Galway East is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects four 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

The constituency was first used at the 1937 general election, under the Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935, when the former Galway constituency was split into Galway East and Galway West. It was abolished in 1948 and recreated in 1961. It was abolished again in 1969 and recreated in 1977.

It spans much of the eastern half of County Galway, taking in the towns of Ballinasloe, Tuam, Portumna, Athenry and Loughrea among other areas.

The Constituency Review Report 2023 of the Electoral Commission recommended that at the next general election, Galway East be increased to a four-seat constituency with the transfer of territory from Roscommon–Galway.

The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 defines the constituency as:

{| class="wikitable"

|-

|+ Changes to the Galway East constituency

|-

!Years

!TDs

!Boundaries

!Notes

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|1937–1948

|style="text-align:center"|4

|

|Created from Galway

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|1948–1961

|style="text-align:center"|—

|Constituency abolished

|

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|1961–1969

|style="text-align:center"|5

|County Galway, except the parts in the constituency of Galway West

|

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|1969–1977

|style="text-align:center"|—

|Constituency abolished

|

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|1977–1981

|style="text-align:center"|4

|County Galway, except the parts in the constituency of Galway West

|

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|1981–1992

|style="text-align:center"|3

|In County Galway, the urban district of Ballinasloe

|

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|1992–1997

|style="text-align:center"|3

|In County Galway, the urban district of Ballinasloe

|

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|1997–2002

|style="text-align:center"|4

|In County Galway, the urban district of Ballinasloe

|

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|2002–2016

|style="text-align:center"|4

|In County Galway, the urban district of Ballinasloe

|Transfer from Galway West of territory in the former Rural District of Tuam.

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|2016–2020

|style="text-align:center"|3

|style="text-align:center"|

|

|- style="vertical-align:top"

|2020–

|style="text-align:center"|3

|style="text-align:center"|

|

|}

TDs

TDs 1937–1948

TDs 1961–1969

TDs since 1977

Elections

2024 general election

2020 general election

2016 general election

1992 general election

1989 general election

1987 general election

November 1982 general election

July 1982 by-election

Fianna Fáil TD Johnny Callanan died on 15 June 1982. The by-election was held on 20 July 1982, and was won by Fianna Fáil candidate Noel Treacy.

1981 general election

1977 general election

1965 general election

1961 general election

|party = Fianna Fáil

|numcounts = 2

1943 general election

1938 general election

|party = Fianna Fáil

|numcounts = 4

1937 general election

|party = Fianna Fáil

|numcounts = 5

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

  • Oireachtas Constituency Dashboards
  • Oireachtas Members Database