Cork County (UK Parliament constituency)

Cork County was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Cork County
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1801–1885
Number of members	Two
Replaced by	East Cork, Mid Cork, North Cork, North East Cork, South Cork, South East Cork and West Cork

At the 1885 general election, County Cork was divided into seven parliamentary divisions: East Cork, Mid Cork, North Cork, North East Cork, South Cork, South East Cork and West Cork.

Since 1922, the area no longer elects UK members of parliament, as it is no longer in the United Kingdom.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the whole of County Cork, except for the city of Cork and the boroughs of Bandon, Kinsale, Mallow and Youghal.

Members of Parliament

Year			1st member	1st party	2nd member	2nd party
		1801, 1 January	Viscount Boyle		Robert Uniacke Fitzgerald
		1806, 17 November		Whig	Hon. George Ponsonby	Whig
		1807, 16 May	Viscount Bernard	Tory
		1812, 23 October			Viscount Ennismore	Tory[1]
		1818, 29 June	Viscount Kingsborough	Whig
		1826, 21 June	Robert King	Whig[2]
		1827, 4 December			John Boyle	Whig[3]
		1830, 12 August			Viscount Boyle	Whig[2]
		1832, 29 December	Feargus O'Connor[4]	Repeal Association[2][5]	Garrett Standish Barry	Repeal Association[2]
		1835, 5 June	Richard Longfield	Conservative[2][5]
		1837, 18 August	Edmond Roche	Repeal Association[2][5][6]
		1841, 15 July			Daniel O'Connell	Repeal Association[2][5]
		1847, 2 July			Maurice Power	Repeal Association[5][6]
		1852, 22 March		Whig[7]	Vincent Scully	Ind. Irish[8][9]
		1855, 23 April	Rickard Deasy	Whig[10][11]
		1857, 10 April			Alexander McCarthy	Ind. Irish[12][13]
		1859, 10 May		Liberal	Vincent Scully	Liberal
		1861, 28 February	Nicholas Leader	Conservative
		1865, 29 July			George Richard Barry	Liberal
		1867, 3 February			Arthur Smith-Barry	Liberal
		1868, 30 November	McCarthy Downing	Liberal
		1874, 9 February		Home Rule	William Shaw	Home Rule
		1879, 20 February	David la Touche Colthurst	Home Rule
1885			Constituency divided: see East Cork, Mid Cork, North Cork, North East Cork, South Cork, South East Cork and West Cork

Elections

• 1654 Roger Boyle, afterwards Earl of Orrery, born 25 April 1621, died 16 October 1679 aged 58
• 1801 (no formal election), (1) Henry Boyle, Viscount Boyle, later Earl of Shannon (to 1807), b. 8 August 1771, d. 22 April 1842 aged 70; (2) Robert Uniacke Fitzgerald, b. 17 March 1751, d. 20 December 1814 aged 63
• 1806 17 November, George Ponsonby (to 1812), b. 1773, d. 5 June 1863 aged 90
• 1807 16 May, James Bernard, Viscount Bernard, later Earl of Bandon (to 1818), b. 14 June 1785, d. 31 October 1856 aged 71
• 1812 23 October, Richard Hare, Viscount Ennismore (to 1827), b. 20 March 1773, d. 24 September 1827 aged 54
• 1818 29 June, Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough,(Whig), b. 16 November 1795, d. 27 February 1837 aged 41
• 1826, 21 June, Robert Henry King, after Earl of Kingston (to 1832), (Whig), b. 4 October 1796, d. 21 January 1867 aged 70
• 1827, 4 December, John Boyle, b. 13 March 1803, d. 6 December 1874 aged 71

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Cork County[5][2][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert King	Unopposed
	Whig	Richard Boyle	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,138
	Whig hold
	Whig gain from Tory

General election 1831: Cork County[5][2][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Whig	Robert King	Unopposed
	Whig	Richard Boyle	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,178
	Whig hold
	Whig hold

