The 1886 general election in Ireland took place from 1–27 July 1886 following the collapse of the Liberal government of
William Gladstone after his failed attempt to implement
Home Rule for Ireland
The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1 ...
.
In response to Gladstone's attempt to implement Home Rule a unionist wing of the Liberals broke off to found the
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...
, which entered into an alliance with the Conservatives in an effort to block any attempt to implement Home Rule.
Results
The Irish Liberal Party, having lost all seats in the 1885 election, saw its share of the vote further plummet, to 3%. In comparison, the relative share of the vote enjoyed by the Conservatives nearly doubled. This is explained by the fact that in this election, most southern Irish seats were uncontested as opposed to the previous year, so the Irish Parliamentary Party had no contests in seats they were popular and won in walkovers. Despite a drop in their relative share of the vote the Parliamentary party only lost one seat, with the bulk of their seats – 66 – being unopposed. In total the Parliamentary party stood some 97 candidates, the Conservatives 28 (three of whom were unopposed), the Liberal Unionists seven, and the Liberals just three.
Whilst the Liberal Unionists gained two seats –
South Londonderry and
South Tyrone – the Conservatives lost the seat of
Belfast West to the Parliamentary party.
Not included in the totals are the two
Dublin University
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
seats, which were retained by Conservatives standing on a Unionist ticket.
See also
*
History of Ireland (1801–1923)
Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922. For almost all of this period, the island was governed by the UK Parliament in London through its Dublin Castle administration in Ireland. Ireland underwent c ...
References
1886
#Ireland
July 1886 events
1886 elections in Ireland
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