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The 1829 Clare by-election was notable as this was the first time following the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 that a Roman Catholic MP, Daniel O'Connell was elected.
O'Connell had been elected in the 1828 Clare by-election but as a Catholic he refused to take the Oath and his seat was vacated.
The Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, and the Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, who had previously opposed Catholic participation in Parliament, saw that denying O'Connell his seat would cause outrage and could lead to another rebellion or uprising in Ireland, which was about 85% Catholic. This led directly to the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 allowing Roman Catholics to become MPs.
Simultaneously, the Parliamentary Elections (Ireland) Act 1829 changed the 40 shilling franchise (£2) in Ireland to £10, and it was unclear whether O'Connell would be able to win again with many tenant farmers disenfranchised. This was not tested at the 1829 by-election as O'Connell was the only candidate and so was elected unopposed.
O'Connell did not stand again in Clare at the 1830 general election.
References
- MacDonagh, Oliver (1991). The Life of Daniel O'Connell.
- Foster, R.F. (1988). Modern Ireland, 1600–1972. London: Allen Lane. pp. 301–302. ISBN 0713990104.
- Johnston, Neil (1 March 2013). "The History of the Parliamentary Franchise (Research Paper 13–14)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2023.