1761 Irish general election

{{Short description|none}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox election | election_name = 1761 Irish general election | country = Kingdom of Ireland | flag_year = 1542 | type = parliamentary | ongoing = no | previous_election = 1727 Irish general election | previous_year = 1727 | previous_mps = | next_election = 1769 Irish general election | next_year = 1769 | next_mps =  | seats_for_election = All 300 seats of the [[House of Commons of Ireland|House of Commons]] <br /> 151 seats were needed for a majority | elected_mps = [[List of Irish MPs 1761–68|Members elected]] | election_date = | image_size = 131x131px  | image1 = 2ndEarlofHalifaxByJoshuaReynoldsNSArtGallery.jpg | leader1 = [[George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax|Earl of Halifax]] | leader_since1 = | colour1 = 000000 | party1 = [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] | leaders_seat1 = | seats1 = | seat_change1 = | popular_vote1 = - | percentage1 = -

| image2 = Portrait of Henry Flood.jpg | colour2 = | leader2 = [[Henry Flood]] | leader_since2 = | party2 = Irish Patriot Party | leaders_seat2 = | seats2 = | seat_change2 = | popular_vote2 = - | percentage2 = - }} The '''1761 Irish general election''' was the first general election to the Irish House of Commons in over thirty years, with the previous general election having taken place in 1727. Despite few constituencies hosting electoral contests, the election was significant due to it taking place in a time of rising political awareness within the Irish public, with many being drawn to the cause of [[Irish Patriot Party|patriotism]].<ref name="C390">{{cite book |last=Connolly |first=S.J. |title=Divided Kingdom : Ireland 1630-1800: Ireland 1630-1800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGol2H-zE-4C&q=1761+irish+general+election&pg=PA390 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=390 |year=2008 |isbn= 9780191562433}}</ref>

==Background== Unlike England, which had passed the [[Triennial Acts]] in 1694, thereby requiring elections every 3 years (and following [[Septennial Act 1716|1716 every 7]] years), Ireland had passed no similar pieces of legislation. As a result, the only limit on a term of parliament was the life of the monarch. This did not mean that the Commons had the same membership between 1727 and 1761, and numerous vacancies had occurred over the years, which had in turn been filled through by-elections.<ref name="C390"/>

By the late 1750s the lack of frequent elections was becoming a contested issue, and the issue was taken up by the patriot opposition in the House of Commons. This had seen some success, and in November 1757 the Commons had voted unanimously for heads of a bill on the subject.<ref name="C390"/>

In October 1760 King [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] died, thereby making a new election unavoidable. Adding to this was that none of Britain's Chief Undertakers in Ireland; the [[Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon|Earl of Shannon]], Archbishoper [[George Stone (bishop)|George Stone]], [[John Ponsonby (politician)|John Ponsonby]], or any other members of the Privy Council, were willing to risk the electoral consequences that would ensue should it appear they were not taking a popular and patriotic stance.<ref name="C390"/>

==Election== Despite being the first general election in over 30 years, and the fact that the period preceding the election had seen great debate over implementing changes to the electoral system so as to make elections more common, ultimately the election result was largely anticlimactic, with only 26 of Ireland's 150 constituencies actually witnessing any form of electoral contest. Of these 26 constituencies 9 were counties and 17 were boroughs.<ref name="C390"/>

There were several reasons for the low number of electoral contests. One issue was a sense of political apathy, whilst the other was that the immense costs of standing for election dissuaded individuals from standing.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barnard |first=Toby |title=The Kingdom of Ireland, 1641-1760 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ow8nBQAAQBAJ&q=1761+irish+election&pg=PT52 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2004 |isbn= 9781137232885}}</ref>

==Dates of election== At this period elections did not take place at the same time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or [[parliamentary borough]] fixed the precise date (see [[hustings]] for details of the conduct of the elections).

==Constituencies hosting contests== *Counties **[[County Antrim (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|County Antrim]] **[[County Cavan (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|County Cavan]] *Boroughs **[[Dublin City (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Dublin City]]

==See also== *[[List of parliaments of Ireland]] *[[List of Irish MPs 1761–68|MPs elected in the Irish general election, 1761]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:1761 in Ireland]] [[Category:1761 in politics]] [[Category:18th-century elections in Ireland]] [[Category:Elections in the Kingdom of Ireland]]