Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)


Cavan–Monaghan is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies. The method of election is the single transferable vote form of proportional representation.

History and boundaries

From its creation in 1977 to 2016, the constituency spanned the entire area of both County Cavan and County Monaghan, taking in Cavan town, Monaghan town, Clones, Cootehill, Belturbet, Bailieborough, Castleblayney and Carrickmacross, and was a 5-seat constituency.
It was created under the terms of the Electoral Act 1974, as part of the redistribution of constituencies also known as the Tullymander. The constituency of Cavan–Monaghan has been used for elections since the 1977 general election. It replaced the two separate constituencies of Cavan and Monaghan that previously covered the area.
At the 2016 general election, 36 electoral divisions in the west of County Cavan were transferred to the Sligo–Leitrim constituency and Cavan–Monaghan became a 4-seat constituency.
The Electoral Act 2013 defines the constituency as:

Since 2020

In 2017 the Constituency Commission amended this due to population boundaries. It stated that at the next Irish general election, the west of County Cavan would be reunited with the rest of the Cavan–Monaghan constituency, and that it would gain an extra seat to become a 5-seat constituency.
The Electoral Act 2017 defines the constituency as:

Constituency profile

Cavan–Monaghan is predominately rural with 75% of the population living outside the main towns. Manufacturing, construction and agriculture are the largest sectors of the local economy. In the 2000s there was an influx of people moving to south-east Cavan from Dublin, benefiting from the low house prices and good transport links to the capital.
Due to its proximity to the border the constituency has historically been strongly Republican; hunger striker Kieran Doherty won a seat in the 1981 general election as an Anti H-Block candidate. In recent elections the constituency has seen mainly a three-way fight between Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil, with the Labour Party traditionally polling poorly.

TDs

Elections

2020 general election

2016 general election

2011 general election

2007 general election

Rory O'Hanlon was Ceann Comhairle at the dissolution of the 29th Dáil and therefore deemed to be returned automatically. The constituency was treated as a four seater for the purposes of calculating the quota.

2002 general election

1997 general election

1992 general election

1989 general election

1987 general election

November 1982 general election

February 1982 general election

1981 general election

1977 general election