The Municipal Corporations Act (Ireland) 1840 (3 & 4 Vict. c. 108), 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 (Ireland) Acts 1840 to 1888.[2]
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in Ireland. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 3 & 4 Vict. c. 108 |
| Territorial extent | Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 10 August 1840 |
| Commencement | 25 October 1840 |
| Repealed | 1972 and 2001 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | |
Status: Repealed | |
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. However, many of them were ineffective, some were virtually defunct and none of them in any way representative of their populations. The Act dissolved all but 10 of the corporations.
Background
editAt the Acts of Union 1800, there had been 117 boroughs entitled to send MPs to the Irish House of Commons. From 1801, this number was reduced to 33 boroughs entitled to send MPs to the United Kingdom House of Commons.
Defunct corporations
editCommissioners were reported to inquire into the state of municipal corporations in Ireland. They found that 99 had actually exercised any functions in the previous century.
In addition, there were 7 boroughs which were "at not very remote periods, Corporate Municipalities, acting, or at least constituted, under Royal Charters still on record".
| Borough | County |
|---|---|
| Baltimore | Cork |
| Clogher | Tyrone |
| Dungarvan | Waterford |
| Lismore | Waterford |
| Mallow | Cork |
| Newry | Down |
| Tallagh | Waterford |
There were 5 boroughs, "the existence either of a corporation or of burgage tenure is noticed in ancient records, but no charter of incorporation [was] discovered".
| Borough | County |
|---|---|
| Clonmines | Wexford |
| Downpatrick | Down |
| Ratoath | Meath |
| Swords | Dublin |
| Taghmon | Wexford |
There were 6 boroughs "though possessing charters empowering them to return Members of Parliament, never, as far as we have been able to trace, possessed the character of Municipal Corporations".[3]
| Borough | County |
|---|---|
| Antrim | Antrim |
| Doneraile | Cork |
| Lisburn | Antrim |
| Mullingar | Westmeath |
| Randalstown | Antrim |
| Rathcormac | Cork |
There were 30 corporations that had become extinct since the Union.[4]
The reformed corporations
edit
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.[citation needed]
| Borough | County |
|---|---|
| Belfast | Antrim and Down |
| Clonmel | Tipperary |
| Cork (County of the City) | Cork |
| Drogheda (County of the Town) | Louth and Meath |
| Dublin (County of the City) | Dublin |
| Kilkenny (County of the City; merging the former boroughs of Kilkenny and Irishtown) |
Kilkenny |
| Limerick (County of the City) | Limerick |
| Londonderry (City) | Londonderry |
| Sligo | Sligo |
| Waterford (County of the City) | Waterford |
Dissolved boroughs
editUnder 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.[citation needed]
Wexford's application for restoration of its charter was granted in 1846. Cashel also applied,[5] but without success.[citation needed]
Boroughs in Schedule B
| Borough | County |
|---|---|
| Ardee | Louth |
| Armagh (City) | Armagh |
| Athlone | Roscommon and Westmeath |
| Athy | Kildare |
| Bandon or Bandon Bridge | Cork |
| Boyle | Roscommon |
| Callan | Kilkenny |
| Carlow | Carlow |
| Carrickfergus (County of the Town retained) | Antrim |
| Cashel (City) | Tipperary |
| Charleville | Cork |
| Cloghnakilty | Cork |
| Coleraine | Londonderry |
| Dingle | Kerry |
| Dundalk | Louth |
| Dungannon | Tyrone |
| Ennis | Clare |
| Enniscorthy | Wexford |
| Enniskillen | Fermanagh |
| Fethard | Wexford |
| Galway (County of the Town retained) | Galway |
| Gorey | Wexford |
| Kells | Meath |
| Kinsale | Cork |
| Longford | Longford |
| Maryborough | Queen's |
| Monaghan | Monaghan |
| Naas | Kildare |
| Navan | Meath |
| New Ross | Wexford |
| Portarlington | Queen's and King's |
| Strabane | Tyrone |
| Tralee | Kerry |
| Trim | Meath |
| Tuam | Galway |
| Wexford | Wexford |
| Wicklow | Wicklow |
| Youghal | Cork |
Boroughs in Schedule I
Town commissioners
editMany of the extinguished boroughs had an additional form of local government in place, in the form of commissioners appointed under the Lighting of Towns (Ireland) 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 (Ireland) Act 1854. By 1876, only Carrickfergus was still governed by commissioners appointed under the 1840 Act.[6]
References
editSources
edit- Primary
- "Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840". The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. XV Part II. Her Majesty's Printer's. 1840. pp. 599–669. ISBN 9780331531558. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- Bills: 1835 HC; 1836 HC, HL, HC amend Lords; 1837 HC, recommit; 1837–8 HC, recommit, 2nd recommit, O'Connell amendments; 1838 HC, HL, HL and HC and HL; 1839 HC, commit, 2nd recommit, HL; 1840 HC recommit, HL.
- Municipal Corporations Commissioners (HC 1835 xxvii–xxviii and HC 1836 xxiv [23–29] ): Report, Supplement, Appendix: circuits reporting on towns Pt 1: S, Mid, W, SE, and pt NE, Pt 2: end NE and pt NW, Pt 3: end NW; Dublin Contents, pt 1 pp.1–116, pt 2 pp.117–2
- Municipal Boundaries Commissioners (HC 1837 xxix [301] 1) Report, Maps
Hansard debates on Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Bills, 1835–1840 Session Commons Lords Other house's amendments (1st &) 2nd r Ctee 3rd r 2nd r Ctee (& Rpt) 3rd r L in C C in L 2nd L in C 1835 1st r: Jul 31
2nd r: Aug 10 12Aug 13 Aug 17 1836 Feb 29 Mar 7 8 14 18 21 22 23 Mar 28 Apr 18 Apr 26, May 9 16 May 18 May 19, Jun 10 13 Jun 17 27 Jun 30 1837 1st r: Feb 7 8
2nd r: Feb 17Feb 20 21 22, Mar 20 Apr 10 11 Apr 13 25 May 5 Jun 9 1837–38 1st r: Dec 5 11
2nd r: Feb 2May 29, Jun 1 11 15 18 Jun 25 Jul 9 Jul 12 Jul 27 Aug 2 Aug 4 Aug 9 1839 1st r: Feb 14
2nd r: Mar 1 8 22Jun 28 Jul 4 Jul 15 Jul 22 Jul 25 Aug 5 Aug 12 1840 Feb 14 Feb 24 28, Mar 3 Mar 9 Mar 23, May 4 May 14 15, Jun 12 19 29, Jul 6
Rpt: Jul 10Jul 20 31 Aug 3 Aug 5 6 Aug 7
- Secondary
- Callanan, Mark; Keogan, Justin F., eds. (2003). Local Government in Ireland Inside Out. Dublin.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Roche, Desmond (1982). Local Government in Ireland. Dublin.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Citations
edit- ^ The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
- ^ The Short Titles Act 1896, section 2(1) and Schedule 2
- ^ 1835 Report, p. 6
- ^ 1835 Report, p. 8
- ^ Return of Towns in Ireland from which Petitions have been presented for Charters of Incorporation. Sessional papers. Vol. HC 45 335. 22 May 1845. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ Select Committee on Local government and taxation of towns (Ireland) (11 July 1876). Report and proceedings. Command papers. Vol. C.352. p. 3 §15. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2014.