Cavan (UK Parliament constituency)

Cavan
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1801 (1801)1885 (1885)
Number of members Two
Replaced by East Cavan and West Cavan

Cavan was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which from 1801 to 1885 returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Contents

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the whole of County Cavan.

Members of Parliament

From 1801 to 1885 County Cavan was one constituency with two Members of Parliament who both represented the whole of the county.

Election 1st Member 1st Party 2nd Member 2nd Party
1801 Francis Saunderson Tory Nathaniel Sneyd Tory
1802
1806 John Maxwell-Barry Tory
1807
1812
1818
1820
1824 Henry Maxwell Tory
1826 Alexander Saunderson Tory
1830
1831 Sir John Young, Bt. Tory
1832
1835 Conservative Conservative
1837
1839 Somerset Richard Maxwell Conservative
1840 Henry John Clements Conservative
1841
1841
1843 James Pierce Maxwell Conservative
1847 Peelite
1852
1853 Conservative
1855 Robert Burrowes Conservative
1857 Hugh Annesley Conservative
1859
1865 Edward James Saunderson Palmerstonian Liberal
1868 Conservative
1874 Charles Joseph Fay Home Rule League Joseph Gillis Biggar Home Rule League
1880
1885 constituency abolished: see Cavan East and Cavan West

Election results

Elections in the 1800s

1 January 1801 (co-option)
Candidate Party Votes
Francis Saunderson Tory nominated
Nathaniel Sneyd Tory nominated
16 July 1802 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Francis Saunderson Tory unopposed
Nathaniel Sneyd Tory unopposed
17 November 1806 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Nathaniel Sneyd Tory unopposed
John Maxwell-Barry Tory unopposed
18 May 1807 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Nathaniel Sneyd Tory unopposed
John Maxwell-Barry Tory unopposed

Elections in the 1810s

21 October 1812 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Nathaniel Sneyd Tory unopposed
John Maxwell-Barry Tory unopposed
29 June 1818 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Nathaniel Sneyd Tory unopposed
John Maxwell-Barry Tory unopposed

Elections in the 1820s

18 March 1820 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Nathaniel Sneyd Tory unopposed
John Maxwell-Barry Tory unopposed
1824 (By-election)
John Maxwell-Barry, who had succeeded as 5th Baron Farnham on the 23 July 1823, was replaced by Henry Maxwell on the 24 February 1824.
28 June 1826 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Henry Maxwell Tory 2,854 - elected
Alexander Saunderson Tory 2,673 - elected
Robert Henry Southwell 1,917 - defeated
Charles Coote 1,901 - defeated

Elections in the 1830s

12 August 1830 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Henry Maxwell Tory 786 - elected
Alexander Saunderson Tory 452 - elected
Sir William Young, Bt. 287 - defeated
19 May 1831 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Henry Maxwell Tory 664 - elected
John Young Tory 614 - elected
Robert Henry Southwell 331 - defeated
17 December 1832 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Henry Maxwell Tory unopposed
John Young Tory unopposed
14 January 1835 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Henry Maxwell Conservative unopposed
John Young Conservative unopposed
10 August 1837 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Henry Maxwell Conservative unopposed
John Young Conservative unopposed
1839 and 1840 (By-elections)
Henry Maxwell, who had succeeded as 7th Baron Farnham on the 19 October 1838, was replaced by Somerset Richard Maxwell on the 18 February 1839, however, he resigned the next year and was replaced by Henry John Clements on the 12 August 1840.

Elections in the 1840s

1841 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
John Young Conservative unopposed
Henry John Clements Conservative unopposed
1841 (By-election)
John Young was appointed on the 30 September 1841 as a Commissioner of the Treasury and resigned as M.P. for Cavan, but was re-elected later the same year.
1843 (By-election)
Henry John Clements died on the 12 January 1843 and was replaced by James Pierce Maxwell on the 17 February 1843.
9 August 1847 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
James Pierce Maxwell Conservative unopposed
John Young* Peelite unopposed
* He succeeded a baronetcy in 1848 and became Sir John Young, Bt.

Elections in the 1850s

16 July 1852 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
James Pierce Maxwell Conservative 2,252 - elected
Sir John Young, Bt. Peelite 2,049 - elected
Hercules Ellis Liberal 727 - defeated
1853 (By-election)
Sir John Young was appointed in 1853 as Chief Secretary of Ireland and resigned as M.P. for Cavan, but was re-elected on the 10 January 1853, but this time for the Conservative Party. Two years later a by-election was created when Sir John Young resigned as M.P. for the last time and took up the appointment as Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands.
1855 (By-election)
Candidate Party Votes
Robert Burrowes Conservative 2,163 - elected
Henry George Hughes, Q.C. Liberal 1,866 - defeated
13 April 1857 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
James Pierce Maxwell Conservative 3,164 - elected
Hugh Annesley Conservative 2,164 - elected
Matthew O'Reilly Dease Liberal 1,409 - defeated
9 May 1859 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
James Pierce Maxwell Conservative unopposed
Hugh Annesley Conservative unopposed

Elections in the 1860s

1865 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Hugh Annesley Conservative unopposed
Edward James Saunderson Palmerstonian Liberal unopposed
23 November 1868 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Hugh Annesley Conservative unopposed
Edward James Saunderson Conservative unopposed

Elections in the 1870s

1874 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Charles Joseph Fay Home Rule League elected
Joseph Gillis Biggar Home Rule League elected
Edward James Saunderson Conservative defeated

Elections in the 1880s

9 April 1880 (General election)
Candidate Party Votes
Charles Joseph Fay Home Rule League 3,097 - elected
Joseph Gillis Biggar Home Rule League 3,061 - elected
Somerset Henry Maxwell Conservative 2,233 - defeated

References