Meath East (Dáil constituency)
Meath East is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies (Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
History and boundaries
It was established by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005 when the previous 5-seat Meath constituency was divided into two 3-seat constituencies of Meath East and Meath West.[1] It was first used at the 2007 general election to the 30th Dáil.
It spans the eastern portions of County Meath. It includes Nobber, Slane, Dunboyne, Kells and Ashbourne, the constituency's biggest town.[2]
The Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017 defines the constituency as:[3]
"In the county of Meath the electoral divisions of:
- Grangegeeth, Killary, in the former Rural District of Ardee No. 2;
- Culmullin, Donaghmore, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Kilbrew, Killeen, Kilmore, Rathfeigh, Ratoath, Rodanstown, Skreen, in the former Rural District of Dunshaughlin;
- Ceanannas Mór Rural, Cruicetown, Maperath, Moynalty, Newcastle, Newtown, Nobber, Staholmog, in the former Rural District of Kells;
- Ardcath, Duleek, Mellifont, Stamullin, in the former Rural District of Meath;
- Ardmulchan, Castletown, Domhnach Phádraig, Kentstown, Painestown, Rathkenny, Slane, Stackallan, Tara, in the former Rural District of Navan;
- and Ceannanas Mór Urban."
The Constituency Review Report 2023 of the Electoral Commission recommended that at the next general election, Meath East be increased to a four-seat constituency with the transfer of territory from Cavan–Monaghan and Louth.[4]
For the next general election, the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 defines the constituency as:[5]
"In the county of Meath, the electoral divisions of:
- Drumcondra, Grangegeeth, Killary, in the former Rural District of Ardee No. 2;
- Culmullin, Donaghmore, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Kilbrew, Killeen, Kilmore, Rathfeigh, Ratoath, Rodanstown, Skreen, in the former Rural District of Dunshaughlin;
- Ardagh, Carrickleck, Ceanannas Mór Rural, Cruicetown, Kilmainham, Maperath, Moybolgue, Moynalty, Newcastle, Newtown, Nobber, Posseckstown, Staholmog, Trohanny, in the former Rural District of Kells;
- Ardcath, Duleek, Julianstown, Mellifont, Stamullin, in the former Rural District of Meath;
- Ardmulchan, Castletown, Domhnach Phádraig, Kentstown, Painestown, Rathkenny, Slane, Stackallan, Tara, in the former Rural District of Navan;
- and Ceannanas Mór Urban."
| Years | TDs | Boundaries | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2011 | 3 | In County Meath, the electoral divisions of[1] Drumcondra, Grangegeeth, Killary, in the former Rural District of Ardee No. 2; Culmullin, Donaghmore, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Kilbrew, Killeen, Kilmore, Rathfeigh, Ratoath, Rodanstown, Skreen, in the former Rural District of Dunshaughlin; Ardagh, Carrickleck, Cruicetown, Kilmainham, Moybolgue, Moynalty, Newcastle, Newtown, Nobber, Posseckstown, Trohanny, in the former Rural District of Kells; Ardcath, Duleek, Julianstown, Mellifont, St. Mary's (part), Stamullin, in the former Rural District of Meath; Ardmulchan, Castletown, Domhnach Phádraig, Kentstown, Painestown, Rathkenny, Slane, Stackallan, Tara, in the former Rural District of Navan. | Created from Meath[6] |
