1920 Dublin Corporation election

1920 Dublin Corporation election
All 80 seats to Dublin Corporation; 41 seats needed for a majority
	Map showing the largest party, and affiliation of councillors, by electoral area. Sinn Féin received a majority of the vote in wards 1, 3, 6, and 7, and a plurality in 2, 5, 9, and 10. Independent Nationalists received a majority of the vote in ward 8, and Official Nationalists won a plurality in ward 4. Whilst Sinn Féin was the single largest party in ward 2, Municipal Reform and Unionist candidates together won more votes.
Lord Mayor of Dublin before election; Laurence O'Neill; Ind. Nationalist	Elected Lord Mayor of Dublin ; Thomas Kelly (de jure); Laurence O'Neill (de facto); Sinn Féin

An election to Dublin Corporation took place on Thursday, 15 January 1920 as part of the 1920 Irish local elections. Dublin was divided into ten borough electoral areas to elect 80 councillors for a five-year term of office on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).

Sinn Féin won a slight majority in the council, with 42 seats. Whilst the Sinn Féin majority was small, they emerged from the election as by far the largest party on the Dublin Corporation council.^[1]

Following the election Thomas Kelly, the Sinn Féin MP for Dublin St Stephen's Green, was unanimously elected by the council as the new Lord Mayor of Dublin. Kelly was elected despite being held at the time as a political prisoner in Wormwood Scrubs prison in England. Kelly was nominated for the position by the outgoing Lord Mayor Laurence O'Neill. Due to Kelly's imprisonment O'Neill continued as effective Lord Mayor.

Boundaries

These were the first elections under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919, which introduced a form of proportional representation. Under the old ward system, each of 20 wards had elected one alderman and three additional councillors. In 1919, the Local Government Board of Ireland created 10 borough electoral areas (BEAs), taking a greater account of population in the city, which took effect at these elections. Two councillors from each BEA were designated as aldermen.^[2]

Revised boundaries
BEA	Seats	Wards	Former representation
No. 1	9	Arran Quay	4
No. 2	8	Clontarf East, Clontarf West, Drumcondra and Glasnevin	16
No. 3	9	Fitzwilliam, Mansion House, Royal Exchange, South City	16
No. 4	10	Inns Quay and Rotunda	8
No. 5	7	Merchant's Quay	4
No. 6	7	Mountjoy	4
No. 7	9	New Kilmainham and Usher's Quay	8
No. 8	8	North City and North Dock	8
No. 9	6	Wood Quay	4
No. 10	7	Trinity and South Dock	8

Results by party

Party		Seats	±	1st pref	FPv%	±%
	Sinn Féin	42	38	28,069	45.92
	Labour	14	5	7,693	12.58
	Municipal Reform	9	9	7,011	11.47	New
	Ind. Nationalist	7		9,607	15.72
	Irish Nationalist	4	52	3,302	5.40
	Independent	2		4,087	6.69
	Irish Unionist	1	4	702	1.49
	Painters Society	1	1	265	0.43	New
	Ind. Republican	0		275	0.45
	Independent Socialist	0		182	0.30
	Independent Labour	0		8	0.01
Totals		80		61,131	100.00	—

Results by borough electoral area

^ *: Incumbent councillor.

No. 1 Electoral Area

Arran Quay Ward.

No. 1 Electoral Area: 9 seats^[3]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2
	Sinn Féin	Michael Staines	30.83	1,675
	Labour	Thomas P. O'Reilly (ITGWU)	13.62	740
	Labour	John Farren	10.84	519	589
	Sinn Féin	William Paul	6.87	373	741
	Irish Nationalist	J. Keogh	5.71	310
	Irish Nationalist	T. Rooney	5.14	279
	Municipal Reform	E. McGeogh	5.04	274
	Sinn Féin	Patrick McIntyre	4.90	266
	Labour	D. Logue	4.66	253
	Sinn Féin	Annie Eliza Ashton	4.38	238
	Sinn Féin	Ml. McHugh	2.87	156
	Sinn Féin	Francis Nolan	2.37	129
	Irish Nationalist	Thomas Kavanagh	2.12	115
Electorate: 9,741 Valid: 5,433 Spoilt: 145 Quota: 544 Turnout: 5,578

