Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840


The Municipal Corporations Act 1840, An Act for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in Ireland, was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 10 August 1840. It was one of the Municipal Corporations Acts 1840 to 1888.
The Act followed similar lines to the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 which reformed municipal boroughs in England and Wales. Prior to the passing of the Act, there were 68 borough corporations in Ireland Many of them were ineffective, some virtually defunct and none of them in any way representative of their populations. The Act dissolved all but 10 of the corporations.

The Reformed corporations

The ten reformed corporations, which were named in Schedule A to the Act were to be styled as Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses, with the exception of Dublin where the title Right Honourable Lord Mayor was retained.
NumberBoroughCounty
1BelfastAntrim and Down
2ClonmelTipperary
3Cork Cork
4Drogheda Louth and Meath
5Dublin Dublin
6Kilkenny Kilkenny
7Limerick Limerick
8Londonderry Londonderry
9SligoSligo
10Waterford Waterford

Dissolved boroughs

Under section 13 of the Act, the remaining 58 borough corporations were dissolved on 25 October 1840. The extinguished boroughs were listed in schedules B and I of the Act. Boroughs in schedule B could petition for a grant of a charter restoring borough status, as could any town with a population of more than 3,000. Boroughs in Schedule I were already effectively extinct at the time of the passing of the Act, and so were not permitted to apply for such a charter.
Wexford's application for restoration of its charter was granted in 1846. Cashel also applied, but without success.
Boroughs in Schedule B
NumberBoroughCounty
1ArdeeLouth
2Armagh Armagh
3AthloneRoscommon and Westmeath
4AthyKildare
5Bandon or Bandon BridgeCork
6BoyleRoscommon
7CallanKilkenny
8CarlowCarlow
9Carrickfergus Antrim
10Cashel Tipperary
11CharlevilleCork
12CloghnakiltyCork
13ColeraineLondonderry
14DingleKerry
15DundalkLouth
16DungannonTyrone
17EnnisClare
18EnniscorthyWexford
19EnniskillenFermanagh
20FethardWexford
21Galway Galway
22GoreyWexford
23KellsMeath
24KinsaleCork
25LongfordLongford
26MaryboroughQueen's
27MonaghanMonaghan
28NaasKildare
29NavanMeath
30New RossWexford
31PortarlingtonQueen's and King's
32StrabaneTyrone
33TraleeKerry
34TrimMeath
35TuamGalway
36WexfordWexford
37WicklowWicklow
38YoughalCork

Boroughs in Schedule I
NumberBoroughCounty
39ArdfertKerry
40AthenryGalway
41BaltinglassWicklow
42BangorDown
43BelturbetCavan
44CarlingfordLouth
45CastlemartyrCork
46CavanCavan
47CharlemontArmagh
48DuleekMeath
49HillsboroughDown
50InistiogeKilkenny
51KilbegganWestmeath
52KildareKildare
53KillileaghDown
54KilmallockLimerick
55LiffordDonegal
56MidletonCork
57NewtownardsDown
58ThomastownKilkenny

Town commissioners

Many of the extinguished boroughs had an additional form of local government in place, in the form of commissioners appointed under the Lighting of Towns Act, 1828. Where such a body existed, it was deemed to be the successor to the corporation. Section 16 of the Act provided that any borough dissolved with property worth more than £100, and which did not have commissioners under the 1828 Act, should have a board of "Municipal Commissioners" established. In most cases, the commissioners appointed under the terms of the 1840 Act eventually adopted the terms of the 1828 Act or its replacement, the Towns Improvement Act 1854. By 1876, only Carrickfergus was still governed by commissioners appointed under the 1840 Act.

Citations