General election 1832: Cork County[5][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Irish Repeal	Feargus O'Connor	1,837	32.0
	Irish Repeal	Garrett Standish Barry	1,778	30.9
	Tory	Francis Bernard	994	17.3
	Tory	Abraham Morris	737	12.8
	Whig	Robert King	401	7.0
	Tory	Richard Hedges Becher	2	0.0
	Whig	Thomas Stephen Coppinger	0	0.0
Majority			784	13.6
Turnout			3,022	78.8
Registered electors			3,835
	Irish Repeal gain from Whig
	Irish Repeal gain from Whig

General election 1835: Cork County[5][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Feargus O'Connor	1,630	31.0	−1.0
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Garrett Standish Barry	1,613	30.7	−0.2
	Conservative	Richard Longfield	1,027	19.5	+6.7
	Conservative	Francis Bernard	984	18.7	+1.4
Majority			586	11.2	−2.4
Turnout			c. 2,627	c. 66.9	c. −11.9
Registered electors			3,926
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	−2.5
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	−2.1

• On petition, O'Connor was declared not qualified and unseated in favour of Longfield

General election 1837: Cork County[5][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Garrett Standish Barry	1,902	31.3	+0.6
	Irish Repeal (Whig)	Edmond Roche	1,902	31.3	+0.3
	Conservative	Richard Longfield	1,148	18.9	−0.6
	Conservative	James King	1,114	18.4	−0.3
Majority			754	12.4	+1.2
Turnout			c. 3,035	c. 62.2	c. −4.7
Registered electors			4,878
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	+0.5
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	+0.4

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Cork County[5][2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	Daniel O'Connell	1,274	38.5	+7.2
	Irish Repeal	Edmond Roche	1,274	38.5	+7.2
	Conservative	Nicholas Leader	406	12.3	−7.1
	Conservative	Robert Longfield	357	10.8	−7.1
Majority			868	26.2	+13.8
Turnout			1,680	45.3	−16.9
Registered electors			3,706
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	+7.2
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	+7.2

O'Connell's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 2 July 1847: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	Maurice Power	833	60.5	−16.5
	Conservative	Nicholas Leader	544	39.5	+16.4
Majority			289	21.0	−5.2
Turnout			1,377	30.8	−14.5
Registered electors			4,474 (1847 figure)
	Irish Repeal hold		Swing	−16.5

General election 1847: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Repeal	Maurice Power	Unopposed
	Irish Repeal	Edmond Roche	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,474
	Irish Repeal hold
	Irish Repeal hold

Elections in the 1850s

Power was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Saint Lucia, resigning and causing a by-election.

By-election, 22 March 1852: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	Vincent Scully	3,956	56.0	New
	Conservative	Moreton Frewen	3,105	44.0	New
Majority			851	12.0	N/A
Turnout			7,061	53.5	N/A
Registered electors			13,192
	Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal		Swing	N/A

General election 1852: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Irish	Vincent Scully	Unopposed
	Whig	Edmond Roche	Unopposed
Registered electors			13,192
	Independent Irish gain from Irish Repeal
	Whig gain from Irish Repeal

Roche was elevated to the peerage, becoming 1st Baron Fermoy and causing a by-election.

By-election, 23 April 1855: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Rickard Deasy	3,238	41.2	N/A
	Whig	William Hare[15]	3,000	38.1	N/A
	Independent Irish	Alexander McCarthy	1,628	20.7	N/A
Majority			238	3.1	N/A
Turnout			7,866 (est)	59.6 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			13,192
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1857: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Rickard Deasy	6,788	42.7	N/A
	Independent Irish	Alexander McCarthy	6,265	39.4	N/A
	Independent Irish	Vincent Scully	2,852	17.9	N/A
Majority			523	3.3	N/A
Turnout			7,953 (est)	50.9	N/A
Registered electors			15,633
	Whig hold		Swing	N/A
	Independent Irish hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1859: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rickard Deasy	Unopposed
	Liberal	Vincent Scully	Unopposed
Registered electors			15,716
	Liberal hold
	Liberal hold

Deasy was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 5 July 1859: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rickard Deasy	Unopposed
Registered electors			15,716
	Liberal hold

Elections in the 1860s

Deasy was appointed Attorney-General for Ireland, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 5 March 1860: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rickard Deasy	5,674	62.6	N/A
	Liberal	Charles Noel	3,395	37.4	N/A
Majority			2,279	25.2	N/A
Turnout			9,069	57.7	N/A
Registered electors			15,716
	Liberal hold

Deasy resigned after being appointed a Baron of the Exchequer, causing a by-election.