| 2011–2020 | 3 | Drumcondra, Grangegeeth, Killary, in the former Rural District of Ardee No. 2; Culmullin, Donaghmore, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Kilbrew, Killeen, Kilmore, Rathfeigh, Ratoath, Rodanstown, Skreen, in the former Rural District of Dunshaughlin; Ardagh, Carrickleck, Ceanannas Mór Rural, Cruicetown, Kilmainham, Maperath, Moybolgue, Moynalty, Newcastle, Newtown, Nobber, Posseckstown, Staholmog, Trohanny, in the former Rural District of Kells; Ardcath, Duleek, Mellifont, Stamullin, in the former Rural District of Meath; Ardmulchan, Castletown, Domhnach Phádraig, Kentstown, Painestown, Rathkenny, Slane, Stackallan, Tara, in the former Rural District of Navan; and the town of Kells. | Ceanannas Mór Urban, and of Ceanannas Mór Rural, Maperath and Staholmog in the former Rural District of Kells; and transfer to Louth of Julianstown and St. Mary’s (part in County Meath) in the former Rural District of Meath. |
| 2020– | 3 | In County Meath, the electoral divisions of[3] Grangegeeth, Killary, in the former Rural District of Ardee No. 2; Culmullin, Donaghmore, Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, Kilbrew, Killeen, Kilmore, Rathfeigh, Ratoath, Rodanstown, Skreen, in the former Rural District of Dunshaughlin; Ceanannas Mór Rural, Cruicetown, Maperath, Moynalty, Newcastle, Newtown, Nobber, Staholmog, in the former Rural District of Kells; Ardcath, Duleek, Mellifont, Stamullin, in the former Rural District of Meath; Ardmulchan, Castletown, Domhnach Phádraig, Kentstown, Painestown, Rathkenny, Slane, Stackallan, Tara, in the former Rural District of Navan; and Ceannanas Mór Urban. | Transfer to Cavan–Monaghan of[11] Ardagh, Carrickleck, Kilmainhamm, Moybolgue, Posseckstown and Trohanny, in the former Rural District of Kells, and Drumcondra in the former Rural District of Ardee No. 2. |
TDs
| Teachtaí Dála (TDs) for Meath East 2007– | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Key to parties
| |||||||
| Dáil | Election | Deputy (Party) | Deputy (Party) | Deputy (Party) | |||
| 30th | 2007[12] | Thomas Byrne (FF) | Mary Wallace (FF) | Shane McEntee (FG) | |||
| 31st | 2011[13] | Dominic Hannigan (Lab) | Regina Doherty (FG) | ||||
| 2013 by-election[14] | Helen McEntee (FG) | ||||||
| 32nd | 2016[15] | Thomas Byrne (FF) | |||||
| 33rd | 2020[16] | Darren O'Rourke (SF) | |||||
Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns. For details of the order in which seats were won at each election, see the detailed results of that election.
Elections
2020 general election
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||||
| Sinn Féin | Darren O'Rourke | 24.4 | 10,223 | 10,617 | ||||||
| Fine Gael | Helen McEntee | 18.3 | 7,691 | 7,856 | 8,123 | 8,333 | 8,937 | 9,416 | 12,984 | |
| Fianna Fáil | Thomas Byrne | 14.4 | 6,039 | 6,095 | 6,348 | 7,637 | 8,222 | 8,999 | 9,622 | |
| Green | Seán McCabe | 7.8 | 3,251 | 3,756 | 4,036 | 4,167 | 4,677 | 5,999 | 6,547 | |
| Fine Gael | Regina Doherty | 10.0 | 4,180 | 4,272 | 4,330 | 4,505 | 4,643 | 5,122 | ||
| Independent | Joe Bonner | 7.0 | 2,934 | 3,053 | 3,240 | 3,338 | 4,037 | |||
| Independent | Sharon Keogan | 5.9 | 2,475 | 2,570 | 2,939 | 3,024 | ||||
| Fianna Fáil | Deirdre Geraghty-Smith | 4.6 | 1,941 | 1,977 | 2,047 | |||||
| Aontú | Emer Tóibín | 3.9 | 1,634 | 1,705 | ||||||
| Labour | Annie Hoey | 2.1 | 874 | |||||||
| Solidarity–PBP | Andrew Keegan[a] | 1.4 | 569 | |||||||
| Workers' Party | Seamus McDonagh | 0.3 | 134 | |||||||
| Electorate: 66,507 Valid: 41,945 Spoilt: 253 Quota: 10,487 Turnout: 42,198 (63.4%) | ||||||||||
- ^ Keegan was a member of People Before Profit.
