The parliamentary borough of Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland, was represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a borough constituency from 1801 to 1870 by one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first past the post system of election. It succeeded the two-seat constituency of Sligo represented in the Irish House of Commons until the abolition of the Irish Parliament on 1 January 1801 under the Acts of Union 1800. It was disfranchised under the Sligo and Cashel Disfranchisement Act 1870.

Boundaries Its boundaries were reviewed in January 1832 and found that there was no boundary to the borough defined by charter, but considered that it could be defined relative to the Sligo Town Government Act 1803. It was defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832, which defined the area of the parliamentary borough as:

Under the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868, its boundaries were extended to include all of the municipal borough of Sligo. These had been defined in the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 as:

Abolition Numerous elections were overturned on petition by the losing candidate; after the 1868 election was overturned, a Royal Commission established under the Parliamentary Elections Act 1868 examined the matter and reported that "at the last three elections of members to serve in Parliament for the Borough of Sligo, corrupt practices have extensively prevailed."Commission 1870, p.viii Parliament passed the Sligo and Cashel Disfranchisement Act 1870 which was given royal assent on 1 August 1870.; The act disfranchised Sligo as well as Cashel, another Irish borough. The area of Sligo became part of the County Sligo constituency. In 1881 Thomas Sexton, one of two MPs for County Sligo, introduced a private member's bill to re-enfranchise the borough, which was defeated on second reading.

Members of Parliament ElectionMPPartyNote 1 January 1801 Owen Wynne Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster) 16 July 1806 Col. George Canning A cousin of his successor Rt Hon George Canning 5 November 1812 Rt Hon George Canning 1812: Also returned by and elected to sit for Liverpool. Subsequently, Prime Minister 1827. 5 April 1813 Joshua Spencer Resigned (appointed Escheator of Munster) 27 March 1815 Sir Brent Spencer 29 June 1818 John Bent 21 March 1820 Owen Wynne 4 August 1830 John Arthur Wynne 21 December 1832 John Martin 5 August 1837 John Patrick Somers There were many disturbances in the election campaign.; ; 9 July 1841 Unseated on petition - new writ issued 11 April 1848 Charles Towneley Unseated on petition - new writ issued. 15 July 1848 John Patrick Somers 15 July 1852Charles Towneley Unseated on petition - new writ issued.; Henry Stonor, convicted of electoral bribery, was later appointed a judge in Victoria, Australia, The Stonor scandal inspired the character of Mr Romer in Anthony Trollope's Doctor Thorne. 8 July 1853 John Sadleir Died. 8 March 1856 Rt Hon. John Arthur Wynne Election upheld after petitions were rejected. 2 April 1857 John Patrick Somers Unseated on petition.; 31 July 1857 Rt Hon. John Arthur Wynne Declared duly elected on petition. Resigned 9 August 1860 Francis Macdonogh 15 July 1865 Richard Armstrong 20 November 1868 Lawrence Edward Knox Election declared void on petition. 1 August 1870 Constituency disenfranchised

Supplemental Note:- 1 Walker (like F. W. S. Craig in his compilations of election results for Great Britain) classifies Whig, Radical and similar candidates as Liberals from 1832. The name Liberal was gradually adopted as a description for the Whigs and politicians allied with them, before the formal creation of the Liberal Party shortly after the 1859 general election.

Elections Elections in the 1830s

Elections in the 1840s

On petition, Somers was unseated, causing a by-election.

On petition, Towneley was unseated, causing a further by-election.

Elections in the 1850s

On petition, Towneley was unseated on 6 June 1853 due to bribery by his agents, causing a by-election.

Sadleir's death caused a by-election.

On petition, the poll was amended due to improperly recorded votes, leaving Wynne with 148 votes and Somers with 147 votes. Wynne was then declared elected on 31 July 1857.

Elections in the 1860s Wynne's resignation caused a by-election.

Knox's election was declared void on 2 March 1869, and no writ was issued to find a replacement MP. The seat was then disenfranchised on 1 August 1870, and absorbed into County Sligo.

References Sources 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)

British Electoral Facts 1832-1987, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services, 5th edition, 1989)

Citations