William Davin was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 Labour Party

Labour Party (Ireland)

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

 politician who served as a Teachta Dála

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 (TD) for over thirty years. He was also station-master

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

.

His first candidacy for public office was in the 1922 general election

Irish general election, 1922

The Irish general election of 1922 took place in Southern Ireland on 16 June 1922, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State...

, when he stood as a Labour candidate in the Leix–Offaly constituency. He was returned to the 3rd Dáil, and was re-elected in each successive general election until his death in 1956.

For most of this period, he was the only Labour deputy from Laois–Offaly, but after the June 1927 general election

Irish general election, 1927 (June)

The Irish general election of June 1927 was held on 9 June 1927. The newly elected members of the 5th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 23 June when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed....

 he was joined in the short-lived 5th Dáil by John Gill

John Gill (trade unionist)

John F. Gill was an Irish trade union official and Labour Party Teachta Dála .He first stood for election in the June 1927 general election in the Laois–Offaly constituency, and joined William Davin as one of two Labour TDs returned from Laois–Offaly to the 5th Dáil...

, who lost his seat at the September 1927 general election

Irish general election, 1927 (September)

The Irish general election of September 1927 was held on 15 September 1927. The newly elected members of the 6th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 11 October when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed.-Campaign:The second general...

.

Since Davin's death, Laois–Offaly has returned a Labour TD only twice: at the 1965 general election

Irish general election, 1965

The Irish general election of 1965 was held on 7 April 1965. The newly elected members of the 18th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 21 April when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed....

, when Henry Byrne

Henry Byrne

Henry Byrne was an Irish Labour Party politician and served one-term as a Teachta Dála .He first stood for election in as an independent candidate in Wicklow at the 1944 general election, but was unsuccessful, receiving only 534 first-preference votes...

 was elected to the 18th Dáil, and at the 1992 general election

Irish general election, 1992

The Irish general election of 1992 was held on Wednesday, 25 November 1992, almost three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 5 November. However, after difficulties in forming a government the newly elected 166 members of the 27th Dáil did not assemble at Leinster House until 4 January 1993...

, when Pat Gallagher was elected to the 27th Dáil.

External links

• William Davin's electoral history (ElectionsIreland.org)