Cork City (UK Parliament constituency)

Cork City was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1880 to 1922 it returned two members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament, as it was no longer in the UK.

Cork City was the only constituency in Ireland to return the same number of members in each general election from the Act of Union in 1801 until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922.

Boundaries
This constituency comprised the whole of the County of the City of Cork, which was part of County Cork. Cork had the status of a county of itself, although it remained connected with County Cork for certain purposes.

The definition of the constituency boundary, from the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 89), was as follows.

"The County of the City of Cork."

A Topographical Directory of Ireland, published in 1837, describes the area covered.

"The county of the city comprises a populous rural district of great beauty and fertility, watered by several small rivulets and intersected by the river Lee and its noble estuary: it is bounded on the north by the barony of Fermoy, on the east by that of Barrymore, on the south by Kerricurrihy, and on the west by Muskerry: it comprehends the parishes of St. Finbarr, Christ-Church or the Holy Trinity, St. Peter, St. Mary Shandon, St. Anne Shandon, St. Paul and St. Nicholas, all, except part of St. Finbarr's, within the city and suburbs, and those of Curricuppane, Carrigrohanemore, Kilcully, and Rathcoony, together with parts of the parishes of Killanully or Killingly, Carrigaline, Dunbullogue or Carrignavar, Ballinaboy, Inniskenny, Kilnaglory, White-church, and Templemichael, without those limits; and contains, according to the Ordnance survey, an area of 44,463 statute acres, of which, 2396 are occupied by the city and suburbs."

The Directory also has a passage on the representative history. Other, more modern, sources ascribe an earlier date to the start of the parliamentary representation of Cork; but the passage is useful for information about the 19th century position.

"The city first sent members to the Irish parliament in 1374, but representatives who appear to have served in London were chosen previously. The right of election was vested in the freemen of the city, and in the 40s. freeholders and £50 leaseholders of the county of the city, of whom the freemen, in 1831, amounted in number to 2331, and the freeholders to 1545, making a total of 3876; but by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88 (under which the city, from its distinguished importance, retains its privilege of returning two representatives to the Imperial parliament, and the limits of the franchise, comprising the entire county of the city, remain unaltered), the non-resident freemen, except within seven miles, have been disfranchised, and the privilege of voting at elections has been extended to the £10 householders, and the £20 and £10 leaseholders for the respective terms of 14 and 20 years. The number of voters registered up to Jan. 2nd, 1836, amounted to 4791, of whom 1065 were freemen; 2727 £10 householders; 105 £50, 152 £20, and 608 forty-shilling freeholders; 3 £50, 7 £20, and 2 £10 rent-chargers; and 1 £50, 26 £20, and 95 £10 leaseholders: the sheriffs are the returning officers."

The County of the City of Cork corresponds to the current barony of Cork.

Elections
Candidates referred to as Non Partisan, did not have a party allegiance specified in either Stooks Smith or Walker (see reference section below for the sources) or capable of being inferred by disaggregating different groups incorporated under one label by Walker (such as Whigs before 1859 being listed as Liberals).

In multi-member elections, a change in vote percentage is only calculated for individual candidates not for parties. No attempt is made to compare changes between single member by-elections and previous or subsequent multi-member elections.

Turnouts, in multi-member elections from 1832, are calculated on the basis of the number of electors Stooks Smith records as voting. In some cases estimated turnouts are obtained by dividing the ballots cast by two, to obtain the lowest possible turnout figure. To the extent that electors did not use both their votes, the estimate will be less than the actual turnout.

Elections of the 1910s

 * The constituency ceased to be represented in the United Kingdom Parliament, upon the dissolution of the House of Commons, in 1922. This was a few days before the Irish Free State came into existence.


 * The count took place on 28 December 1918, to allow time for postal votes from the armed forces to arrive. The Sinn Féin MPs did not take their seats at Westminster.


 * Redmond and Roche were associated with the United Irish League wing of Irish Nationalism.
 * William O'Brien resigned again for a fourth time in January 1914 and re-stood to test local support for his policies, after the All-for-Ireland League suffered heavy defeats in the Cork City municipal elections.


 * Roche and Murphy were associated with the United Irish League wing of Irish Nationalism.

Elections of the 1900s

 * Cosbie was associated with the United Irish League wing of Irish Nationalism


 * William O'Brien resigned for a third time in 1909.


 * William O'Brien was elected "without his knowledge and against his consent". 
 * Death of J. F. X. O'Brien, in 1905.


 * William O'Brien resigned again in January 1904.


 * The Irish National Federation, the Irish National League and William O'Brien's United Irish League joined forces, to re-create the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), in 1900. Healy contested the 1900 general election as an Independent Nationalist, after forming a Healyite faction, outside the IPP.

Elections of the 1890s

 * Resignation of William O'Brien


 * The Irish Parliamentary Party split in December 1890. Parnell led the Irish National League, Parnellite Nationalist group. Most of the IPP MPs (including Healy) set up the Irish National Federation as the Anti-Parnellite Nationalist organisation.
 * Parnell died in office.

Elections of the 1880s

 * Caused by Daly's resignation.
 * 1882: Home Rule League/Nationalist Party becomes the Irish Parliamentary Party

Elections of the 1870s

 * Death of Ronayne, on 7 May 1876


 * Death of Maguire (founder Cork Examiner), on 1 November 1872

Elections of the 1860s

 * Resignation of Lyons

Elections of the 1850s

 * Death of Fagan


 * Appointment of Murphy as a Commissioner of Insolvency


 * Resignation of Fagan

Elections of the 1840s

 * Death of Callaghan


 * Resignation of Murphy by accepting the office of Steward of the Manor of Northstead

Elections of the 1830s

 * Note: On petition Leycester and Chatterton were unseated and Callaghan and Baldwin were declared duly elected, on 18 April 1835.


 * Caused by Callaghan's election in 1829 being declared void.
 * Note: Daniel Callaghan was the brother of Gerrard Callaghan. Stooks Smith classifies Callaghan as a Repealer from this election, but this may not be an accurate description for the period before 1832. See the footnote to the above table of MPs for a brief description of Callaghan's political views.

Elections of the 1820s

 * Election of Callaghan declared void, on petition


 * Death of Colthurst


 * Death of Hely-Hutchinson

Elections of the 1800s

 * Hon. John Hely-Hutchinson created the 1st Baron Hutchinson


 * 1801, 1 January Irish House of Commons members nominated to sit in the corresponding House of Parliament at Westminster