From 1885 to 1922 it returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Until the 1885 general election the area was part of the Wicklow constituency.
This constituency comprised the eastern part of County Wicklow.
In 1918, the boundary of the constituency was expanded to include that part of the Bray urban district transferred from County Dublin to County Wicklow under the 1898 Local Government (Ireland) Act.
Sweetman resigns to re-stand as a Parnellite Nationalist, prompting a by-election.