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Kilkenny — UK General Election Results

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

Kilkenny elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Edward Purcell Mulhallen Marum (Irish Parliamentary Party) and Patrick Leopold Martin (Irish Parliamentary Party). This page covers every general election in Kilkenny 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 Pierce Butler (Repeal Association); William Francis Finn (Repeal Association) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1835 Pierce Butler (Repeal Association and Whig); William Francis Finn (Repeal Association and Whig) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1837 Pierce Butler (Repeal Association and Whig); George Bryan (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1841 Pierce Butler (Repeal Association); George Bryan (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1847 John Greene (Repeal Association); Pierce Somerset Butler (Repeal Association) 262 30.1% (top seat) Charles Hely (Repeal Association) 21 (2.3 pts) 41.5%
1852 William Shee (Independent Irish); John Greene (Independent Irish) 2,537 43.6% (top seat) James Wandesford Butler (Conservative) 2,037 (33.9 pts) 59.7%
1857 Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis (Liberal); John Greene (Independent Irish) 1,604 39.5% (top seat) George Charles Mostyn (Liberal) 280 (4.3 pts) 63.9%
1859 Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis (Liberal); John Greene (Liberal) 1,992 31.8% (top seat) George Henry Moore (Liberal) 245 (3.1 pts) 73.1%
1865 George Leopold Bryan (Liberal); Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis (Liberal) 2,728 44.9% (top seat) John Greene (Liberal) 1,876 (28.9 pts) 63.0%
1868 George Leopold Bryan (Liberal); Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1874 George Leopold Bryan (Irish Parliamentary Party); Patrick Leopold Martin (Irish Parliamentary Party) 2,139 44.2% (top seat) Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis (Liberal) 988 (16.8 pts) 55.6%
1880 Edward Purcell Mulhallen Marum (Irish Parliamentary Party); Patrick Leopold Martin (Irish Parliamentary Party) 2,694 42.9% (top seat) James Arthur Wellington Foley Butler (Conservative) 1,781 (28.2 pts) 64.3%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Pierce Butler Repeal Association Unopposed Yes
William Francis Finn Repeal Association Unopposed Yes

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Pierce Butler Repeal Association and Whig Unopposed Yes
William Francis Finn Repeal Association and Whig Unopposed Yes

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Pierce Butler Repeal Association and Whig Unopposed Yes
George Bryan Liberal Unopposed Yes

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Pierce Butler Repeal Association Unopposed Yes
George Bryan Liberal Unopposed Yes

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Greene Repeal Association 27730.1% Yes
Pierce Somerset Butler Repeal Association 26228.5% Yes
Charles Hely Repeal Association 24126.2% No
Patrick Richard Welch Repeal Association 13915.1% No

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Shee Independent Irish 2,62243.6% Yes
John Greene Independent Irish 2,53742.2% Yes
James Wandesford Butler Conservative 5008.3% No
Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis Liberal 3505.8% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis Liberal 2,58939.5% Yes
John Greene Independent Irish 1,60424.5% Yes
George Charles Mostyn Liberal 1,32420.2% No
William Shee Liberal 1,03615.8% No

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis Liberal 2,48331.8% Yes
John Greene Liberal 1,99225.5% Yes
George Henry Moore Liberal 1,74722.4% No
William Shee Liberal 1,59020.4% No

1865 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Leopold Bryan Liberal 2,91344.9% Yes
Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis Liberal 2,72842.0% Yes
John Greene Liberal 85213.1% No

1868 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Leopold Bryan Liberal Unopposed Yes
Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis Liberal Unopposed Yes

1874 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Leopold Bryan Irish Parliamentary Party 2,60344.2% Yes
Patrick Leopold Martin Irish Parliamentary Party 2,13936.3% Yes
Leopold George Frederick Agar-Ellis Liberal 1,15119.5% No

1880 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Purcell Mulhallen Marum Irish Parliamentary Party 2,70742.9% Yes
Patrick Leopold Martin Irish Parliamentary Party 2,69442.7% Yes
James Arthur Wellington Foley Butler Conservative 91314.5% No

Margin Over Time

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

1847: Repeal Association margin 2.3 pts 1852: Independent Irish margin 33.9 pts 1857: Liberal margin 4.3 pts 1859: Liberal margin 3.1 pts 1865: Liberal margin 28.9 pts 1874: Irish Parliamentary Party margin 16.8 pts 1880: Irish Parliamentary Party margin 28.2 pts 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1874 1880

Trend

Kilkenny 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, Liberal, Independent Irish, Irish Parliamentary Party.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Kilkenny in the 1880 general election?

Edward Purcell Mulhallen Marum (Irish Parliamentary Party), Patrick Leopold Martin (Irish Parliamentary Party) won Kilkenny in 1880.

Which parties have won Kilkenny since 1832?

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

What was the closest result in Kilkenny?

The closest result on record for Kilkenny was 1847, when Repeal Association beat Repeal Association by just 21 votes (2.3 percentage points).

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

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

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