In Galway town the Daly interest predominated, as it was 'great both in county and town'.182 There were at least seven controverted elections in the course of the century. The Eyres, Blakes and Martins usually unsuccessfully contested the Dalys, who represented the town almost solidly in the latter half of the century; earlier the Eyres, who appeared to have died out in the male line, and the Stauntons transferred their political interest to Great Britain.183 In 1768 Robert French, who had some influence on his own account, was returned along with Anthony Daly, and Hedges Eyre petitioned against this return on grounds of 'bribery corruption and undue influence'.184 This petition was to be heard after the Christmas recess, but it does not appear again in CJ Ire. At the end of December 1769 parliament was prematurely prorogued and it did not reassemble until February 1771; in the intervening period nearly all the election petitions that had not been settled before the prorogation were dropped. Thomas Staunton (1990) sat for Ipswich in the British parliament from 1757 to 1784, and both his wives were English. Skeffington Smyth was married to a Daly, and George Ponsonby was the brother-in-law of Denis Bowes Daly, who was a leading member of the Ponsonby phalanx.
Before the 1783 election 295 freemen were created to consolidate the Daly interest in the corporation. Including this sudden influx, the electorate in that year numbered approximately 569.185 Subsequently the Daly interest was unsuccessfully challenged by the Blake family, but it remained intact until - and even after - the Union, when the borough's representation was reduced to one seat. The Daly interest remained a considerable force.186
