Until the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872, voting in parliamentary elections throughout Ireland and Britain was carried out in public. In the context of small electorates that were often divided on religious or other factional lines, voters were subject to a variety of blandishments and menaces. This work examines Athlone in the period 18301885 and, through an inquiry into the character of political activity, seeks to illuminate the attitudes and social behaviour of its inhabitants.