Dublin University (constituency)
Dublin University (constituency)
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Dublin University (constituency)

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Dublin University (constituency)

Dublin University is a university constituency in Ireland, which elects three senators to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). Its electorate comprises the undergraduate scholars and graduates of the University of Dublin, whose sole constituent college is Trinity College Dublin, so it is often also referred to as the Trinity College constituency. Between 1613 and 1937 it elected MPs or TDs to a series of representative legislative bodies.

When James I first convened the Parliament of Ireland, the University of Dublin was given two MPs, elected by the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of Trinity College. It was not represented among the 30 Irish MPs which were part of the Protectorate Parliament during the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Party organisations were not persistent during this time period, and have been added where appropriate. Among the MPs for the university in this period was John FitzGibbon, who later as Lord Chancellor of Ireland played a key role in the passage of the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Acts of Union 1800 merged the Parliament of Ireland with the Parliament of Great Britain, to form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The 300 seats in the Irish House of Commons were reduced to 100 Irish members in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The union took effect on 1 January 1801. The University of Dublin had one seat in this Parliament. There was no new election for the First Parliament of the United Kingdom: for constituencies like the University of Dublin which were reduced to one MP, they were chosen by lot, in this instance, George Knox.

In the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1832, the university was given a second seat in Parliament, elected by plurality-at-large, and the franchise was extended to all those with a Master of Arts degree. At this stage, there were 2,073 voters on the register. Plural voting, by those who held a vote in the university constituency and also in a geographical one, was allowed and prevalent.

A Topographical Directory of Ireland, published in 1837, describes the parliamentary history of the university.

By charter of James I. the university returned two members to the Irish parliament till the Union; after which time it returned only one member to the Imperial parliament, till the recent Reform act, since which it has returned two. The right of election, which was originally vested solely in the provost, fellows, and scholars, has, by the same act, been extended to all members of the age of 21 years, who had obtained, or should hereafter obtain, a fellowship, scholarship, or the degree of Master of Arts, and whose names should be on the college books : members thus qualified, who had removed their names from the books, were allowed six months to restore them, on paying a fee of £2, and such as continued their names, merely to qualify them to vote, pay annually to the college the sum of £1, or a composition of £5 in lieu of annual payment. The number of names restored under this provision was 3005, and at present the constituency amounts to 3135. The provost is the returning officer.

The Representation of the People Act 1918 extended the electorate to include all male graduates and scholars over the age of 21 and all female graduates and scholars over the age of 30, to be elected by single transferable vote. There were 4,541 voters registered for the 1918 general election. Plural voting continued to be allowed.

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