National University of Ireland (constituency)

National University of Ireland
Seanad Éireann constituency
Current constituency
Created	1938
Seats	3
Senators	Alice Mary Higgins (Ind) Michael McDowell (Ind) Rónán Mullen (Ind)

National University of Ireland (NUI) is a university constituency in Ireland, which currently elects three senators to Seanad Éireann. Its electorate is the graduates of the university, which has a number of constituent universities. It previously elected members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (1918–21), to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland (1921) and to Dáil Éireann (1918–1936).

Representation

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	—	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.

House of Commons of the United Kingdom

National University of Ireland
Former university constituency for the House of Commons
1918–1922

Under the Representation of the People Act 1918, NUI was enfranchised as a new university constituency 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. 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. The 1918 general election took place on 14 December and the results were declared on 28 December, except for the university constituencies. NUI voted between 18–22 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 in Westminster, instead serving as a member of the first Dáil Éireann.

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. At the 1921 Southern Ireland House of Commons election, all 128 seats were elected unopposed. Of these, 124 were Sinn Féin members, who formed the TDs of the Second Dáil. This included the four representatives of the NUI.

The Parliament was dissolved as part of the arrangements under the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922.

Dáil Éireann

National University of Ireland
Former Dáil Éireann Parliamentary constituency
Former constituency
Created	1922
Abolished	1937
Seats	4 (1922–1923) 3 (1923–1937)

In the 1918 general election, 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.

1. That the parliamentary elections which are to take place during the present month be regarded as elections to Dáil Éireann.
2. 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.
3. 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 House of Commons of Northern Ireland 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 University of Dublin 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.

From the Electoral Act 1923 the Irish Free State defined its own Dáil constituencies. National University of Ireland was reduced to three seats. This Act 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".

The Constitution (Amendment No. 23) Act 1936 repealed provision of the Constitution of the Irish Free State providing for University representation in Dáil Éireann, with effect from the next dissolution of the Oireachtas which took place on 14 June 1937. The seat left vacant by Conor Maguire in 1936 on his appointment to the High Court was not filled.

Teachtaí Dála (TDs) for National University of Ireland 1918–1937{{{refs}}}
Key to parties   SF = Sinn Féin   PT-SF = Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)   AT-SF = Sinn Féin (Anti-Treaty)   CnaG = Cumann na nGaedheal   FF = Fianna Fáil   Ind = Independent
Dáil	Election	Deputy (Party)		Deputy (Party)		Deputy (Party)		Deputy (Party)
1st	1918		Eoin MacNeill (SF)	1 seats under 1918 Act
2nd	1921				Ada English (SF)		Michael Hayes (SF)		William Stockley (SF)
3rd	1922		Eoin MacNeill (PT-SF)		William Magennis (Ind)		Michael Hayes (PT-SF)		William Stockley (AT-SF)
4th	1923		Eoin MacNeill (CnaG)		William Magennis (CnaG)		Michael Hayes (CnaG)	3 seats from 1923
	1923 by-election		Patrick McGilligan (CnaG)
5th	1927 (Jun)				Arthur Clery (Ind)		Michael Hayes (Ceann Comhairle)
6th	1927 (Sep)				Michael Tierney (CnaG)
7th	1932				Conor Maguire (FF)
8th	1933						Helena Concannon (FF)
	1936				(Vacant)

Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns. For details of the order in which seats were won at each election, see the detailed results of that election.

Seanad Éireann

Article 18.4 of the Constitution of Ireland adopted in 1937, provided that the National University of Ireland would have three seats in the new Seanad Éireann. The Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937 gave effect to this constitutional provision, with graduates of the National University of Ireland entitled to elect Senators by single transferable vote. The first Seanad election took place in 1938, and thereafter elections to the Seanad take place within 90 days of the dissolution of the Dáil. The Seventh Amendment, adopted in 1979, allows for a redistribution of the six university seats among the University of Dublin, the National University of Ireland, and any other institutions of higher education in the State which do not have representation. No legislation followed since to make any such change.

Senators for National University of Ireland 1938–
Key to parties   FF = Fianna Fáil   FG = Fine Gael   Lab = Labour   Ind = Independent
Sen	Election	Senator (Party)		Senator (Party)		Senator (Party)
2nd	1938		Henry Barniville (Ind)		Helena Concannon (FF)		Michael Tierney (Ind)
3rd	1938
4th	1943
5th	1944						Michael Ryan (Ind)
6th	1948						George O'Brien (Ind)
7th	1951
	1953				John Cunningham (Ind)
8th	1954				Roger McHugh (Ind)
9th	1957				Patrick Quinlan (Ind)
10th	1961		Dónall Ó Conalláin (Ind)
11th	1965						Bryan Alton (Ind)
12th	1969		John Horgan (Lab)
13th	1973						Augustine Martin (Ind)
14th	1977		Gemma Hussey (Ind)		John A. Murphy (Ind)
15th	1981		Gemma Hussey (FG)				Liam Ryan (Ind)
16th	1982		James Dooge (FG)				Brendan Ryan (Ind)
17th	1983				Michael D. Higgins (Lab)
18th	1987		Joe O'Toole (Ind)		John A. Murphy (Ind)
19th	1989
20th	1993				Feargal Quinn (Ind)		Joe Lee (Ind)
21st	1997						Brendan Ryan (Ind)
22nd	2002						Brendan Ryan (Lab)
23rd	2007						Rónán Mullen (Ind)
24th	2011		John Crown (Ind)
25th	2016		Michael McDowell (Ind)		Alice Mary Higgins (Ind)

Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns.

Elections

2016 election

2016 Seanad election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Independent	Jerry Beades
	Independent	David Begg
	Independent	Deirdre Burke
	Independent	Pádraig Ó Céidigh
	Independent	Paul D’Alton
	Independent	Martin Khare Daly
	Independent	Máire Darker
	Independent	Karen Devine
	Independent	Owen Joseph Dinneen
	Labour (politician)	Luke Field
	Fine Gael	Pearce Flannery
	Independent	Ross Golden-Bannon
	Labour (politician)	Laura Harmon
	Labour (politician)	Aideen Hayden
	Independent	Rory Hearne
	Independent	Alice-Mary Higgins
	Independent	John Higgins
	Independent	Carol Hunt
	Independent	Barry Johnston
	Independent	Christy Kenneally
	Independent	Michael McDowell
	Independent	Daragh McGreal
	Independent	Michael Sean Molloy
	Independent	Paddy Monahan
	Independent	Rónán Mullen
	Independent	Eddie Murphy
	Independent	Enda Pádraig O'Coineen
	Independent	Ellen O’Malley Dunlop
	Independent	Brendan Price
	Independent	Kieran Alexander Rose

2011 election

2011 Seanad election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Independent	Rónán Mullen	6,459		1	24
	Independent	John Crown	4,703		3	24
	Independent	Feargal Quinn	4,591		2	24
	Independent	Declan Kelleher	3,771
	Independent	Bernardine O'Sullivan	2,028
	Independent	Donncha O'Connell	1,629
	Independent	Helen Keogh	1,362
	Independent	Regina O'Connor	1,101
	Independent	Linda O'Shea Farren	1,083
	Independent	Paddy Healy	947
	Green	Niall Ó Brolcháin	718
	Independent	Brendan Price	671
	Independent	James Doorley	655
	Independent	Peter Mooney	547
	Sinn Féin	Eoin Ó Broin	490
	Independent	Michael Molloy	484
	Independent	Paul Lynam	476
	Independent	Thomas Canning	354
	Independent	James Coyle	307
	Independent	John Kennedy	279
	Independent	David McCurtin	262
	Independent	Francis O'Donnell	199
	Independent	Daniel K. Sullivan	193
	Independent	Diarmaid Ó Cadhla	182
	Independent	James O'Donoughue	154
	Independent	Mick Langan	129
	Independent	Matthias Cowley	57
Electorate: ?   Valid: 33,831   Quota: 8,458   Turnout:

2007 election

2007 Seanad election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Independent	Joe O'Toole	5,412		1	21
	Independent	Rónán Mullen	4,661		3	21
	Independent	Feargal Quinn	3,863		2	21
	Labour	Brendan Ryan	3,283
	Independent	Valerie Bresnihan	3,282
	Independent	Bernardine O'Sullivan	2,395
	Independent	John Hillery	1,734
	Independent	Paddy Healy	1,393
	Fine Gael	John Kennedy	1,303
	Independent	Brendan Price	1,289
	Independent	Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh	1,005
	Independent	Mark Garavan	951
	Fianna Fáil	Liam Crowley	814
	Independent	Susan Philips	706
	Green	Martin Hogan	683
	Independent	Martina Lowe	596
	Independent	Linda O'Shea Farren	563
	Independent	Mary O'Riordan	538
	Independent	Daniel K. Sullivan	372
	Independent	Oonagh Monahan	327
	Independent	Bernie O'Callaghan	305
	Independent	Shane Brodbin	220
	Fathers Rights	Liam Ó Gógáin	174
	Independent	Mark Connolly	120
Electorate: ?   Valid: 35,989   Quota: 8,998   Turnout:

