National University of Ireland (constituency) Totally Explained

Everything about National University Of Ireland Constituency totally explained

National University of Ireland (NUI for short) is a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, through which graduates of the National University of Ireland have elected members of various legislative bodies including currently Seanad Éireann.

Summary

From	To	Chamber	Members
1918	1922	House of Commons of the United Kingdom	1
1921	1922	House of Commons of Southern Ireland	4
1922	1923	Dáil Éireann	4
1923	1937	Dáil Éireann	3
1938	date	Seanad Éireann	3

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 officially 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 British 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. The 1918 UK general election 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. Eoin MacNeill was elected (and also for Londonderry City) standing for Sinn Féin and therefore didn't take his seat.

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 four 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 wouldn't 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 Teachta 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.

That the Parliamentary elections which are to take place during the present month be regarded as elections to Dáil Éireann.
That all deputies duly returned at these elections be regarded as members of Dáil Éireann and allowed to take their seats on subscribing to the proposed Oath of Allegiance.
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 National University of Ireland constituency elected four Sinn Féin members unopposed, who participated in the Dáil.
   The Third Dáil elected in 1922 was, in United Kingdom law, initially the constituent assembly for the Irish Free State and then the lower house. From this time the Dáil represented only twenty-six Irish counties and didn't claim to represent the six counties of Northern Ireland. Non-Sinn Féin Deputies began to stand for and 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 constitutional 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.
   Proposals to reform the Seanad may lead to the end of university representation or to its modification (in accordance with a 1979 amendment to the Constutution) 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 (as at 2006).
   As an example of the abolitionist view see the submission of the Green Party (Ireland) on Seanad reform, in 2004. (External Link

)

Boundaries

The National University of Ireland (NUI) is a federal university system of constituent universities (previously university colleges), and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and amended by the Universities Act, 1997.
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 male graduates over 21 (or over 19 if in armed services) and female graduates over 30. 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's 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. They lost one of their four seats in the 1922 elections. Until around the 1950s elections were largely partisan, but since then independents have tended to predominate.

Electoral System

In 1918 the National University of Ireland was a single member, non-territorial University constituency which was (in theory) represented as a Parliament of the United Kingdom constituency 1918-1922. 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

From	To	Name	Party	Born	Died
1918	1923	Professor Eoin MacNeill	Sinn Féin	15 May 1867	15 October 1945
1921	1922	Dr Ada English	Sinn Féin		1 January 1944
1921	1933	Professor Michael Hayes	Sinn Féin/ Cumann na nGaedhael from 1923	1 December 1889	11 July 1976
1921	1923	Prof. William Stockley	Sinn Féin		22 July 1943
1922	1927	Professor William Magennis	Independent Clann Éireann from 1926	18 May 1867	30 March 1946
1923	1937	Patrick McGilligan	Independent/ Cumann na nGaedhael from 1924/ Fine Gael from 1933	12 April 1889	15 November 1979
1927	1927	Arthur Clery	Republican
1927	1932	Professor Michael Tierney	Cumann na nGaedhael	30 September 1894	10 May 1975
1932	1936	Conor Maguire	Fianna Fáil		26 September 1971
1933	1937	Mrs Helena Concannon	Fianna Fáil	1878	27 February 1952
1938	1944	Professor Michael Tierney	Fine Gael	30 September 1894	10 May 1975
1938	1952	Mrs Helena Concannon	Fianna Fáil/ Independent from 1951	1878	27 February 1952
1938	1960	Dr Henry Leo Barniville	Independent	1887	23 September 1960
1944	1948	Michael J. Ryan	Independent	1887	24 October 1952
1948	1965	George Augustine Thomas O'Brien	Independent	1892	31 December 1973
1953	1954	John F. Cunningham	Independent
1954	1957	Roger McHugh	Independent
1957	1977	Patrick Quinlan	Independent		8 November 2001
1961	1969	Dónall Ó Conalláin	Independent	1907	7 December 1987
1965	1973	Bryan Alton	Independent	5 June 1919	18 January 1991
1969	1977	John Horgan	Labour	26 October 1940
1973	1981	Augustine Martin	Independent		16 October 1995
1977	1982	Mrs Gemma Hussey	Independent/ Fine Gael from 1981	11 November 1938
1977	1982	John A. Murphy	Independent	17 January 1927
1981	1982	Liam Ryan	Independent
1982	1987	James Dooge	Fine Gael	30 July 1922
1982	1992	Brendan Ryan	Independent	1 August 1946
1983	1987	Michael D. Higgins	Labour	18 April 1941
1987	1992	John A. Murphy	Independent	17 January 1927
1987	date	Joe O'Toole	Independent	20 July 1947
1993	1997	Joe Lee	Independent
1993	date	Feargal Quinn	Independent	27 November 1936
1997	2007	Brendan Ryan	Independent/ Labour from 14 January 1999	1 August 1946
2007	date	Rónán Mullen	Independent

Elections

UK House of Commons and Dáil Éireann

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.

House of Commons of Southern Ireland and Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann

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 ===

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