2016 general election
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||
| Fianna Fáil | Thomas Byrne | 26.1 | 10,818 | |||||||||
| Fine Gael | Helen McEntee | 18.3 | 7,556 | 7,656 | 7,671 | 7,749 | 7,841 | 7,887 | 8,237 | 8,435 | 9,958 | |
| Fine Gael | Regina Doherty | 16.5 | 6,830 | 6,889 | 6,899 | 6,979 | 7,064 | 7,109 | 7,247 | 7,477 | 9,612 | |
| Sinn Féin | Darren O'Rourke | 14.0 | 5,780 | 5,860 | 5,970 | 6,017 | 6,096 | 6,341 | 6,637 | 7,236 | 8,556 | |
| Independent | Joe Bonner | 6.0 | 2,482 | 2,527 | 2,545 | 2,600 | 2,665 | 2,857 | 3,215 | 3,825 | ||
| Labour | Dominic Hannigan | 5.5 | 2,270 | 2,307 | 2,325 | 2,350 | 2,494 | 2,525 | 2,680 | 3,084 | ||
| Social Democrats | Aisling O'Neill | 4.1 | 1,715 | 1,740 | 1,801 | 1,885 | 2,148 | 2,300 | 2,463 | |||
| Independent | Sharon Keogan | 3.7 | 1,528 | 1,579 | 1,600 | 1,663 | 1,709 | 1,805 | ||||
| Direct Democracy | Ben Gilroy | 1.9 | 794 | 809 | 841 | 876 | 899 | |||||
| Green | Seán Ó Buachalla | 1.9 | 766 | 784 | 801 | 853 | ||||||
| Renua | Sarah Tyrrell | 1.3 | 523 | 554 | 563 | |||||||
| Workers' Party | Seamus McDonagh | 0.8 | 326 | 335 | ||||||||
| Electorate: 65,588 Valid: 41,388 Spoilt: 240 Quota: 10,348 Turnout: 63.5% | ||||||||||||
2013 by-election
Following the death of Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee, a by-election was held on 27 March 2013, the seat was won by his daughter Helen McEntee.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| Fine Gael | Helen McEntee | 38.5 | 9,356 | 9,547 | 11,473 | |
| Fianna Fáil | Thomas Byrne | 32.9 | 8,002 | 8,106 | 9,582 | |
| Sinn Féin | Darren O'Rourke | 13.0 | 3,165 | 3,370 | ||
| Direct Democracy | Ben Gilroy | 6.5 | 1,568 | 1,793 | ||
| Labour | Eoin Holmes | 4.6 | 1,112 | 1,245 | ||
| Green | Seán Ó Buachalla | 1.7 | 423 | |||
| Workers' Party | Seamus McDonagh | 1.1 | 263 | |||
| Independent | Mick Martin | 0.8 | 190 | |||
| Independent | Charlie Keddy | 0.5 | 110 | |||
| Independent | Gerard O'Brien | 0.3 | 73 | |||
| Independent | Jim Tallon | 0.2 | 47 | |||
| Electorate: 64,164 Valid: 24,309 Spoilt: 259 Quota: 12,155 Turnout: 38.3% | ||||||
2011 general election
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Labour | Dominic Hannigan | 21.0 | 8,994 | 9,383 | 9,669 | 12,382 | |
| Fine Gael | Regina Doherty | 20.3 | 8,677 | 8,858 | 9,305 | 10,447 | |
| Fine Gael | Shane McEntee | 20.6 | 8,794 | 8,994 | 9,142 | 10,143 | |
| Fianna Fáil | Thomas Byrne | 13.4 | 5,715 | 5,892 | 7,354 | 8,173 | |
| Sinn Féin | Michael Gallagher | 8.9 | 3,795 | 3,958 | 4,025 | ||
| Independent | Joe Bonner | 5.8 | 2,479 | 2,866 | 3,074 | ||
| Fianna Fáil | Nick Killian | 6.2 | 2,669 | 2,719 | |||
| New Vision | Sharon Keogan | 2.7 | 1,168 | ||||
| Green | Seán Ó Buachalla | 1.1 | 461 | ||||
| Electorate: 64,873 Valid: 42,752 Spoilt: 346 (0.8%) Quota: 10,689 Turnout: 43,098 (66.4%) | |||||||
2007 general election
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| Fianna Fáil | Mary Wallace | 25.3 | 10,901 | ||||||||
| Fine Gael | Shane McEntee | 15.7 | 6,766 | 6,789 | 6,877 | 6,941 | 7,106 | 7,351 | 7,870 | 11,619 | |
| Fianna Fáil | Thomas Byrne | 18.2 | 7,834 | 7,866 | 8,267 | 8,469 | 8,628 | 9,079 | 9,770 | 10,077 | |
| Labour | Dominic Hannigan | 11.9 | 5,136 | 5,193 | 5,337 | 5,575 | 6,095 | 6,554 | 7,247 | 8,596 | |
| Fine Gael | Regina Doherty | 10.1 | 4,363 | 4,377 | 4,508 | 4,764 | 4,992 | 5,164 | 5,972 | ||
| Independent | Brian Fitzgerald | 6.0 | 2,586 | 2,617 | 2,659 | 2,816 | 3,008 | 3,334 | |||
