The 1872 County Galway by-election was held on 8 February 1872. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent MP of the Liberal Party, William Henry Gregory, as he became Governor of Ceylon. It was won by the Home Rule candidate John Philip Nolan but this was overturned on petition.[1]
Nolan beat his opponent, William Le Poer Trench, the third son of the Earl of Clancarty, winning by a large majority. Of the 4,686 available electors, who were chiefly Catholic, 2,823 voted for Nolan and 658 for Le Poer Trench.
Le Poer Trench appealed the result, claiming on petition that there was widespread intimidation during the election campaign. The local Catholic bishops and clergy had strongly supported Nolan, chiefly because the Clancartys were active in proselytism.
The trial of the County Galway election petition was held before Judge William Keogh, a Catholic and former MP for the pro Home-Rule Independent Irish Party. The trial started on 1 April and ended on 21 May 1872. Keogh found that Nolan had been elected by the undue influence and intimidation.
In his report stated that he found 36 persons guilty of undue influence and intimidation, including the Archbishop John MacHale, the Archbishop of Tuam, the Bishop of Clonfert, Patrick Duggan, and the Bishop of Galway, John McEvilly, and twenty-nine named priests, the majority of Catholic parish priests in the constituency. They were held to have used all influence to overthrow all free will.
A special case decided that notices put up by Le Poer Trench alerting voters to Nolan's previous involvement in treating were sufficient to inform voters that he was disqualified.
The findings were that there was an undue election as there had been treating, undue influence and that the candidate was disqualified as he had previously been guilty of corrupt practices. As a result, Captain Nolan was unseated on 13 June, the seat going to Captain Le Poer Trench.[2]
The judgement caused an uproar; the judge was threatened with removal from the bench and his reputation never recovered.
Nolan retook the seat at the 1874 election. He remained MP after the 1885 constituency reforms as MP for Galway North until 1895.
Resultsedit
Election
Political result
Candidate
Party
Votes
%
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County Galway by-election, 1872 Resignation of William Henry Gregory Turnout: 3,481 (74.29%)
1872, county, galway, election, held, february, 1872, election, held, resignation, incumbent, liberal, party, william, henry, gregory, became, governor, ceylon, home, rule, candidate, john, philip, nolan, this, overturned, petition, nolan, beat, opponent, will. The 1872 County Galway by election was held on 8 February 1872 The by election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent MP of the Liberal Party William Henry Gregory as he became Governor of Ceylon It was won by the Home Rule candidate John Philip Nolan but this was overturned on petition 1 Nolan beat his opponent William Le Poer Trench the third son of the Earl of Clancarty winning by a large majority Of the 4 686 available electors who were chiefly Catholic 2 823 voted for Nolan and 658 for Le Poer Trench Le Poer Trench appealed the result claiming on petition that there was widespread intimidation during the election campaign The local Catholic bishops and clergy had strongly supported Nolan chiefly because the Clancartys were active in proselytism The trial of the County Galway election petition was held before Judge William Keogh a Catholic and former MP for the pro Home Rule Independent Irish Party The trial started on 1 April and ended on 21 May 1872 Keogh found that Nolan had been elected by the undue influence and intimidation In his report stated that he found 36 persons guilty of undue influence and intimidation including the Archbishop John MacHale the Archbishop of Tuam the Bishop of Clonfert Patrick Duggan and the Bishop of Galway John McEvilly and twenty nine named priests the majority of Catholic parish priests in the constituency They were held to have used all influence to overthrow all free will A special case decided that notices put up by Le Poer Trench alerting voters to Nolan s previous involvement in treating were sufficient to inform voters that he was disqualified The findings were that there was an undue election as there had been treating undue influence and that the candidate was disqualified as he had previously been guilty of corrupt practices As a result Captain Nolan was unseated on 13 June the seat going to Captain Le Poer Trench 2 The judgement caused an uproar the judge was threatened with removal from the bench and his reputation never recovered Nolan retook the seat at the 1874 election He remained MP after the 1885 constituency reforms as MP for Galway North until 1895 Results editElection Political result Candidate Party Votes County Galway by election 1872Resignation of William Henry GregoryTurnout 3 481 74 29 Home Rule gain from Home RuleMajority 2 165 62 29 John Philip NolanHome Rule2 82381 19William Le Poer TrenchIrish Conservative65818 90References edit Leigh Rayment s Historical List of MPs 2 O M amp H 46 HCP 1872 268 p 20 85 nbsp nbsp nbsp This article about a by election to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Ireland is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1872 County Galway by election amp oldid 1184313673, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
