William Goulding (15 November 1817 – 8 December 1884)[1] was an Irish Conservative Party politician from Cork. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1876 to 1880.
At the general election in February 1847, he was stood unsuccessfully as a candidate in Cork City, where both seats were won by Repeal Association candidates.[2] After the Repeal MP Joseph Ronayne died in May 1876, the Repeal vote at the resulting by-election was split between two candidates for the single seat, and Goulding won the seat in the House of Commons.[3] However, at the 1880 general election, the Repealers fielded only two candidates for Cork's two seats, and Goulding was defeated.
He stood again at the by-election in February 1884 after the resignation of John Daly, but was defeated again.[4] Two Conservatives candidates contested Cork City at the 1885 general election, and one Unionist candidate stood at the by-election in 1891, but Goulding was the last Conservative or Unionist to be elected as MP for Cork City.[5]
After his death in 1884, a stained glass window representing the Good Shepherd was erected to his memory on the east wall of Taney parish church in Dundrum, County Dublin.[6]
His son William Goulding (1856–1925), a prominent freemason who was director several railway companies in Ireland, was made a baronet in 1904.[7] The 3rd Baronet, Basil Goulding, was a notable art collector and the husband of Valerie Goulding, an Irish senator and campaigner for disabled people.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joseph Philip Ronayne Nicholas Daniel Murphy |
Member of Parliament for Cork City 1876 – 1880 With: Nicholas Daniel Murphy |
Succeeded by Charles Stewart Parnell John Daly |