By-election, 28 February 1861: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Leader	6,441	69.3	New
	Liberal	Edmund Roche	2,852	30.7	N/A
Majority			3,589	38.6	N/A
Turnout			9,293	59.1	N/A
Registered electors			15,716
	Conservative gain from Liberal

General election 1865: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Richard Barry	7,593	45.1	N/A
	Conservative	Nicholas Leader	6,958	41.3	N/A
	Liberal	Vincent Scully	2,298	13.6	N/A
Turnout			14,551 (est)	93.4 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			15,572
Majority			635	3.8	N/A
	Liberal hold
Majority			4,660	27.7	N/A
	Conservative gain from Liberal

Barry's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 23 February 1867: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Smith-Barry	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1868: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	McCarthy Downing	8,011	43.7	N/A
	Liberal	Arthur Smith-Barry	6,610	36.0	−9.1
	Liberal	Robert Boyle	3,717	20.3	N/A
Majority			2,893	15.7	+11.9
Turnout			9,169 (est)	56.9 (est)	−36.5
Registered electors			16,105
	Liberal hold
	Liberal gain from Conservative

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	William Shaw	Unopposed
	Home Rule	McCarthy Downing	Unopposed
Registered electors			15,633
	Home Rule gain from Liberal
	Home Rule gain from Liberal

Downing's death caused a by-election.

By-election, 17 Feb 1879: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	David la Touche Colthurst	8,157	80.1	N/A
	Conservative	Sir George St John Colthurst 6th Baronet	2,027	19.9	New
Majority			6,130	60.2	N/A
Turnout			10,184	66.3	N/A
Registered electors			15,634
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Cork County[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Home Rule	William Shaw	5,354	43.3	N/A
	Home Rule	David la Touche Colthurst	3,584	29.0	N/A
	Home Rule	Andrew Kettle	3,430	27.7	N/A
Majority			154	1.3	N/A
Turnout			6,184 (est)	40.4 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			15,321
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A
	Home Rule hold		Swing	N/A

Divided 1885 into seven divisions

• East Cork (UK Parliament constituency)
• Mid Cork (UK Parliament constituency)
• North Cork (UK Parliament constituency)
• North-East Cork (UK Parliament constituency)
• South Cork (UK Parliament constituency)
• South-East Cork (UK Parliament constituency)
• West Cork (UK Parliament constituency)

References

1. Salmon, Philip. "HARE, Hon. Richard (1773-1827)". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
2. Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 220.
3. Salmon, Philip. "BOYLE, Hon. John (1803-1874), of Marston, Frome, Som". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
4. O'Connor was re-elected in 1835 but unseated on petition in favour of Richard Longfield on 5 June 1835, on the grounds that O'Connor failed the property qualification required of Members of Parliament.
5. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
6. "Ireland". Morning Advertiser. 13 August 1847. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Election News". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 24 July 1841. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. ""Success" of Mr. Scully". Cork Constitution. 13 March 1852. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "County Cork Election". Weekly Freeman's Journal. 20 March 1852. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Cork Election". Newry Examiner and Louth Advertiser. 21 April 1855. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Undue Influence Exerted in the Irish Elections". Belfast News-Letter. 22 April 1857. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Cork County". Dublin Evening Mail. 20 March 1857. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Dublin Weekly Nation". 4 April 1857. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. Salmon, Philip. "Co. Cork". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
15. "Irish Business in Parliament". Dublin Weekly Nation. 21 April 1855. pp. 8–9 – via British Newspaper Archive.

• The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978),Leigh Rayment, David Dickson Old World Colony Corl and South Munster 1630-1830 Cork University Press 2005, Famine in West Cork Fr. Patrick Hickey Mercier Press 2002
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 5)