Queen's County Leix (UK Parliament constituency)

Queen's County Leix
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Portarlington and Queen's County
Created from	Queen's County

Leix, a division of Queen's County, was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1918.

Prior to the 1885 general election and after the dissolution of Parliament in 1918 the area was part of the Queen's County constituency. From the time of Irish independence, it was not represented in the UK Parliament, as Laois was no longer part of the United Kingdom.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the eastern part of Queen's County now known as County Laois.

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 defined the division as including the Baronies of Ballyadams, Cullenagh, Maryborough East, Slievemargy, and Stradbally, and part of the Barony of Portnahinch.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Richard Lalor	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1892	Dr Mark Antony MacDonnell	Anti-Parnellite Nationalist
	1900		Irish Parliamentary Party
	1906	Patrick Aloysius Meehan	Irish Parliamentary Party
	1913	Patrick Joseph Meehan	Irish Parliamentary Party
1918		Constituency merged into Queen's County

Elections

General Election 2 December 1885: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Nationalist	Richard Lalor	3750	88.1
	Conservative	Capt. Robert Ashworth Godolphin Cosby	507	11.9
Majority			3243	76.2
Turnout			5472	77.8
	Irish Nationalist gain from new seat		Swing

General Election 14 July 1886: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Nationalist	Richard Lalor	3528	89.7
	Conservative	Capt. Robert Ashworth Godolphin Cosby	406	10.3
Majority			3122	79.4
Turnout			5472	71.9
	Irish Nationalist hold		Swing

General Election 13 July 1892: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Dr Mark Anthony McDonnell	3261	85.3
	Conservative	Lt Col Robert Ashworth Godolphin Cosby	513	14.7
Majority			2748	70.6
Turnout			6288	60.8
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Nationalist		Swing

General Election 17 July 1895: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Dr Mark Anthony McDonnell
Turnout			5128
	Irish National Federation hold		Swing

General Election 4 October 1900: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Nationalist	Dr Mark Anthony McDonnell	unopposed
Turnout			6231
	Irish Nationalist gain from Irish National Federation		Swing

General Election 19 January 1906: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Nationalist	Patrick Aloysius Meehan	unopposed
Turnout			4867
	Irish Nationalist hold		Swing

General Election 20 January 1910: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Nationalist	Patrick Aloysius Meehan	unopposed
Turnout			4872
	Irish Nationalist hold		Swing

General Election 8 December 1910: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Nationalist	Patrick Aloysius Meehan	unopposed
Turnout			4872
	Irish Nationalist hold		Swing

By-Election 9 June 1913: Queen's County Leix
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Nationalist	Patrick Joseph Meehan	unopposed
Turnout			4785
	Irish Nationalist hold		Swing

References

• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 2)