No. 2 Electoral Area

Clontarf East Ward, Clontarf West Ward, Drumcondra Ward and Glasnevin Ward

The count was particularly long, with no candidates meeting the quota from counts 2 to 14.^[3]

No. 2 Electoral Area: 8 seats^[3]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1
	Sinn Féin	Seán McGarry	16.64	1,058
	Municipal Reform	James Hubbard Clark	12.08	768
	Irish Unionist	W. McCarthy^[*]	9.15	582
	Municipal Reform	James Moran^[*]	7.04	448
	Independent	David A. Quaid^[*]	6.97	443
	Municipal Reform	Michael Moran^[*]	6.93	441
	Sinn Féin	Thomas Loughlin	6.07	386
	Sinn Féin	Robert Rooney	5.82	370
	Independent	J. P. MacAvin^[*]	4.06	258
	Municipal Reform	John Foley^[*]	3.93	250
	Sinn Féin	S. Macaoilte	3.35	213
	Sinn Féin	Gifford Wilson	2.70	172
	Sinn Féin	Mary J. McKean	2.28	145
	Independent	Michael Maher^[*]	2.09	133
	Irish Unionist	W. P. Dinnage^[*]	1.89	120
	Sinn Féin	Sean O'Shea	1.64	104
	Independent	James Brady	1.64	104
	Independent	Daniel Daly^[*]	1.12	71
	Independent	C. Monks^[*]	1.07	68
	Independent	Patrick Ring	1.04	66
	Independent Labour	J. Manning^[a]	0.13	8
Electorate: 9,680 Valid: 6,360 Spoilt: 86 Quota: 717 Turnout: 6,446

No. 3 Electoral Area

Fitzwilliam Ward, Mansion House Ward, Royal Exchange Ward and South City Ward.

No. 3 Electoral Area: 9 seats^[3]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Sinn Féin	Thomas Kelly^[*]	41.70	3,438
	Municipal Reform	Andrew Beattie^[*]	12.83	1,058
	Municipal Reform	Sir James Gallagher^[*]	8.65	713	-	907
	Municipal Reform	J. R. Stritch	7.95	655	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	846
	Labour	O. Hynes (Bricklayers' Union)	5.46	450	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	892
	Sinn Féin	Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington	4.12	340	1,551
	Sinn Féin	T. Adkins	3.64	300	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	830
	Independent	William Corrigan^[*]	3.46	285
	Sinn Féin	Joe Clarke	3.40	280	-	-	876
	Independent	J. J. Higgins^[*]	2.55	210
	Socialist	Walter Carpenter	2.21	182
	Sinn Féin	M. J. White	1.64	135
	Sinn Féin	Robinsou Raul	1.15	95	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	713
	Independent	C. Perkins	0.93	77
	Independent	P. J. Giles	0.32	26
Electorate: 12,638 Valid: 8,244 Spoilt: - Quota: ~825 Turnout: -

No. 4 Electoral Area

Inns Quay Ward and Rotunda Ward.

No. 4 Electoral Area: 10 seats^[3]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
	Ind. Nationalist	Laurence O'Neill^[*]	48.95	3,672
	Sinn Féin	Seán T. O'Kelly^[*]	17.48	1,311
	Sinn Féin	J. Brennan		498	801
	Sinn Féin	M. Flanagan		298	-	-	683
	Irish Nationalist	William P. Delaney		280	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	821
	Painters' Society	Jos Farrell		265	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	690
	Labour	John Lawlor		229	795
	Municipal Reform	James Grierson		185
	Sinn Féin	M. Dowling		143	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	620
	Sinn Féin	Seán O'Mahony		136	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	737
	Irish Nationalist	P. J. Duffy^[*]		121	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	599
	Sinn Féin	Jennie Wyse Power		110	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	761
	Sinn Féin	Kathleen O'Doherty^[*]		106
	Irish Nationalist	M. J. O'Hara^[*]		73
	Municipal Reform	Anne Egan		43
	Sinn Féin	Joseph C. Larkin		41
Electorate: 12,856 Valid: 7,501 Spoilt: 185 Quota: 682 Turnout: 7,686

No. 5 Electoral Area

Merchant's Quay Ward.

