Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Meath elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Charles Stewart Parnell (Irish Parliamentary Party) and Robert Henry Metge (Irish Parliamentary Party). This page covers every general election in Meath 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
Henry Grattan (Repeal Association); Morgan John O'Connell (Repeal Association)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1835
Morgan John O'Connell (Repeal Association and Whig); Henry Grattan (Repeal Association and Whig)
826
35.7% (top seat)
Randal Plunkett (Conservative)
480 (20.4 pts)
72.6%
1837
Morgan John O'Connell (Repeal Association and Whig); Henry Grattan (Repeal Association and Whig)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1841
Daniel O'Connell (Repeal Association); Henry Grattan (Repeal Association)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
Matthew Elias Corbally (Liberal); Henry Grattan (Repeal Association)
503
41.8% (top seat)
Henry Corbet Singleton (Conservative)
172 (12.0 pts)
44.4%
1852
Frederick Lucas (Independent Irish); Matthew Elias Corbally (Independent Irish)
1,968
44.2% (top seat)
Henry Grattan (Independent Irish)
1,403 (30.9 pts)
53.8%
1857
Matthew Elias Corbally (Independent Irish); Edward Francis McEvoy (Independent Irish)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1859
Matthew Elias Corbally (Liberal); Edward Francis McEvoy (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
Matthew Elias Corbally (Liberal); Edward Francis McEvoy (Liberal)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1868
Matthew Elias Corbally (Liberal); Edward Francis McEvoy (Liberal)
1,655
49.3% (top seat)
John Thomas Hinds (Liberal)
1,567 (45.6 pts)
42.8%
1874
Nicholas Ennis (Irish Parliamentary Party); John Martin (Irish Parliamentary Party)
1,709
38.8% (top seat)
James Lennox Napier (Conservative)
717 (16.2 pts)
54.3%
1880
Charles Stewart Parnell (Irish Parliamentary Party); Robert Henry Metge (Irish Parliamentary Party)
2,252
45.2% (top seat)
Henry Lorton Bourke (Conservative)
1,738 (34.4 pts)
65.1%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Henry Grattan
Repeal Association
Unopposed
Yes
Morgan John O'Connell
Repeal Association
Unopposed
Yes
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Morgan John O'Connell
Repeal Association and Whig
838
35.7%
Yes
Henry Grattan
Repeal Association and Whig
826
35.2%
Yes
Randal Plunkett
Conservative
346
14.7%
No
Gustavus Lambert
Conservative
337
14.4%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Morgan John O'Connell
Repeal Association and Whig
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Grattan
Repeal Association and Whig
Unopposed
Yes
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Daniel O'Connell
Repeal Association
Unopposed
Yes
Henry Grattan
Repeal Association
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Matthew Elias Corbally
Liberal
598
41.8%
Yes
Henry Grattan
Repeal Association
503
35.1%
Yes
Henry Corbet Singleton
Conservative
331
23.1%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Frederick Lucas
Independent Irish
2,004
44.2%
Yes
Matthew Elias Corbally
Independent Irish
1,968
43.4%
Yes
Henry Grattan
Independent Irish
565
12.5%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Matthew Elias Corbally
Independent Irish
Unopposed
Yes
Edward Francis McEvoy
Independent Irish
Unopposed
Yes
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Matthew Elias Corbally
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Edward Francis McEvoy
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Matthew Elias Corbally
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
Edward Francis McEvoy
Liberal
Unopposed
Yes
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Matthew Elias Corbally
Liberal
1,696
49.3%
Yes
Edward Francis McEvoy
Liberal
1,655
48.1%
Yes
John Thomas Hinds
Liberal
88
2.6%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Nicholas Ennis
Irish Parliamentary Party
1,716
38.8%
Yes
John Martin
Irish Parliamentary Party
1,709
38.7%
Yes
James Lennox Napier
Conservative
992
22.5%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Charles Stewart Parnell
Irish Parliamentary Party
2,283
45.2%
Yes
Robert Henry Metge
Irish Parliamentary Party
2,252
44.6%
Yes
Henry Lorton Bourke
Conservative
514
10.2%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Meath 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 Meath in the 1880 general election?
Charles Stewart Parnell (Irish Parliamentary Party), Robert Henry Metge (Irish Parliamentary Party) won Meath in 1880.
Which parties have won Meath since 1832?
Since 1832, Meath has been won by: Independent Irish, Irish Parliamentary Party, Liberal, Repeal Association, Repeal Association and Whig.
What was the closest result in Meath?
The closest result on record for Meath was 1847, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 172 votes (12.0 percentage points).
Did Meath ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Meath 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.