Tipperary North is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects three 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 created for the 1948 general election when the former constituency of Tipperary was divided into Tipperary North and Tipperary South. It was primarily based around the former county of North Tipperary. The principal population centres were Thurles, Templemore, Nenagh and Roscrea. Tipperary North was a rare example of a bellwether constituency in Ireland; from 1969 onward, with the exception of February 1982, two of the three deputies it returned went on to support the resulting government. The constituency returned at least one TD for Fianna Fáil from 1948 until the 2011 general election.
The counties of North Tipperary and South Tipperary were abolished in 2014, and succeeded by County Tipperary. The constituency of Tipperary North was abolished at the 2016 general election and replaced by the new Tipperary and Offaly constituencies.
In 2023, the Electoral Commission recommended the establishment of new three seat constituencies of Tipperary North and Tipperary South. Tipperary North would include 13 electoral divisions from County Kilkenny.
For the 2024 general election, the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023 defines the constituency as:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Changes to the Tipperary North constituency 1948–2016
|-
!Years
!TDs
!Boundaries
!Notes
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|1948–1961
|style="text-align:center"|3
|County Tipperary, North Riding
|Created from Tipperary
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|1961–1977
|style="text-align:center"|3
|County Tipperary, North Riding and
|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|1977–1981
|style="text-align:center"|3
|County Tipperary, North Riding,
|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|1981–1997
|style="text-align:center"|3
|County Tipperary, North Riding
|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|1997–2011
|style="text-align:center"|3
|County Tipperary, North Riding
|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|2011–2016
|style="text-align:center"|3
|North Tipperary
|
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|2016
|style="text-align:center"|—
|Constituency abolished
|
with remainder forming part of the new constituency of Tipperary
|}
TDs
TDs 1948–2016
TDs since 2024
Elections
2024 general election
2011 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
Michael O'Kennedy resigned as TD on his appointment as a European Commissioner on 6 January 1981. On 11 February 1981, a motion to move the writ for the vacancy proposed by Noël Browne was opposed by the Fianna Fáil government and was rejected on a vote of 40 to 66. The seat remained vacant until the dissolution of the Dáil on 21 May 1981.