East Kerry (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| East Kerry County constituency |
|
|---|---|
| Created: | 1885 |
| Abolished: | 1922 |
| Type: | House of Commons |
East Kerry was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1922.
Prior to the United Kingdom general election, 1885 the area was part of the Kerry constituency. From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament.
Contents |
[edit] Boundaries
This constituency comprised the eastern part of County Kerry.
[edit] Members of Parliament
| Years | Member | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 1885-1890 | Jeremiah Daniel Sheehan | Irish Parliamentary Party |
| 1891-1895 | Anti-Parnellite | |
| 1895 | Michael Davitt | Anti-Parnellite |
| 1895-1896 | vacant | |
| 1896-1900 | The Hon J. B. Burke Roche | Anti-Parnellite |
| 1900-1910 | John Murphy | Irish Parliamentary Party |
| January-June 1910 | Eugene O'Sullivan | Irish Parliamentary Party1 |
| June-December 1910 | vacant | |
| 1910-1918 | Timothy O'Sullivan | Irish Parliamentary Party |
| 1918 - 1922 | Pierce Beasley | Sinn Féin |
1He was elected as an Independent Nationalist but announced to the press that he would join the IPP two days after beating their candidate (John Murphy) in the election.[1]
[edit] Elections
[edit] 1885
Jeremiah Daniel Sheehan was returned with a massive majority over his opponent, C H de G Robertson:
- Sheehan (Nationalist): 3069
- Robertson (Conservative): 30
-Majority: 3039
This remains the largest majority by percentage of the vote in any UK Parliamentary election.
[edit] 1886
Sheehan (Nationalist) was returned unopposed.
[edit] 1892
Sheehan was returned again with a large majority over his opponent, Captain John McGillycuddy:
- Sheehan (Anti-Parnellite Nationalist): 2600
- McGillycuddy (Conservative): 253
-Majority: 2347
[edit] 1895
Michael Davitt (Anti-Parnellite Nationalist) was returned unopposed, but he also stood for election and won in South Mayo. He took up the South Mayo seat and Kerry East remained vacant until the by-election the following year.
[edit] 1896
Roche (Anti-Parnellite Nationalist) was returned but with fewer votes than his Nationalist predecessors. It was thought he lost some support because as a divorced man he was less popular with the Catholic vote.[2]
- The Hon James Burke Roche (Anti-Parnellite Nationalist): 1961
- John McGillycuddy (Conservative): 680
-Majority: 1281
[edit] 1900
Murphy (Nationalist) was returned unopposed.
[edit] 1906
In a closely-fought contest between two Nationalist factions, Murphy was returned by a narrow margin:
- John Murphy (Nationalist): 2185
- Eugene O'Sullivan (Nationalist): 2131
-Majority: 54
[edit] January 1910
The incumbent Murphy (Official Nationalist) was beaten by Independent candidate, Eugene O'Sullivan, who was a follower of William O'Brien's All-for-Ireland League. Shortly after being elected, O'Sullivan re-joined the official Nationalists, but Murphy petitioned the courts claiming that the vote had been rigged and that O'Sullivan had only won through violence and intimidation. The court cleared O'Sullivan of vote rigging but found him guilty of intimidation.[3] The election was declared void, unseating O'Sullivan and creating a vacancy.
- O'Sullivan (Independent Nationalist): 2643
- Murphy (Nationalist): 2154
-Majority: 489
[edit] December 1910
Eugene O'Sullivan's cousin, Timothy O'Sullivan, stood for the Nationalists. The Independent Nationalist All-for-Ireland candidate, Patrick Guiney, contested both this seat and North Cork. Although he lost in East Kerry, he was elected unopposed in North Cork, so both candidates became Members of Parliament, albeit for different constituencies. As earlier in the year, the election was marred by election violence, which included a riot at Castleisland.[4]
- O'Sullivan (Official Nationalist)
- Guiney (Independent Nationalist)
-Majority: 1253
[edit] 1918
Beasley (Sinn Féin) was returned unopposed. In accordance with his party's policy, he declined to take his seat in the British House of Commons, sitting instead in the Irish revolutionary assembly, Dáil Éireann.
