South Kildare (UK Parliament constituency)

South Kildare
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1922
Seats	1
Created from	Kildare
Replaced by	Kildare–Wicklow

South Kildare was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament from 1885 to 1922.

Prior to the 1885 general election the area was part of the Kildare constituency. From 1922, on the establishment of the Irish Free State, it was not represented in the UK Parliament.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the southern part of County Kildare.

1885–1922: The baronies of East Offaly, Kicullen, Kilkea and Moone, Narragh and Reban East, and Narragh and Reban West, and that part of the barony of South Naas not contained within the North Kildare constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Note
	26 November 1885	James Leahy	Irish Parliamentary	Party split
	December 18901		Irish National League
	13 July 1892	Matthew Minch	Irish National Federation
	3 October 1900		Irish Parliamentary	Resigned
	23 May 1903	Denis Kilbride	Irish Parliamentary
	14 December 1918 2	Art O'Connor	Sinn Féin	Did not take his seat at Westminster
26 October 1922		UK constituency abolished

Notes:

• ¹ Not an election, but the date of a party change. The Irish Parliamentary Party had been created in 1882, on the initiative of Charles Stewart Parnell's Irish National League. Both the IPP and the INL split into Parnellite and Anti-Parnellite factions, in December 1890. The Parnellites remained members of the Irish National League after the split and the Anti-Parnellites organised the Irish National Federation in March 1891. The two organisations and the United Irish League merged in 1900, to re-create the Irish Parliamentary Party.
• ² Date of polling day. The result was declared on 28 December 1918, to allow time for votes cast by members of the armed forces to be included in the count.

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 26 November 1885: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	James Leahy	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,070
	Irish Parliamentary win (new seat)

General election 6 July 1886: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	James Leahy	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,070
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 13 July 1892: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Matthew Minch	2,642	73.0	N/A
	Irish National League	James Leahy	975	27.0	N/A
Majority			1,667	46.0	N/A
Turnout			3,617	60.6	N/A
Registered electors			5,973
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

General election 18 July 1895: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Matthew Minch	Unopposed
Registered electors			6,011
	Irish National Federation hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 3 October 1900: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Matthew Minch	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,573
	Irish Parliamentary hold

By-election 23 May 1903: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Denis Kilbride	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,452
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General election 17 January 1906: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Denis Kilbride	Unopposed
Registered electors			5,164
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1910s

General election 19 January 1910: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Denis Kilbride	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,958
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General election 9 December 1910: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Denis Kilbride	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,958
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General Election 14 December 1918: Kildare South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Art O'Connor	7,104	82.1	New
	Irish Parliamentary	Denis Kilbride	1,545	17.9	N/A
Majority			5,559	64.2	N/A
Turnout			8,649	62.1	N/A
Registered electors			13,925
	Sinn Féin gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

References

• Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K"