2002 election

2002 Seanad election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Independent	Feargal Quinn	5,640	17.5	1	12
	Independent	Joe O'Toole	5,463	16.9	2	13
	Labour	Brendan Ryan	4,264	13.2	3	13
	Independent	Bernardine O'Sullivan	4,054	12.6
	Independent	Valerie Bresnihan	2,856	8.9
	Independent	Brendan Price	2,035	6.3
	Independent	Linda O'Shea Farren	1,533	4.8
	Independent	Pierce Purcell	1,295	4.0
	Independent	Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh	1,273	4.0
	Independent	Jim O'Callaghan	1,239	3.8
	Independent	Michael Griffin	961	3.0
	Independent	Matthew Harmey	590	1.8
	Independent	Noel Murphy	356	1.1
	Independent	Michael Cosgrave	273	0.9
	Independent	Colm O'Higgins	226	0.7
	Independent	Liam Ó Gógáin	191	0.6
Electorate: 101,952   Valid: 32,249   Quota: 8,063   Turnout: 31.6%

1933 election

1933 Dáil election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Fianna Fáil	Conor Maguire	1,306	34.6	1	1
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Patrick McGilligan	1,028	27.3	2	1
	Fianna Fáil	Helena Concannon	773	20.5	2	3
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Michael Hayes	664	17.6
Electorate: 4,655   Valid: 3,771   Quota: 943   Turnout: 81.0%

• Seat vacant in November 1936 on appointment of Maguire as a Justice of the High Court

1932 election

1932 Dáil election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Ceann Comhairle	Michael Hayes	Automatically returned	N/A	1	1
	Fianna Fáil	Conor Maguire	1,396	44.3	2	1
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Patrick McGilligan	1,332	42.2	3	1
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Michael Tierney	426	13.5
Electorate: ?   Valid: 3,154   Quota: 1,052   Turnout:

September 1927 election

September 1927 Dáil election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Ceann Comhairle	Michael Hayes	Automatically returned	N/A	1	1
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Patrick McGilligan	1,229	55.8	2	1
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Michael Tierney	319	14.5	3
	Fianna Fáil	Conor Maguire	652	29.6
Electorate: ?   Valid: 2,200   Quota: 734   Turnout:

June 1927 election

June 1927 Dáil election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Ceann Comhairle	Michael Hayes	Automatically returned	N/A	1	1
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Patrick McGilligan	1,090	50.7	2	1
	Independent	Arthur Clery	514	23.9	3	4
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Eoin MacNeill	228	10.6
	Independent	Agnes O'Farrelly	163	7.6
	Clann Éireann	William Magennis	155	7.2
Electorate: ?   Valid: 2,150   Quota: 717   Turnout:

1923 by-election

1923 Dáil by-election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Patrick McGilligan	849	76.5	1	1
	Republican	William Stockley	261	23.5
Electorate: 1,567   Valid: 1,110   Quota: 556   Turnout: 70.8%

• By-election was caused by the resignation of Eoin MacNeill.

1923 election

1923 Dáil election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Eoin MacNeill	418	34.8	1
	Cumann na nGaedheal	Michael Hayes	210	17.5	2
	Cumann na nGaedheal	William Magennis	201	16.7	3
	Republican	William Stockley	144	12.0
	Independent	Agnes O'Farrelly	136	11.3
	Republican	Hugh Ryan	93	7.7
Electorate: 1,561   Valid: 1,202   Quota: 301   Turnout: 77.0%

• Hayes also stood successfully for Dublin South but chose to sit for this constituency.
• MacNeill also stood successfully for Clare and chose to sit for that constituency.

1922 election

1922 Dáil election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)	Eoin MacNeill	888	33.7	1	1
	Sinn Féin (Pro-Treaty)	Michael Hayes	294	11.2	2	2
	Sinn Féin (Anti-Treaty)	William Stockley	349	13.2	3	3
	Independent	William Magennis	381	14.5	4	4
	Independent	Arthur W. Conway	410	15.6
	Sinn Féin (Anti-Treaty)	Ada English	314	11.9
Electorate: 5,053   Valid: 2,636   Quota: 528   Turnout: 52.2%

1921 election

1921 Southern Ireland House of Commons election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Sinn Féin	Ada English	Unopposed	N/A	1
	Sinn Féin	Michael Hayes	Unopposed	N/A	2
	Sinn Féin	Eoin MacNeill	Unopposed	N/A	3
	Sinn Féin	William Stockley	Unopposed	N/A	4

Sinn Féin refused to recognise the Southern Ireland House of Commons and took their seats as TDs in the Second Dáil.

1918 election

The 1918 general election took place on 14 December and the results were declared on 28 December, except for the university constituencies. NUI voted between 18–22 December and the result was declared on 23 December.

1918 Westminster election: National University of Ireland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Eoin MacNeill	1,644	66.9	N/A
	Irish Parliamentary	Arthur W. Conway	813	33.1	N/A
Majority			831	33.8	N/A
Turnout			2,457	64.3	N/A

In common with other Sinn Féin MPs, Eoin MacNeill abstained from Westminster and took his seat as a TD in the First Dáil. He was also elected for Londonderry City.

See also

• List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland
• MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1918
• List of historic Dáil Éireann constituencies
• Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic)

Sources

• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)