'National University of Ireland' ('NUI' for short) is a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, through which graduates of the
National University of Ireland have elected members of various legislative bodies including currently
Seanad Éireann.
Summary
| From | To | Chamber | Members |
|---|
| 1918 | 1922 | House of Commons of the United Kingdom | 1 |
| 1921 | 1922 | House of Commons of Southern Ireland | 4 |
| 1922 | 1923 | Dáil Éireann | 4 |
| 1923 | 1937 | Dáil Éireann | 3 |
| 1938 | date | Seanad Éireann | 3 |
''Note: The member elected in 1918 sat in the
First Dáil and the members elected in 1921 served in the
Second Dáil, rather than the bodies to which they were officially elected.''
Representation
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
''NUI'' was enfranchised as a new
university constituency on
1918 and continued to be entitled to be represented by one
Member of Parliament in the
British House of Commons until the dissolution of Parliament on
26 October 1922, shortly before the
Irish Free State became a dominion outside the
United Kingdom on
6 December 1922. The
1918 UK general election took place on
14 December and the results were declared on
28 December, except for the university constituencies. NUI voted between
18 December-
22 December and the result was declared on
23 December.
Eoin MacNeill was elected (and also for
Londonderry City) standing for
Sinn Féin and therefore did not take his seat.
House of Commons of Southern Ireland
The
Government of Ireland Act 1920 established a devolved home rule legislature, within the United Kingdom, for twenty-six Irish counties which were designated
Southern Ireland.
''NUI'' was given four seats in the
House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The seats were filled by four
Sinn Féin MPs, who were returned unopposed. They were amongst the 124 members (out of 128) who boycotted the abortive first meeting of the House.
The Parliament was dissolved as part of the arrangements under the
Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922.
Dáil Éireann
In the
UK general election, 1918,
Sinn Féin contested the election on the basis that they would not take seats in the United Kingdom Parliament but would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin.
The University was, in Irish republican theory, entitled to return one
Teachta Dála (known in English as a Deputy) in 1918 to serve in the
Irish Republic's
First Dáil. This revolutionary body assembled on
21 January 1919.
In republican theory every MP elected in Ireland was a member of the
First Dáil. In practice only Sinn Féin members participated, including the Deputy for the University.
The First Dáil, passed a motion at its last meeting on 10 May 1921, the first three parts of which make explicit the republican view.
# That the Parliamentary elections which are to take place during the present month be regarded as elections to Dáil Éireann.
# That all deputies duly returned at these elections be regarded as members of Dáil Éireann and allowed to take their seats on subscribing to the proposed Oath of Allegiance.
# That the present Dáil dissolve automatically as soon as the new body has been summoned by the President and called to order.
The
Second Dáil first met on
16 August 1921, thereby dissolving the First Dáil.
Sinn Féin had decided to use the polls for the
Northern Ireland House of Commons and the
House of Commons of Southern Ireland as an election for the Irish Republic's
Second Dáil. No actual voting was necessary in
Southern Ireland as all the seats were filled by unopposed returns. Except for
Dublin University all constituencies outside
Northern Ireland elected Sinn Féin TDs.
The National University of Ireland constituency elected four Sinn Féin members unopposed, who participated in the Dáil.
The
Third Dáil elected in 1922 was, in United Kingdom law, initially the
constituent assembly for the
Irish Free State and then the lower house. From this time the Dáil represented only twenty-six Irish counties and did not claim to represent the six counties of
Northern Ireland. Non-Sinn Féin Deputies began to stand for and participate in the Dáil.
In the
Electoral Act 1923 (No. 12/1923), the
Irish Free State defined its own Dáil constituencies. ''National University of Ireland'' was reduced to three seats.
The ''Constitution (Amendment No. 23) Act 1936'' (No. 17/1936) repealed the
Irish Free State constitutional provision for University representation in Dáil Éireann, with effect from the next dissolution of the Oireachtas which took place on
14 June 1937.
Seanad Éireann
When Ireland adopted a new constitution, in 1937, this provided for the universities to be represented in a re-established
Seanad Éireann (the Free State Seanad having been abolished in 1936).
The ''Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937'' (No. 30/1937) gave effect to the new constitutional provision. The election to the Seanad took place in
1938. The 2nd Seanad first met on
27 April 1938.
''NUI'' sends three members to the Seanad.
Proposals to reform the Seanad may lead to the end of university representation or to its modification (in accordance with a 1979 amendment to the Constutution) to permit the graduates of tertiary educational establishments other than the
University of Dublin and the ''National University of Ireland'' to participate in university Seanad elections. No decision has yet been made (as at 2006).
As an example of the abolitionist view see the submission of the
Green Party (Ireland) on Seanad reform, in 2004.
[1]
Boundaries
The '
National University of Ireland' ('NUI') is a
federal university system of constituent universities (previously
university colleges), and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and amended by the Universities Act, 1997.
As part of the redistribution of Parliamentary seats in 1918 'NUI' was enfranchised as a new non-territorial Parliamentary constituency.
Electorate
In 1918 the electorate included all registered male graduates over 21 (or over 19 if in armed services) and female graduates over 30. There were 3,819 voters registered for the 1918 general election. Most, if not all, of those electors would have been
plural voters also entitled to vote in a territorial constituency.
In the
Electoral Act 1923 (No. 12/1923), the
Irish Free State abolished plural voting for University constituencies and enfranchised women on the same terms as men. Qualified voters could then decide whether to register for a University or a territorial constituency but not for both.