No. 5 Electoral Area: 7 seats^[3]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1
	Sinn Féin	Joseph MacDonagh		1,067
	Labour	J. Bohan (ITGWU)		616
	Irish Nationalist	William O'Connor^[*]		596
	Sinn Féin	J. P. Mooney		552
	Sinn Féin	Patrick Gordon		375
	Municipal Reform	R. H. White		374
	Labour	T.D. Herbert		307
	Ind. Republican	Arnold Lowe		275
	Independent	H. C. Neill Watson		275
	Independent	Sarah Harrison		223
	Independent	J. Vaughan^[*]		194
	Sinn Féin	Mrs. McGarry		190
	Sinn Féin	Patrick Walsh		178
	Irish Nationalist	E. Brooks		55
	Independent	J. Reed		30
Electorate: 8,032 Valid: 5,307 Spoilt: 94 Quota: 664 Turnout: 5,401 (67.24%)

No. 6 Electoral Area

Mountjoy Ward.

No. 6 Electoral Area: 7 seats^[4]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Ind. Nationalist	L. G. Sherlock		1,507
	Sinn Féin	Kathleen Clarke		937
	Sinn Féin	P. Mahon^[*]		568	751
	Sinn Féin	James Malinn		486	-	769
	Ind. Nationalist	J. M. C. Briscoe^[*]		290	799
	Sinn Féin	John Byrne		222	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	493
	Ind. Nationalist	William Chase^[*]		173	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	591
	Sinn Féin	Joseph Toomey		143
	Sinn Féin	Ml. Slater		116	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	456
	Municipal Reform	Miss Weldrick		93	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Sinn Féin	Mrs O'Shea Leamy		78
Electorate: 8,784 Valid: 4,613 Spoilt: 113 Quota: 577 Turnout: 4,726

No. 7 Electoral Area

New Kilmainham Ward and Usher's Quay Ward.

No. 7 Electoral Area: 9 seats^[4]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
	Sinn Féin	W. T. Cosgrave^[*]		2,033
	Municipal Reform	B.F. Shields		679
	Sinn Féin	P. S. Doyle^[*]		625	765
	Labour	D. Magee		578	-	-	-	-	-	-	814
	Sinn Féin	James McGrath		531	1,059
	Labour	J. O'Connor (ITGWU)		409	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	686
	Irish Nationalist	P. Medlar		314	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	624
	Irish Nationalist	J. S. Kelly		284
	Labour	L. Keegan		249
	Sinn Féin	A. Fitzpatrick		231	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	759
	Irish Nationalist	J. Groome		221
	Sinn Féin	John Doran		163	-	-	-	-	-	-	666
	Irish Nationalist	C. Donaghy		117
	Sinn Féin	Michael Lynch		111
	Labour	Mary C. Kelly		14
Electorate: 9,985 Valid: 6,428 Spoilt: 131 Quota: 650 Turnout: 6,559 (%)

No. 8 Electoral Area

North City Ward and North Dock Ward.

