Kinsale (UK Parliament constituency)

Kinsale was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

Kinsale
Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons
CountyCounty Cork
BoroughKinsale
1801–1885
Seats1
Created fromKinsale (IHC)
Replaced bySouth East Cork

Boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Kinsale in County Cork. A Topographical Directory of Ireland, published in 1837, describes the Parliamentary history of the borough.

It is not known exactly at what time the borough first exercised the elective franchise, but it returned two members to parliament long prior to 1652, and continued to do so without interruption till the Union, since which time it has returned only one to the Imperial parliament. The right of election, previously vested in the corporation, was, by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, extended to the £10 householders and limited to the resident freemen; the total number of registered electors up to 1 June 1837, was 224, of whom 192 were £10 householders, and 32 freemen; the sovereign is the returning officer. The borough and liberties comprise an area of 11,000 acres, within the jurisdiction of the borough magistrates; a new electoral boundary has been drawn close round the town, including the village of Scilly, and comprising an area of 273 acres.

The new boundary contained in the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 was:

From the Point on the North-east of the Town at which the new Cork Road crosses the old Cork Road, in a straight Line to the Northern Extremity of Mr. Hurley's Stables; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the Road to Bandon River leaves the Road to Bandon; thence in a straight Line to the Point at which the Blindgate Road meets the Compass Hill Road; thence in a straight Line over Compass Hill to the Westernmost House at the place called "The World's End;" thence along the Coast to the Point at which the same is met by the first Bank which runs up the Hill to the East of and beyond the Village of Scilly;thence along the said Bank to the Point at which the same meets the Road from Scilly to Charles Fort; thence in a straight Line to a Point on the Harbour Hill Road which is distant One hundred and eighty Yards (measured along the Harbour Hill Road) to the East of the Barrack Wall; thence in a straight Line to the Point first described.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberPartyNote
1801, 1 January William Rowley 1801: Co-opted
1802, 13 July Samuel Campbell Rowley Resigned
1806, 29 April Henry Martin Whig
1818, 27 June George Coussmaker Died
1821, 12 July Sir Josias Rowley, Bt Tory
1826, 15 June John Russell Whig[1]
1832, 18 December Sampson Stawell Whig[1]
1835, 15 January Henry Thomas Conservative[1][2]
1837, 7 August Pierce Mahony Whig[1] Unseated on petition
1838, 1 April Henry Thomas Conservative[1][2] Declared duly elected
1841, 9 July William Henry Watson Whig[1]
1847, 6 August Richard Samuel Guinness Conservative[2] Unseated on petition and new writ issued
1848, 11 March Benjamin Hawes Whig[3][4][5] Resigned
1852, 12 February John Isaac Heard Whig[6][7]
1859, 7 May Sir John Arnott Liberal[2] Resigned
1863, 8 June Sir George Colthurst, Bt Liberal-Conservative[8]
1874, 3 February Eugene Collins Home Rule League[2] Last MP from the constituency
1885 Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1830s
General election 1830: Kinsale[2][1][9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig John Russell (MP) Unopposed
Whig hold
General election 1831: Kinsale[2][1][9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig John Russell (MP) Unopposed
Registered electors 64
Whig hold
General election 1832: Kinsale[2][1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Whig Sampson Stawell 96 51.6
Tory John Cuthbert 90 48.4
Majority 6 3.2
Turnout 186 90.3
Registered electors 206
Whig hold
General election 1835: Kinsale[2][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry Thomas (MP) 78 50.3 +1.9
Whig Thomas Dickson 77 49.7 −1.9
Majority 1 0.6 N/A
Turnout 155 70.1 −20.2
Registered electors 221
Conservative gain from Whig Swing +1.9
General election 1837: Kinsale[2][1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Pierce Mahony 103 51.2 +1.5
Conservative Henry Thomas (MP) 98 48.8 −1.5
Majority 5 2.4 N/A
Turnout 201 69.1 −1.0
Registered electors 291
Whig gain from Conservative Swing +1.5
  • On petition, Mahony was unseated in favour of Thomas

Elections in the 1840s
General election 1841: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig William Henry Watson 98 55.1 +3.9
Conservative Matthias Wolverley Attwood 80 44.9 −3.9
Majority 18 10.2 +7.8
Turnout 178 59.3 −9.8
Registered electors 300
Whig hold Swing +3.9
General election 1847: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Samuel Guinness 103 54.5 +9.6
Whig William Henry Watson 86 45.5 −9.6
Majority 17 9.0 N/A
Turnout 189 55.1 −4.2
Registered electors 343
Conservative gain from Whig Swing +9.6

On petition, Guinness was unseated and a new writ was issued, causing a by-election.

By-election, 11 March 1848: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Benjamin Hawes 97 50.8 +5.3
Conservative Robert Pelham-Clinton 94 49.2 −5.3
Majority 3 1.6 N/A
Turnout 191 55.7 +0.6
Registered electors 343
Whig gain from Conservative Swing +5.3

Elections in the 1850s

Hawes resigned by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, causing a by-election.

By-election, 12 February 1852: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Isaac Heard Unopposed
Whig gain from Conservative
General election 1852: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Isaac Heard Unopposed
Registered electors 139
Whig gain from Conservative
General election 1857: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig John Isaac Heard Unopposed
Registered electors 149
Whig hold
General election 1859: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Arnott 79 67.5 N/A
Conservative Frederick Brine 38 32.5 New
Majority 41 35.0 N/A
Turnout 117 81.3 N/A
Registered electors 144
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1860s

Arnott resigned, causing a by-election.

By-election, 8 June 1863: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal-Conservative George Colthurst[8] 63 55.3 New
Conservative Victor Beare Fitzgibbon 51 44.7 +12.2
Majority 12 10.6 N/A
Turnout 114 78.6 −2.7
Registered electors 145
Liberal-Conservative gain from Liberal Swing N/A
General election 1865: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal-Conservative George Colthurst[8] 62 52.5 N/A
Liberal Eugene Collins 56 47.5 −20.0
Majority 6 5.0 N/A
Turnout 118 81.4 +0.1
Registered electors 145
Liberal-Conservative gain from Liberal Swing N/A
General election 1868: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal-Conservative George Colthurst[8] Unopposed
Registered electors 172
Liberal-Conservative hold

Elections in the 1870s
General election 1874: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Home Rule Eugene Collins 107 69.5 New
Conservative Charles Andrews 47 30.5 N/A
Majority 60 39.0 N/A
Turnout 154 83.7 N/A
Registered electors 184
Home Rule gain from Liberal-Conservative Swing N/A

Elections in the 1880s
General election 1880: Kinsale[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Home Rule Eugene Collins 112 72.7 +3.2
Conservative John Carmichael 42 27.3 −3.2
Majority 70 45.4 +6.4
Turnout 154 79.4 −4.3
Registered electors 194
Home Rule hold Swing +3.2

References
  1. Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 231.
  2. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
  3. Stooks Smith, Henry (1845). The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I., to the Present Time. Vol II: Oxfordshire to Wales Inclusive. London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. p. 68.
  4. "Waterford Chronicle". 15 March 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 4 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Kinsale Election". Dublin Weekly Nation. 18 March 1848. p. 13. Retrieved 4 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Ulster". Dublin Weekly Nation. 7 February 1852. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 4 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "General Election". Evening Mail. 9 February 1852. p. 7. Retrieved 4 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Death of George Colthurst". Times. 26 September 1878. p. 8.
  9. Salmon, Philip. "Kinsale". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.