The qualifications for an elector to be registered as a University voter were set out in Section 1(2)(c) of the 1923 Act. They were to be registered at "the University constituency comprising a university in which he or she has received a degree other than an honorary degree or, in the case of the University of Dublin, has received such degree as aforesaid, or obtained a foundation scholarship, or, if a woman, obtained a non-foundation scholarship".
Politics of the constituency
Sinn Féin defeated the Irish Parliamentary Party by a two to one margin in 1918. They lost one of their four seats in the 1922 elections. Until around the 1950s elections were largely partisan, but since then independents have tended to predominate.
Electoral System
In 1918 the 'National University of Ireland' was a single member, non-territorial
University constituency which was (in theory) represented as a
Parliament of the United Kingdom constituency 1918-1922. In 1918 the constituency used the
first past the post system.
From 1921 parliamentary representatives of the University were elected using the
single transferable vote method of
proportional representation.
Deputies 1918-1937 and Senators from 1938
''Key to parties: CE
Clann Éireann, CG
Cumann na nGaedhael, FF
Fianna Fáil, FG
Fine Gael, Ind Independent, Lab
Irish Labour Party, N
Nationalist (Irish Parliamentary Party), Rep Republican, SF
Sinn Féin, SFA Sinn Féin (anti-Treaty faction), SFP Sinn Féin (pro-Treaty faction).''
Notes
★ (1) MacNeill was also TD for
Londonderry City 1918-1921,
Londonderry (Derry in the
Oireachtas members database) 1921-1922 and
Clare 1923-1927. He resigned this seart to sit for Clare. He was SFP 1922-1923 and CG 1923-1927. He served as
Ceann Comhairle (equivalent to
speaker in some other legislatures) 1921-1922.
★ (2) Hayes was also elected TD for
Dublin South 1923, but chose to sit for NUI. He was SFP 1922-1923 and CG 1923-1933. He served as Ceann Comhairle 1923-1932.
★ (3) Stockley was SFA 1922-1923. He did not take his seat in the
Third Dáil 1922-1923.
★ (4) Magennis was CE 1926-1927.
★ (5) McGilligan was CG 1924-1933 and FG 1933-1937.
★ (6) Clery did not take his seat in the 5th Dáil 1927.
★ (7) Concannon was Ind 1951-1952.
★ (8) Hussey was FG 1981-1982.
★ (9) Ryan was Lab from
14 January 1999.
★ (10) Ryan currently serves on the
Administrative Panel of the Seanad.
Elections
UK House of Commons and Dáil Éireann
''The
United Kingdom general election, 1918 took place on
14 December and the results were declared on
28 December, except for the university constituencies. 'NUI' voted between
18 December-
22 December and the result was declared on
23 December.''
House of Commons of Southern Ireland and Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
★ '1923 (
27 August)' general election (3 seats)
★ Professor Eoin MacNeill (CG) 418 (elected)
★ Professor Michael Hayes (CG) 343 (elected)
★ Professor William Magennis (CG) 304 (elected)
★ Professor William F.P. Stockley (Rep) ?
★ Professor Hugh Ryan (Rep) ?
★ Miss Agnes Farrelly (Ind) ?
★ ''MacNeill chooses to sit for Clare''
★ '1923 (
2 November)' by-election (1 seat)
★ 1,567 electors; 1,110 voted; turnout 70.84%; quota 556
★ Patrick McGilligan (Ind) 849 (76.49%) (elected)
★ Professor William F.P. Stockley (Rep) 261 (23.51%)
★ '1927 (
9 June)' general election (3 seats)
★ Arthur Edward Clery (Rep) ? (elected)
★ Professor Michael Hayes (CG): Unopposed as Ceann Comhairle
★ Patrick McGilligan (CG) ? (elected)
★ Professor William Magennis (CE) ?
★ Miss Agnes Farrelly (Ind) ?
★ '1927 (
15 September)' general election (3 seats)
★ Professor Michael Hayes (CG): Unopposed as Ceann Comhairle
★ Patrick McGilligan (CG) ? (elected)
★ Professor Michael Tierney (CG) ? (elected)
★ ? (FF) ?
★ '1932 (
16 February)' general election (3 seats)
★ ''Only count'' 3,143 voted; quota (2 elected seats) 1,048
★ Professor Michael Hayes (CG): Unopposed as Ceann Comhairle
★ Conor Alexander Maguire (FF) 1,396 (44.42%) (elected)
★ Patrick McGilligan (CG) 1,321 (42.03%) (elected)
★ Professor Michael Tierney (CG) 426 (13.55%)
★ '1933 (
24 January)' general election (3 seats)
★ ''First count'' 3,770 voted; quota 943
★ Conor Alexander Maguire (FF) 1,306 (34.64%) (elected)
★ Patrick McGilligan (CG) 1,028 (27.27%) (elected)
★ Mrs Helena Concannon (FF) 773 (20.50%) (elected - 2nd count)
★ Professor Michael Hayes (CG) 663 (17.59%)
★ '1936 (November)'
★ ''Seat vacant on appointment of Maguire as a Justice of the
Irish High Court''
Seanad Éireann
★ Electorate 101,952; Valid votes 32,249; Turnout 31.63%; Quota 8,063
References
★ ''Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922'', edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
★ ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume III 1919-1945'', edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1979)
★ ''The Times'' of London, various editions
External links
★ http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0
★ http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html
★ http://acts.oireachtas.ie/zza12y1923.1.html
★ http://www.nui.ie/elections/pdffiles/fullse.pdf
See also
★
National University of Ireland
★
List of Irish constituencies
★
List of UK Parliament Constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland
★
MPs elected in the UK general election, 1918
★
List of Dáil Éireann constituencies in Ireland (historic)
★
Dáil Éireann (1919-1922)
★
Members of the 1st Dáil
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