Laois-Offaly (Dáil Éireann constituency)
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Laoighis-Offaly (formerly Leix-Offaly, soon to be renamed Laois-Offaly) is a constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency has an electorate of 95,373 and at present is served by 5 Teachtaí Dála (TDs). The method of election is the Single Transferable Vote.
It is spans the entire area of County Laois (known before independence as Queen's County) and County Offaly (previously known as King's County). It includes the towns of Tullamore, Birr, Portarlington and Portlaoise.
One of the most high profile TDs in the constituency is Brian Cowen, the current Minister for Finance. Another well known deputy from the area is Tom Parlon, a former president of the Irish Farmers Association and current Minister of State.
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[edit] Recent results
| 2002 General Election: Laois-Offaly | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Brian Cowen | Fianna Fáil | 12,529 | 19.80 | 1 | 1 | |
| Tom Parlon | Progressive Democrats | 9,088 | 14.36 | 2 | 5 | |
| Olwyn Enright | Fine Gael | 8,053 | 12.72 | 3 | 6 | |
| John Moloney | Fianna Fáil | 8,093 | 12.79 | 4 | 6 | |
| Seán Fleming | Fianna Fáil | 7,091 | 11.20 | 5 | 6 | |
| Charles Flanagan | Fine Gael | 6,500 | 10.27 | |||
| Ger Killally | Fianna Fáil | 4,719 | 7.46 | |||
| Brian Stanley | Sinn Féin | 2,600 | 4.11 | |||
| Molly Buckley | Independent | 1,695 | 2.68 | |||
| John Dwyer | Labour Party | 1,675 | 2.65 | |||
| Christopher Fettes | Green Party | 520 | 0.82 | |||
| Joe McCormack | Independent | 351 | 0.55 | |||
| John Kelly | Independent | 236 | 0.37 | |||
| Michael Redmond | Christian Solidarity | 142 | 0.22 | |||
[edit] History
Laois-Offaly is the oldest two-county constituency in Ireland, having been created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, and used for the subsequent 1921 general election to the Second Dáil. It has been used at every subsequent general election.
The name of the constituency has been changed twice, to reflect different spellings of the name of County Laois:
- At its creation in 1921, it was known as Leix-Offaly
- In 1961, it was renamed Laoighis-Offaly, which remains its current formal name
- From the 2007 general election it will be known as Laois-Offaly.
[edit] Chronology
- 1918-1921
- For the First Dáil (1919-1921), the Sinn Féin MPs elected in 1918 for the two single-member UK Parliament constituencies of King's County (UK Parliament constituency) and Queen's County (UK Parliament constituency) boycotted the British House of Commons and joined the revolutionary assembly in Dublin. In the Dáil the Queen's County constituency was known as Leix (as mentioned in the list of Deputies present read out in English on the second day of the session, and implied by the use of Co. Laoise in the Irish list used on the first day). King's County also seems to have been known by a different name. The Irish form used was Co. Uí Fáilghe, which seems close to the modern Irish language name for Offaly.
- 1921-1923
- The two counties were combined in a single four-member constituency for the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The Sinn Féin candidates elected unopposed preferred to sit in the Second Dáil (1921-1922). In the Dáil the Irish form of the constituency name was Co. Laoighise agus Co. O bhFáilghe. Leix and Offaly seem to be the versions used in English. The four-seat constituency was also used for the Third Dáil (1922-1923). In the Irish Free State the official name in English of the constituency was undoutedly Leix-Offaly (see the list of constituencies mentioned in the motion passed by the Second Dáil on 20 May 1922 and the Electoral Act 1923 (No. 12/1923)).
- 1923-1961
- The constituency was granted a fifth seat.
- 1961-dissolution of the present Dáil
- In the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1961 (No. 19/1961) the constituency was renamed Laoighis-Offaly, but was otherwise unchanged.
- In the 30th Dáil
- Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005 (No. 16/205) the official name of the constituency will become Laois-Offaly, but it is otherwise unchanged.
[edit] Former TDs
[edit] See also
- Politics of the Republic of Ireland
- List of political parties in Ireland
- List of Irish by-elections
- Elections in Ireland
