Cavan (UK Parliament constituency)

Cavan
Cavan
Former County constituency; for the House of Commons
1801–1885
Seats	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.

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	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Whigs (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Francis Saunderson	Whig	rowspan="8" style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Nathaniel Sneyd	Tory
1802		Francis Saunderson	Whig
1806	rowspan="5" style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	John Maxwell-Barry	Tory
1807
1812
1818
1820
1824	rowspan="5" style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Henry Maxwell	Tory^[1]
1826	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Whigs (British political party)/meta/color" \|			Alexander Saunderson	Whig^[1]^[2]
1830				Alexander Saunderson	Whig^[1]^[2]
1831	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|			Sir John Young, Bt.	Tory^[1]
1832					Tory^[1]
1835	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|		Conservative^[1]		rowspan="7" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Conservative^[1]
1837			Conservative^[1]
1839	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Somerset Maxwell	Conservative^[1]
1840	rowspan="3" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Henry John Clements	Conservative^[1]
1841
1841
1843	rowspan="7" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	James Maxwell	Conservative
1847	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Peelite/meta/color" \|				Peelite
1852					Peelite
1853	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|				Conservative
1855	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|			Robert Burrowes	Conservative
1857	rowspan="4" style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|			Hugh Annesley	Conservative
1859
1865	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Edward James Saunderson	Palmerstonian Liberal
1869	style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" \|	Edward James Saunderson	Conservative
1874	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Home Rule League/meta/color" \|	Charles Joseph Fay	Home Rule League	rowspan="2" style="background-color: Template:Home Rule League/meta/color" \|	Joseph Biggar	Home Rule League
1880		Charles Joseph Fay	Home Rule League		Joseph Biggar	Home Rule League
1885	constituency abolished: see Cavan East and Cavan West

Election results

Elections in the 1800s

1 January 1801 (co-option)
Candidate		Party	Votes
style="background-color: Template:Whigs (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Francis Saunderson	Whig	nominated
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Nathaniel Sneyd	Tory	nominated

16 July 1802 (General election)
Candidate		Party	Votes
style="background-color: Template:Whigs (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Francis Saunderson	Whig	unopposed
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Nathaniel Sneyd	Tory	unopposed

17 November 1806 (General election)
Candidate		Party	Votes
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Nathaniel Sneyd	Tory	unopposed
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	John Maxwell-Barry	Tory	unopposed

18 May 1807 (General election)
Candidate		Party	Votes
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Nathaniel Sneyd	Tory	unopposed
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	John Maxwell-Barry	Tory	unopposed

Elections in the 1810s

21 October 1812 (General election)
Candidate		Party	Votes
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Nathaniel Sneyd	Tory	unopposed
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	John Maxwell-Barry	Tory	unopposed

29 June 1818 (General election)
Candidate		Party	Votes
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Nathaniel Sneyd	Tory	unopposed
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	John Maxwell-Barry	Tory	unopposed

Elections in the 1820s

18 March 1820 (General election)
Candidate		Party	Votes
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Nathaniel Sneyd	Tory	unopposed
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	John Maxwell-Barry	Tory	unopposed

1824 (By-election)
John Maxwell-Barry, who had succeeded as 5th Baron Farnham on 23 July 1823, was replaced by Henry Maxwell on 24 February 1824.

28 June 1826 (General election)
Candidate		Party	Votes
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Henry Maxwell	Tory	2,854 - elected
style="background-color: Template:Tories (British political party)/meta/color" \|	Alexander Saunderson	Tory	2,673 - elected
	Robert Henry Southwell		1,917 - defeated
	Charles Coote		1,901 - defeated

Elections in the 1830s

General Election 1830: Cavan^[3]^[1]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Henry Maxwell	786	51.5	*N/A*
	Whig	Alexander Saunderson	452	29.6	*New*
	Tory	William Young	287	18.8	N/A
Turnout			879	66.3	N/A
Registered electors			1,325
Majority			334	21.9
	Tory hold		Swing
Majority			165	10.8
	Whig hold		Swing

General Election 1831: Cavan^[3]^[1]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Henry Maxwell	664	41.3	−10.2
	Tory	John Young	614	38.2	+19.4
	Whig	Robert Henry Southwell	331	20.6	−9.0
Majority			283	17.6	−4.3
Turnout			c. 805	c. 60.7	c. −5.6
Registered electors			1,325
	Tory hold		Swing	−2.9
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing	+12.0

General Election 1832: Cavan^[3]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Tory	Henry Maxwell	Unopposed
	Tory	John Young	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,248
	Tory hold
	Tory hold

General Election 1835: Cavan^[3]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Henry Maxwell	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Young	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,241
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

General Election 1837: Cavan^[3]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Henry Maxwell	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Young	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,918
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Maxwell succeeded to the peerage, becoming 7th Baron Farnham and causing a by-election.

