Athlone (UK Parliament constituency)

Prior to 1801, the town of Athlone was a two-seat borough constituency in the Irish House of Commons.^[1][2] Under the Acts of Union 1800, which united the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom, it was one of 33 boroughs to retain representation, but was reduced to one MP.^[3] Its first MP in 1801 was chosen by lot.

The right of election was vested in the burgesses and freemen. They numbered 71 in April 1831. By the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1832, the non-resident freemen (except those living within seven miles) were disfranchised and the right to vote was extended to the £10 householders. The registered electorate, in 1832, numbered 243.

Athlone ceased to have parliamentary representation under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, which took effect at the 1885 general election.^[4] The town was then represented in the county constituencies of South Roscommon and South Westmeath.

Before 1832 the limit of the borough, under its charter, was a circle of a mile and a half radius from the centre of the bridge over the River Shannon, which waterway divided the town in two.^[5] However, for electoral purposes, those boundaries were diminished in 1832 and thereafter included only the town and a very small surrounding district, comprising 485 statute acres. A report into the boundaries of the borough of Athlone was undertaken in January 1832. The report found that limits of the borough were not defined, but as the limits were not connected with the elective franchise, it drew a line as closely as possible around the town.^[6] This comprised an area of 439 acres (1.78 km²).

Under the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832, it was defined as:^[7]

From the Point at which the Southern End of the Canal joins the River Shannon, along the Canal, to the Point at which the Northern End thereof joins the River Shannon; thence along the River Shannon to the Point at which the same is met by the North-western Inclosure Wall of the Barracks; thence in a straight Line to the Angle in the Hare Island Road at which the same turns Northward, and at which there are Two Gateways with Pillars opposite each other; thence in a straight Line to a Gateway with Pillars on the Ballymahon Road, about Twenty Yards to the East of the Glebe Wall; thence in a straight Line to the North-eastern Corner of the Wall of the Townland called Anchor's Bower; thence, Southward, along the Wall of Anchor's Bower to the Point at which the same meets the old Dublin Road; thence in a straight Line in the Direction of Mr. Dawson's House in Bunavally to the Point at which such straight Line cuts a small Bye Road which runs into the Dublin Road; thence along the said small Bye Road to the Point at which the same joins the Dublin Road; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the Brideswell Bog Road is joined by a Bye Road leading thereto from the East, about Three hundred Yards from the Point at which the Brideswell Bog Road leaves the Dublin Read; thence in a straight Line in the Direction of the Chimney of Mr. Robinson’s Distillery to the Point at which such straight Line cuts the River Shannon; thence along the River Shannon to the Point first described.

Notes