1880 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

The 1880 general election in Ireland marked the beginning both of the dominance of the Irish Parliamentary Party in Irish politics and of Charles Stewart Parnell's dominance within the Party.

31 March – 27 April 1880[1]
101 of the 652 seats to the House of Commons
Leader William Shaw Earl of Beaconsfield Marquess of Hartington Party Home Rule Conservative Liberal Leader since May 1879 27 February 1868 January 1875 Leader's seat Cork County Earl of Beaconsfield North East Lancashire Seats before 60 31 10 Seats won 63 23 15 Seat change 3 8 5 Popular vote 95,535 99,607 56,252 Percentage 37.5% 39.8% 22.7% Swing 2.1% 1.0% 4.3%
Results of the 1880 election in Ireland

The party won 62 of the 103 Irish parliamentary seats. 2 later defected to the Liberals. Parnell was presumed to have had the support of 25 of the MPs. When the Parliamentary Party reassembled in Westminster Parnell was elected session chairman of the party in place of William Shaw.

The IPP would not drop below the number of seats won in the 1880 election again until the 1918 general election, when it experienced an electoral wipeout at the hands of Sinn Féin.

Results

Not included in the totals are the two Dublin University seats, which were uncontested and were retained by the Conservatives.

Party			Seats	Seats change	Votes	%	% Change
	Home Rule		63	3	95,535	37.5	2.1%
	Irish Conservative		23	8	99,607	39.8	1.0%
	Liberal		15	5	56,252	22.7	4.3%
Total			101	—	251,394	100

Popular vote Irish Conservative   39.62% Home Rule   38.00% Liberal   22.38%

Parliamentary seats Home Rule   62.38% Irish Conservative   22.77% Liberal   14.85%

See also

• History of Ireland (1801–1923)

References

1. "General Election Dates 1832-2005". parliament.uk.

• F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987