By-election, 18 February 1839: Cavan^[3]^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Somerset Maxwell	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1840s

Maxwell resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 12 August 1840: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry John Clements	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General Election 1841: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Henry John Clements	Unopposed
	Conservative	John Young	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,050
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Young was appointed a Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 30 September 1841: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Young	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

Clements' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 17 February 1843: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Maxwell	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General Election 1847: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	James Maxwell	Unopposed
	Peelite	John Young	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,492
	Conservative hold
	Peelite gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Maxwell	2,252	44.8	*N/A*
	Peelite	John Young	2,049	40.8	*N/A*
	Tenant Rights	Hercules Ellis^[5]	727	14.5	New
Turnout			2,514 (est)	65.3	N/A
Registered electors			3,850
Majority			203	4.0	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
Majority			1,322	26.3	N/A
	Peelite hold		Swing	N/A

Young was appointed Chief Secretary of Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 10 January 1853: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	John Young	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,909
	Conservative gain from Peelite

Young resigned after being appointed Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, causing a by-election.

By-election, 13 April 1855: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Burrowes	2,163	53.7	+8.9
	Whig	Henry George Hughes^[6]	1,866	46.3	New
Majority			297	7.4	+3.4
Turnout			4,029	82.1	+16.8
Registered electors			4,909
	Conservative gain from Peelite		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Maxwell	3,164	47.0	+2.2
	Conservative	Hugh Annesley	2,164	32.1	*N/A*
	Radical	Matthew O'Reilly Dease^[7]	1,409	20.9	New
Majority			755	11.2	+7.2
Turnout			4,073 (est)	72.2 (est)	+6.9
Registered electors			5,638
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A
	Conservative gain from Peelite		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	James Maxwell	Unopposed
	Conservative	Hugh Annesley	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,989
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Hugh Annesley	Unopposed
	Liberal	Edward James Saunderson	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,304
	Conservative hold
	Liberal gain from Conservative

General election 1868: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Hugh Annesley	Unopposed
	Liberal	Edward James Saunderson	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,415
	Conservative hold
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Charles Joseph Fay	3,229	37.5	*New*
	Home Rule	Joseph Biggar	3,079	35.7	*New*
	Conservative	Edward James Saunderson	2,310	26.8	N/A
Majority			769	8.9	N/A
Turnout			5,464 (est)	87.8 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			6,225
	Home Rule gain from Conservative		Swing
	Home Rule gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Cavan^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	Charles Joseph Fay	3,097	36.9	−0.6
	Parnellite Home Rule League	Joseph Biggar	3,061	36.5	+0.8
	Conservative	Somerset Maxwell	2,233	26.6	−0.2
Majority			828	9.9	+1.0
Turnout			5,330 (est)	87.4 (est)	−0.4
Registered electors			6,096
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 218–219. Retrieved 10 May 2020 – via Google Books.
^ Farrell, Stephen. "SAUNDERSON, Alexander (1783-1857), of Castle Saunderson, co. Cavan". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
^ ^a ^b Farrell, Stephen. "Co. Cavan". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
^ "Irish Counties". Freeman's Journal. 8 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Carlisle Journal". 20 April 1855. p. 8. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Cavan Election". Newry Telegraph. 9 April 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)
The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973).
Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978).
The Anglo-Celt 150th Anniversary Souvenir Supplement (dated 30 May 1996).

[stookssmith-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Stooks Smith, Henry (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections: Containing the Uncontested Elections Since 1830. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. pp. 218–219. Retrieved 10 May 2020 – via Google Books.

[2] Farrell, Stephen. "SAUNDERSON, Alexander (1783-1857), of Castle Saunderson, co. Cavan". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 10 May 2020.

[walker-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.

[hop1820-1832-4] Farrell, Stephen. "Co. Cavan". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 10 May 2020.

[5] "Irish Counties". Freeman's Journal. 8 July 1852. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[6] "Carlisle Journal". 20 April 1855. p. 8. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[7] "Cavan Election". Newry Telegraph. 9 April 1857. p. 3. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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