| Sinn Féin | Joanne Finnegan | 3.9 | 1,695 | 1,723 | 1,762 | 1,859 | 2,008 | ||||
| Green | Seán Ó Buachalla | 3.1 | 1,330 | 1,355 | 1,417 | 1,547 | |||||
| Independent | Joseph Bonner | 2.7 | 1,170 | 1,195 | 1,223 | ||||||
| Progressive Democrats | Sirena Campbell | 2.2 | 957 | 983 | |||||||
| Independent | A. J. Cahill | 0.6 | 269 | ||||||||
| Electorate: 67,443 Valid: 43,007 Spoilt: 359 (0.8%) Quota: 10,752 Turnout: 43,366 (64.3%) | |||||||||||
See also
- Elections in the Republic of Ireland
- Politics of the Republic of Ireland
- List of Dáil by-elections
- List of political parties in the Republic of Ireland
References
- ^ a b Electoral (Amendment) Act 2005, Schedule (No. 16 of 2005, Schedule). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Dáil Constituency Map Meath East and Meath West 2018" (PDF). Government of Ireland. 18 July 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ a b Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017, Schedule (No. 39 of 2017, Schedule). Enacted on 23 December 2017. Act of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Constituency Review Report 2023" (PDF). Electoral Commission. pp. 62–63, 132. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023, Schedule (No. 40 of 2023, Schedule). Enacted on 19 December 2023. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Report on Dáil Constituencies, 2004" (PDF). Constituency Commission. pp. 26–27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ Electoral (Amendment) Act 2009, Schedule (No. 4 of 2009, Schedule). Enacted on 24 February 2009. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 25 August 2022.
- ^ Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013, Schedule (No. 7 of 2013, Schedule). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Report on Dáil and European Parliament Constituencies 2007" (PDF). Constituency Commission. 23 October 2007. p. 64. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Constituency Commission Report 2012: Dáil and European Parliament Constituencies" (PDF). Constituency Commission. 21 June 2012. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Constituency Commission Report 2017: Dáil and European Parliament Constituencies" (PDF). Constituency Commission. 27 June 2017. p. 69. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ a b "General election 2007: Meath East". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ a b "General election 2011: Meath East". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ a b "By-election 2013: Meath East". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ a b "General election 2016: Meath East". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ a b "General election 2020: Meath East". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ^ "General Election 2020 Results – Meath East". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ "Meath East: 2020 General Election". Irelandelection.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Bowers, Shauna (10 February 2020) [9 February 2020]. "Meath East results: SF tops the poll while FG's Regina Doherty loses seat; Minister for Social Protection comes in fifth in three-seater". The Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Election 2020: Meath East". The Irish Times. Dublin. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Meath East Results 2016". Irelandelection.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Meath East Results 2016". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
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