Following the death of Fianna Fáil TD George Colley, a  by-election was held on 23 November 1983. It was won by Fianna Fáil candidate Tom Leonard.