Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Clare elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Charles James Patrick Mahon (Irish Parliamentary Party) and William Henry O'Shea (Irish Parliamentary Party). This page covers every general election in Clare from 1832 to 1880.
This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.
Full Election History, 1832–1880
Election
Elected
Votes
Vote Share
Runner-up
Majority
Turnout
1832
William Nugent Macnamara (Repeal Association); Cornelius O'Brien (Repeal Association)
897
32.5% (top seat)
John Macdonnell (Conservative)
196 (6.9 pts)
56.3%
1835
William Nugent Macnamara (Repeal Association and Whig); Cornelius O'Brien (Repeal Association and Whig)
686
50.0% (top seat)
Lucius O'Brien (Conservative)
686 (50.0 pts)
25.7%
1837
William Nugent Macnamara (Repeal Association and Whig); Cornelius O'Brien (Repeal Association and Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1841
William Nugent Macnamara (Repeal Association); Cornelius O'Brien (Repeal Association)
1,072
44.6% (top seat)
Crofton Moore Vandeleur (Conservative)
850 (35.1 pts)
65.5%
1847
Lucius O'Brien (Conservative); William Nugent Macnamara (Repeal Association)
723
32.2% (top seat)
Cornelius O'Brien (Repeal Association)
139 (5.5 pts)
56.7%
1852
John Forster FitzGerald (Liberal); Cornelius O'Brien (Independent Irish)
1,141
33.0% (top seat)
Crofton Moore Vandeleur (Conservative)
2 (0.1 pts)
67.6%
1857
Francis Nathaniel Conyngham (Independent Irish); Francis Macnamara Calcutt (Independent Irish)
1,390
52.3% (top seat)
John Forster FitzGerald (Liberal)
141 (2.5 pts)
73.9%
1859
Crofton Moore Vandeleur (Conservative); Luke White (Liberal)
2,234
47.5% (top seat)
Francis Macnamara Calcutt (Liberal)
237 (2.9 pts)
73.2%
1865
Colman Michael O'Loghlen (Liberal); Crofton Moore Vandeleur (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
Colman Michael O'Loghlen (Liberal); Crofton Moore Vandeleur (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1874
Colman Michael O'Loghlen (Irish Parliamentary Party); Francis Nathaniel Conyngham (Irish Parliamentary Party)
2,565
44.9% (top seat)
Crofton Moore Vandeleur (Conservative)
1,325 (19.2 pts)
63.2%
1880
Charles James Patrick Mahon (Irish Parliamentary Party); William Henry O'Shea (Irish Parliamentary Party)
3,133
44.8% (top seat)
Hector Stewart Vandeleur (Conservative)
2,221 (30.3 pts)
64.9%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Nugent Macnamara
Repeal Association
920
32.5%
Yes
Cornelius O'Brien
Repeal Association
897
31.6%
Yes
John Macdonnell
Conservative
701
24.7%
No
Augustine Butler
Conservative
317
11.2%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Nugent Macnamara
Repeal Association and Whig
686
50.0%
Yes
Cornelius O'Brien
Repeal Association and Whig
686
50.0%
Yes
Lucius O'Brien
Conservative
0
0.0%
No
Crofton Moore Vandeleur
Conservative
0
0.0%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Nugent Macnamara
Repeal Association and Whig
Unopposed
Yes
Cornelius O'Brien
Repeal Association and Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Nugent Macnamara
Repeal Association
1,079
44.6%
Yes
Cornelius O'Brien
Repeal Association
1,072
44.3%
Yes
Crofton Moore Vandeleur
Conservative
222
9.2%
No
James Molony
Conservative
47
1.9%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Lucius O'Brien
Conservative
809
32.2%
Yes
William Nugent Macnamara
Repeal Association
723
28.8%
Yes
Cornelius O'Brien
Repeal Association
584
23.3%
No
William Fitzgerald
Conservative
395
15.7%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Forster FitzGerald
Liberal
1,152
33.0%
Yes
Cornelius O'Brien
Independent Irish
1,141
32.7%
Yes
Crofton Moore Vandeleur
Conservative
1,139
32.6%
No
William Stackpoole
Conservative
60
1.7%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Francis Nathaniel Conyngham
Independent Irish
2,894
52.3%
Yes
Francis Macnamara Calcutt
Independent Irish
1,390
25.1%
Yes
John Forster FitzGerald
Liberal
1,249
22.6%
No
Luke White
Independent Irish
1
0.0%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Crofton Moore Vandeleur
Conservative
3,829
47.5%
Yes
Luke White
Liberal
2,234
27.7%
Yes
Francis Macnamara Calcutt
Liberal
1,997
24.8%
No
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Colman Michael O'Loghlen
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Crofton Moore Vandeleur
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Colman Michael O'Loghlen
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Crofton Moore Vandeleur
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Colman Michael O'Loghlen
Irish Parliamentary Party
3,095
44.9%
Yes
Francis Nathaniel Conyngham
Irish Parliamentary Party
2,565
37.2%
Yes
Crofton Moore Vandeleur
Conservative
1,240
18.0%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles James Patrick Mahon
Irish Parliamentary Party
3,283
44.8%
Yes
William Henry O'Shea
Irish Parliamentary Party
3,133
42.8%
Yes
Hector Stewart Vandeleur
Conservative
912
12.4%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Clare has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Repeal Association, Repeal Association and Whig, Conservative, Liberal, Independent Irish, Irish Parliamentary Party.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Clare in the 1880 general election?
Charles James Patrick Mahon (Irish Parliamentary Party), William Henry O'Shea (Irish Parliamentary Party) won Clare in 1880.
Which parties have won Clare since 1832?
Since 1832, Clare has been won by: Conservative, Independent Irish, Irish Parliamentary Party, Liberal, Repeal Association, Repeal Association and Whig.
What was the closest result in Clare?
The closest result on record for Clare was 1852, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 2 votes (0.1 percentage points).
Did Clare ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Clare elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.