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.
Election | Political result | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | ±% | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
County Galway by-election, 1872 Resignation of William Henry Gregory Turnout: 3,481 (74.29%) | Home Rule gain from Home Rule Majority: 2,165 (62.29%) | John Philip Nolan | Home Rule | 2,823 | 81.19 | |||
William Le Poer Trench | Irish Conservative | 658 | 18.90 |
Earl of Clancarty is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland.
The Archbishop of Tuam is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church.
Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty, 1st Marquess of Heusden, styled The Honourable from 1797 to 1803 and then Viscount Dunlo to 1805, was an Anglo-Irish peer, a nobleman in the Dutch nobility, and a diplomat. He was an Irish, and later British, Member of Parliament and a supporter of Pitt. Additionally he was appointed Postmaster General of Ireland, and later, of the United Kingdom.
Patrick Duggan was an Irish Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the Bishop of Clonfert from 1872 until his death.
County Galway was a United Kingdom parliamentary constituency in Ireland, comprised the whole of County Galway, except for the Borough of Galway. It replaced the pre-Act of Union Parliament of Ireland constituency. Its representatives sat in the British House of Commons.
William Power Keating Trench, 1st Earl of Clancarty was an Irish aristocrat and politician and later United Kingdom statesman at the time of the Act of Union. His family, through his son Richard, became prominent and hereditary members of the Netherlands' nobility.
Lieutenant-Colonel John Philip Nolan was an Irish nationalist landowner and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party represented County Galway (1872–1885) and Galway North (1885–1895), (1900–1906).
Trench is a surname.
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The Archbishopric of Tuam existed from the mid twelfth century until 1839, with its seat at Tuam.
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Power Le Poer Trench (1770–1839) was an Anglican clergyman who served in the Church of Ireland as firstly Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, then Bishop of Elphin and finally Archbishop of Tuam.
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William Frederick Le Poer Trench, 5th Earl of Clancarty, 4th Marquess of Heusden was an Irish peer of the House of Lords, a Dutch nobleman, and a deputy lieutenant and justice of the peace of County Galway. He was known for the controversy that ensued after a petition for divorce was argued in 1890, which was based on an affidavit accusing his wife at the time, Belle Bilton, of adultery.