Cork — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Cork elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: William Shaw (Irish Parliamentary Party) and David la Touche Colthurst (Irish Parliamentary Party). This page covers every general election in Cork 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	Feargus Edward O'Connor (Repeal Association); Garrett Standish Barry (Repeal Association)	1,778	32.0% (top seat)	Francis Bernard (Conservative)	784 (13.6 pts)	78.8%
1835	Feargus Edward O'Connor (Repeal Association and Whig); Garrett Standish Barry (Repeal Association and Whig)	1,613	31.0% (top seat)	Richard Longfield (Conservative)	586 (11.2 pts)	66.9%
1837	Garrett Standish Barry (Repeal Association and Whig); Edmond Burke Roche (Repeal Association and Whig)	1,902	31.4% (top seat)	Richard Longfield (Conservative)	754 (12.4 pts)	62.2%
1841	Daniel O'Connell (Repeal Association); Edmond Burke Roche (Repeal Association)	1,274	38.5% (top seat)	Nicholas Philpot Leader (Conservative)	868 (26.2 pts)	44.7%
1847	Maurice Power (Repeal Association); Edmond Burke Roche (Repeal Association)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1852	Vincent Scully (Independent Irish); Edmond Burke Roche (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1857	Rickard Deasy (Liberal); Alexander McCarthy (Independent Irish)	6,265	42.7% (top seat)	Vincent Scully (Independent Irish)	3,413 (21.5 pts)	50.9%
1859	Rickard Deasy (Liberal); Vincent Scully (Liberal)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1865	George Richard Barry (Liberal); Nicholas Philpot Leader (Conservative)	6,958	45.1% (top seat)	Vincent Scully (Liberal)	4,660 (27.7 pts)	54.1%
1868	Timothy McCarthy Downing (Liberal); Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry (Liberal)	6,610	43.7% (top seat)	Robert Boyle (Liberal)	2,893 (15.8 pts)	56.9%
1874	William Shaw (Irish Parliamentary Party); Timothy McCarthy Downing (Irish Parliamentary Party)	Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record				0.0%
1880	William Shaw (Irish Parliamentary Party); David la Touche Colthurst (Irish Parliamentary Party)	3,584	43.3% (top seat)	Andrew Joseph Kettle (Irish Parliamentary Party)	154 (1.2 pts)	40.4%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Feargus Edward O'Connor	Repeal Association	1,837	32.0%	Yes
Garrett Standish Barry	Repeal Association	1,778	30.9%	Yes
Francis Bernard	Conservative	994	17.3%	No
Abraham Morris	Conservative	737	12.8%	No
Robert Henry King	Liberal	401	7.0%	No
Richard Hedges Becher	Conservative	2	0.0%	No
Thomas Stephen Coppinger	Liberal	0	0.0%	No

1835 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Feargus Edward O'Connor	Repeal Association and Whig	1,630	31.0%	Yes
Garrett Standish Barry	Repeal Association and Whig	1,613	30.7%	Yes
Richard Longfield	Conservative	1,027	19.5%	No
Francis Bernard	Conservative	984	18.7%	No

1837 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Garrett Standish Barry	Repeal Association and Whig	1,902	31.4%	Yes
Edmond Burke Roche	Repeal Association and Whig	1,902	31.4%	Yes
Richard Longfield	Conservative	1,148	18.9%	No
James King	Conservative	1,114	18.4%	No

1841 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Daniel O'Connell	Repeal Association	1,274	38.5%	Yes
Edmond Burke Roche	Repeal Association	1,274	38.5%	Yes
Nicholas Philpot Leader	Conservative	406	12.3%	No
Robert Longfield	Conservative	357	10.8%	No

1847 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Maurice Power	Repeal Association	Unopposed		Yes
Edmond Burke Roche	Repeal Association	Unopposed		Yes

1852 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Vincent Scully	Independent Irish	Unopposed		Yes
Edmond Burke Roche	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1857 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Rickard Deasy	Liberal	6,788	42.7%	Yes
Alexander McCarthy	Independent Irish	6,265	39.4%	Yes
Vincent Scully	Independent Irish	2,852	17.9%	No

1859 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Rickard Deasy	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes
Vincent Scully	Liberal	Unopposed		Yes

1865 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
George Richard Barry	Liberal	7,593	45.1%	Yes
Nicholas Philpot Leader	Conservative	6,958	41.3%	Yes
Vincent Scully	Liberal	2,298	13.6%	No

1868 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
Timothy McCarthy Downing	Liberal	8,011	43.7%	Yes
Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry	Liberal	6,610	36.0%	Yes
Robert Boyle	Liberal	3,717	20.3%	No

1874 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Shaw	Irish Parliamentary Party	Unopposed		Yes
Timothy McCarthy Downing	Irish Parliamentary Party	Unopposed		Yes

1880 (2 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Elected
William Shaw	Irish Parliamentary Party	5,354	43.3%	Yes
David la Touche Colthurst	Irish Parliamentary Party	3,584	29.0%	Yes
Andrew Joseph Kettle	Irish Parliamentary Party	3,430	27.7%	No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

Trend

Cork 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, Independent Irish, Liberal, Conservative, Irish Parliamentary Party.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Cork in the 1880 general election?

William Shaw (Irish Parliamentary Party), David la Touche Colthurst (Irish Parliamentary Party) won Cork in 1880.

Which parties have won Cork since 1832?

Since 1832, Cork has been won by: Conservative, Independent Irish, Irish Parliamentary Party, Liberal, Repeal Association, Repeal Association and Whig.

What was the closest result in Cork?

The closest result on record for Cork was 1880, when Irish Parliamentary Party beat Irish Parliamentary Party by just 154 votes (1.2 percentage points).

Did Cork ever elect more than one MP at a time?

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Cork 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.