Prior to the 1885 United Kingdom general election the area was part of the County Galway constituency.
From 1922, on the establishment of the Irish Free State, it was not represented in the UK Parliament.
This constituency comprised the northern part of County Galway.
The boundaries were redefined in 1918 to take account of the transfer of the district electoral division of Rosmoylan from County Galway to County Roscommon under the 1898 Local Government Act.
The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.