Carlow (UK Parliament constituency)

Carlow was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) from 1801 to 1885.

History and boundaries
This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Carlow in County Carlow. It succeeded the two-seat constituency of Carlow in the Irish House of Commons. Its one MP was chosen by lot to sit in the First Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1801.

The borough was defined by the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 as: "'From the Point below the Town at which the River Barrow is met by the Southern Wall of the Grounds of the House belonging to Mr. Carey, Adjutant to the Carlow Militia, Eastward, along the said Wall to the Point at which the same meets the Kilkenny Road; thence in a straight Line to the Southern Corner of the Infirmary; thence in a straight Line to the Point a little above the Barracks at which the River Burren is joined by a small Stream; thence up the said Stream, and across the Tullow Road, to the Point at which the same Stream is met by a Hedge which runs down thereto from opposite the Southern End of the Plantation attached to the House on the Baltinglass Road which belongs to Mr. Hunt and is occupied by Mr. Butler; thence along the said Hedge to the Point at which the same meets the Baltinglass Road; thence in a straight Line in the Direction of the Cupola of the Lunatic Asylum to the Point at which such straight Line cuts a Road which runs between the Baltinglass Road and the Dublin Road; thence in a straight Line to a Gate on the Eastern Side of the Dublin Road which is distant about One hundred Yards to the North of the North-eastern Corner of the Enclosure Wall of the Lunatic Asylum; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the Road to Athy is met by the North Boundary of the Demesne of the Roman Catholic Bishop; thence along the said Boundary till it meets the River at the Point; thence along the River to the North Corner of the Wall of the Burial Ground; thence in a straight Line to the Spire of Graigue Church; thence in a straight Line to the Summer House in Mr. Wilson's Garden; thence in a straight Line to the Point first described.'"

It was disfranchised by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, becoming part of the constituency of County Carlow.

Members of Parliament
Notable MPs for Carlow included F. J. Robinson, later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as Viscount Goderich, the zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors, and the historian and writer John Dalberg-Acton, later known as Lord Acton.

Elections in the 1830s
Maule was appointed as Baron of the Exchequer in England, requiring a by-election.

After meeting 59 times, an election committee amended the poll to 160 for Gisborne and 159 for Bruen and, in July 1839, Gisborne was declared elected.

Elections in the 1850s
Sadleir was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.