No. 8 Electoral Area: 8 seats^[4]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2
	Ind. Nationalist	Alfie Byrne		3,180
	Sinn Féin	Francis Cahill		826
	Labour	P. T. Daly^[*]		499	1,344
	Ind. Nationalist	James Gately^[*]		438	879
	Sinn Féin	Patrick McDonnell		413	704
	Sinn Féin	James V. Lawless		393	780
	Sinn Féin	Joseph M. Stanley		299
	Labour	Michael Brohoon (ITGWU)		231	606
	Municipal Reform	Dr. MacWalter^[*]		192	1,078
	Municipal Reform	T.D. Lambert		146
	Sinn Féin	James Mallon		126
	Sinn Féin	Mary Walker		122
	Sinn Féin	Thomas Leahy		96
	Irish Nationalist	J. O'Doherty		45
	Labour	R. Graham		34
	Sinn Féin	Thomas O'Reilly		27
	Irish Nationalist	J. J. Fox		18
	Irish Nationalist	James Higgins		7
	Labour	Michael Mullen		7
	Independent	T. Healy		1
Electorate: 11,488 Valid: 6,898 Spoilt: 196 Quota: 789 Turnout: 7,094 (%)

No. 9 Electoral Area

Wood Quay Ward.

No. 9 Electoral Area: 6 seats^[4]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	Sinn Féin	Kathleen Clarke		1,374
	Labour	Thomas Lawlor		1,187
	Labour	Thomas Kennedy (ITGWU)		422	468	582	-	-	614
	Ind. Nationalist	T. Byrne^[*]		347	-	409	-	-	-	-	-	-	501
	Irish Nationalist	William McCabe^[*]		321
	Sinn Féin	John J. Murphy		256	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	636
	Sinn Féin	John Grace		150	635
	Sinn Féin	Patrick McGuirk		105
	Labour	M. C. Scully		51	-	315
	Labour	M. Keavey		15
	Irish Nationalist	M. J. Creagh		12
Electorate: 6,959 Valid: 4,250 Spoilt: 106 Quota: 606 Turnout: 4,356 (%)

No. 10 Electoral Area

Trinity Ward and South Dock Ward.

No. 10 Electoral Area: 7 seats^[4]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1
	Sinn Féin	Cathal Ó Murchadha		1,173
	Labour	William O'Brien (ITGWU)		883
	Sinn Féin	Thomas Cassidy		665
	Independent	L. O'Toole^[*]		639
	Independent	Myles Keogh^[*]		634
	Sinn Féin	G. A. Lyons		433
	Independent	T. M. O'Beirne		350
	Municipal Reform	W. J. Maxwell-Lemon		317
	Municipal Reform	Sir John Irwin		274
	Sinn Féin	John Farrell		259
	Sinn Féin	Patrick Power		169
	Irish Nationalist	Jeremiah Looney		134
	Municipal Reform	Frederick T. Rainford		101
	Sinn Féin	William Murray		61
Electorate: 9,075 Valid: 6,097 Spoilt: 146 Quota: 763 Turnout: 6,243 (68.79%)

Notes

^ While still appearing on the ballot, Manning withdrew from the election campaign after nominations had closed.

References

^ "Irish Elections". Mariposa Gazette. 24 January 1920.
^ "The Municipal Elections". The Irish Times. 31 December 1919. p. 4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Sinn Fein leading in the municipal elections". Dublin Evening Telegraph. Dublin. 17 January 1920. pp. 1–6.(subscription required)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "How the people voted: Sinn Fein dominates the Dublin, Cork and Limerick city councils". Dublin Evening Telegraph. 19 January 1920. p. 1 of 6.(subscription required)

[4] While still appearing on the ballot, Manning withdrew from the election campaign after nominations had closed.

[1] "Irish Elections". Mariposa Gazette. 24 January 1920.

[2] "The Municipal Elections". The Irish Times. 31 December 1919. p. 4.

[p1-4-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Sinn Fein leading in the municipal elections". Dublin Evening Telegraph. Dublin. 17 January 1920. pp. 1–6.(subscription required)

[DET_19_Jan-5] "How the people voted: Sinn Fein dominates the Dublin, Cork and Limerick city councils". Dublin Evening Telegraph. 19 January 1920. p. 1 of 6.(subscription required)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[*]

[a]

[4]

v t e Local elections in Dublin City and County Dublin
Dublin Corporation/City Council	1841 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 1930 1933 1936 1942 1945 1950 1955 1960 1967 1974 1979 1985 1991 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 2024
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