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National University of Ireland (NUI for short) is a constituency in Ireland, which has been used to elect members of various legislative bodies including currently Seanad Éireann.

Summary

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 officialy elected.

Representation

House of Commons of the United Kingdom

NUI was enfranchised as a new university constituency on 1918 and continued to be entitled to be represented by one Member of Parliament in the 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.

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. The seats were filled by Sinn Féin MPs who were returned unopposed. They were amongst the 124 members (out of 128) who boycotted the abortive first meeting of the House.

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

Dáil Éireann

In the UK general election, 1918 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 Teachtaí 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 Eireann.
• 2. That all deputies duly returned at these elections be regarded as members of Dáil Eireann 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 Northern Ireland House of Commons 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 Dublin University all constituencies outside Northern Ireland elected Sinn Féin TDs.

The University elected four Sinn Féin members unopposed, who participated in the Dáil.

The Third Dáil elected in 1922 was, in United Kingdom law, the constituent assembly for the Irish Free State. From this time the Dáil represented only the twenty-six Irish counties and not the six counties of Northern Ireland. Non-Sinn Féin Deputies began to participate in the Dáil.

In the Electoral Act 1923 (No. 12/1923), the Irish Free State defined its own Dáil constituencies. National University of Ireland was reduced to three seats.

The Constitution (Amendment No. 23) Act 1936 (No. 17/1936) repealed the Irish Free State constitutional provision for University representation in Dáil Éireann, with effect from the next dissolution of the Oireachtas which took place on 14 June 1937.

Seanad Éireann

When Ireland adopted a new constitution, in 1937, this provided for the universities to be represented in a re-established Seanad Éireann (the Free State Seanad having been abolished in 1936).

The Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937 (No. 30/1937) gave effect to the new constititional provision. The election to the Seanad took place in 1938. The 2nd Seanad first met on 27 April 1938.

NUI sends three members to the Seanad.

Recent proposals to reform the Seanad may lead to the end of university representation or to its modification to permit the graduates of tertiary educational establishments other than the University of Dublin and the National University of Ireland to participate in university Seanad elections. No decision has yet been made.

Boundaries

The National University of Ireland (NUI) is a federal university system of constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908.

As part of the redistribution of Parliamentary seats in 1918 NUI was enfranchised as a new non-territorial Parliamentary constituency.

Electorate

In 1918 the electorate included all registered graduates of the University. Male graduates qualified to vote if they had attained the age of 21 but female ones had to be at least 30 to acquire the franchise. 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.

In the Electoral Act 1923 (No. 12/1923), the Irish Free State 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 or, in the case of the University of Dublin, has received such degree as aforesaid, or obtained a foundation scholarship, or, if a woman, obtained a non-foundation scholarship".

Politics of the constituency

Sinn Féin defeated the Irish Parliamentary Party by a two to one margin, in 1918.

Electoral System

In 1918 the constituency used the first past the post system.

From 1921 parliamentary representatives of the University were elected using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation.

Deputies 1918-1937 and Senators from 1938

Key to parties: CE Clann Éireann, CG Cumann na nGaedhael, FF Fianna Fáil, FG Fine Gael, Ind Independent, N Nationalist (Irish Parliamentary Party), Rep Republican, SF Sinn Féin, SFA Sinn Féin (anti-Treaty faction), SFP Sinn Féin (pro-Treaty faction).

Notes

• (1) MacNeill was also TD for Londonderry City 1918-1921, Londonderry (Derry in the Oireachtas members database) 1921-1922 and Clare 1923-1927. He resigned this seart to sit for Clare. He was SFP 1922-1923 and CG 1923-1927. He served as Ceann Comhairle (equivalent to Speaker in some other legislatures) 1921-1922.
• (2) Hayes was also elected TD for Dublin South 1923, but chose to sit for NUI. He was SFP 1922-1923 and CG 1923-1933. He served as Ceann Comhairle 1923-1932.
• (3) Stockley was SFA 1922-1923. He did not take his seat in the Third Dáil 1922-1923.
• (4) Magennis was CE 1926-1927.
• (5) McGilligan was CG 1924-1933 and FG 1933-1937.
• (6) Clery did not take his seat in the 5th Dáil 1927.

Elections

Dáil Éireann

Note: The 1918 and 1921 elections are included in this section as the winners sat in the Dáil rather than the Parliament they were officialy elected to.

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

• 1922 (16 June) general election (4 seats)
• Professor Michael Hayes (SFP) ? (elected)
• Professor Eoin MacNeill (SFP) ? (elected)
• Professor William Magennis (Ind) ? (elected)
• Professor William F.P. Stockley (SFA) ? (elected)
• Dr Ada English (SFA) ?
• Professor Arthur William Conway (Ind) ?

• 1923 (27 August) general election (3 seats)
• Professor Eoin MacNeill (CG) 418 (elected)
• Professor Michael Hayes (CG) 343 (elected)
• Professor William Magennis (CG) 304 (elected)
• Professor William F.P. Stockley (Rep) ?
• Professor Hugh Ryan (Rep) ?
• Miss Agnes Farrelly (Ind) ?

• MacNeill chooses to sit for Clare
• 1923 (2 November) by-election (1 seat)
• 1,567 electors; 1,110 voted; turnout 70.84%; quota 556
• Patrick McGilligan (Ind) 849 (76.49%) (elected)
• Professor William F.P. Stockley (Rep) 261 (23.51%)

• 1927 (9 June) general election (3 seats)
• Arthur Edward Clery (Rep) ? (elected)
• Professor Michael Hayes (CG): Unopposed as Ceann Comhairle
• Patrick McGilligan (CG) ? (elected)
• Professor William Magennis (CE) ?
• Miss Agnes Farrelly (Ind) ?

• 1927 (15 September) general election (3 seats)
• Professor Michael Hayes (CG): Unopposed as Ceann Comhairle
• Patrick McGilligan (CG) ? (elected)
• Professor Michael Tierney (CG) ? (elected)
• ? (FF) ?

• 1932 (16 February) general election (3 seats)
• Only count 3,143 voted; quota (2 elected seats) 1,048
• Professor Michael Hayes (CG): Unopposed as Ceann Comhairle
• Conor Alexander Maguire (FF) 1,396 (44.42%) (elected)
• Patrick McGilligan (CG) 1,321 (42.03%) (elected)
• Professor Michael Tierney (CG) 426 (13.55%)

• 1933 (24 January) general election (3 seats)
• First count 3,770 voted; quota 943
• Conor Alexander Maguire (FF) 1,306 (34.64%) (elected)
• Patrick McGilligan (CG) 1,028 (27.27%) (elected)
• Mrs Helena Concannon (FF) 773 (20.50%) (elected - 2nd count)
• Professor Michael Hayes (CG) 663 (17.59%)

• 1936 (November)
• Seat vacant on appointment of Maguire as a Justice of the Irish High Court

Seanad Éireann

• Electorate 101,952; Valid votes 32,247; Turnout 31.63%; Quota 8,062

Reference

• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
• Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume III 1919-1945, edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1979)
• The Times of London, various editions

External Sources

• http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0
• http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html
• http://acts.oireachtas.ie/zza12y1923.1.html

See also

• List of Irish constituencies
• List of UK Parliament Constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland
• MPs elected in the UK general election, 1918
• List of Dáil Éireann constituencies in Ireland (historic)
• Dáil Éireann (1919-1922)
• Members of the 1st Dáil

• History of Ireland 1801-1922
• United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies (historic)
• Parliamentary (Dáil Éireann) constituencies in Ireland (historic)
• Republic of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• National University of Ireland