1891 Cork City by-election
The 1891 Cork City by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the United Kingdom House of Commons constituency of Cork City on 6 November 1891. It arose as a result of the death of the sitting member, Charles Stewart Parnell of the Irish Parliamentary Party.
Background
In the year before the by-election, the Irish Parliamentary Party had split in two after Parnell, its leader, had been cited as co-respondent in a divorce case, causing a scandal. A majority of the party's MPs left to found an Anti-Parnellite group. Three successive by-elections showed public support favouring the Anti-Parnellites. Even with Parnell dead, the bitterness that had arisen in the course of the party split was still deep.[citation needed]
The campaign
The Parnellites nominated their most prominent figure, John Redmond, for the seat. As the sitting MP for North Wexford, Redmond had to resign in order to contest the by-election. The anti-Parnellites nominated Martin Flavin, a local butter merchant and member of Cork Corporation. There was also a Conservative candidate, Captain Dominick Sarsfield, a landowner, Orangeman, and descendant of Patrick Sarsfield.[1]
Result
The Parnellites would have expected to do well in their former leader's own constituency, although the other member - this was a two-seat constituency - was Maurice Healy, a strong anti-Parnellite. In the event, the result was a big success for Flavin, who got 3,669 votes as against 2,157 for Redmond and 1,161 for Sarsfield[2] - a majority of 1,512 (and 351 over the other two combined). Flavin only held the seat until the following year's general election, when he retired due to ill-health. Redmond was subsequently elected in a by-election in Waterford City and held the seat until his death in 1918; Dominick Sarsfield was taken ill shortly after the election and died the following February.[3]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Irish National Federation | Martin Flavin | 3,669 | 52.51 | N/A | |
Irish National League | John Redmond | 2,157 | 30.87 | N/A | |
Irish Unionist | Captain Dominick Sarsfield | 1,161 | 16.62 | New | |
Majority | 1,512 | 21.64 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 6,987 | N/A | N/A | ||
Irish National Federation gain from Irish National League | Swing |
References
- v
- t
- e
- August: Birmingham East
- Brighton
- Bristol West
- Croydon
- Hampstead
- Lewisham
- Liverpool Walton
- Manchester East
- Marylebone East
- Paddington South
- Plymouth
- Sheffield Ecclesall
- Strand
- Bute
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Horncastle
- Isle of Wight
- St George
- Tiverton
- Wigtownshire
- Cambridge University
- West Down
- Dublin University
- Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
- Melton
- Newton
- North Northamptonshire
- Blackpool
- Burton
- Leith Burghs
- King's Lynn
- November: Brighton
- December: Brentford
- January: Liverpool Exchange
- February: Dartford
- South Donegal
- North Longford
- South Sligo
- St George's, Hanover Square
- North Antrim
- Burnley
- March: Ilkeston
- April: Taunton
- May: North East Cork
- St Austell
- July: Spalding
- Dublin University
- Paddington North
- Coventry
- St Ives
- Basingstoke
- Brixton
- Hornsey
- City of London
- Forest of Dean
- August: Cambridge University
- Glasgow Bridgeton
- Northwich
- County Carlow
- Ramsey
- September: South Kerry
- November: Cambridge University
- December: Dulwich
- January: Winchester
- February: Dublin University
- Liverpool Walton
- Dundee
- Southwark West
- Edinburgh West
- Bristol West
- Doncaster
- Hampstead
- Deptford
- March: Chichester
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Melton
- Gower
- April: Limerick
- Mid Lanarkshire
- May: Dublin St Stephen's Green
- Southampton
- June: Ayr Burghs
- Isle of Thanet
- South Longford
- July: South Sligo
- August: Liverpool West Derby
- October: Merthyr Tydfil
- November: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
- Dewsbury
- Holborn
- December: Maidstone
- Colchester
- Stockton-on-Tees
- January: Govan
- February: East Perthshire
- Burnley
- March: Barnsley
- Kennington
- Gorton
- Enfield
- April: Birmingham Central
- Rochester
- June: South East Cork
- July: West Fife
- Dover
- West Carmarthenshire
- Marylebone East
- August: Belfast North
- September: Dundee
- Sleaford
- October: Peterborough
- Elginshire and Nairnshire
- Buckingham
- Brighton
- February: Partick
- Mid Glamorgan
- West Waterford
- March: St Pancras North
- Stamford
- Stoke-upon-Trent
- Ayr Burghs
- East Down
- West Cavan
- April Windsor
- Caernarvon Boroughs
- May: Bristol East
- East Galway
- Mid Tipperary
- West Donegal
- June: North Donegal
- July: Barrow-in-Furness
- Mid Durham
- August: East Carmarthenshire
- October: Eccles
- November: Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities
- December: Bassetlaw
- North Kilkenny
- January: The Hartlepools
- February: Northampton
- March: North Wexford
- Aston Manor
- April: North Sligo
- City of London
- Woodstock
- Whitehaven
- May: Stowmarket
- South Dorset
- Harborough
- Strand
- Buckingham
- June: Paisley
- West Derbyshire
- City of London
- July: County Carlow
- Wisbech
- August: Walsall
- Lewisham
- October: Manchester North East
- Bute
- Cambridge University
- Strand
- North Kilkenny
- November: Cork City
- South Molton
- Leeds North
- East Dorset
- December: Chichester
- Mid Armagh
- Waterford City
- January: Rossendale
- February: Liverpool Everton
- March: Chertsey
- South Derbyshire
- Belfast East
- North Wexford
- Kirkcaldy Burghs
- East Worcestershire
- April: Luton
- Chelmsford
- May: Hackney North
- Lists of UK by-elections
- 1801–1806
- 1806–1818
- 1818–1832
- 1832–1847
- 1847–1857
- 1857–1868
- 1868–1885
- 1885–1900
- 1900–1918
- 1918–1931
- 1931–1950
- 1950–1979
- 1979–2010
- 2010–present
- Northern Ireland
- Hereditary peers