Young
Unionists

Penned by party member Aleks

In the 1880 General Election, each of the nine counties of Ulster returned 2 MP’s. Of those 18, Liberals took 8, Conservatives took 8, and Home Rulers/Nationalists took 2. Those 2 were both in Cavan, where the Liberals did not bother standing, and the only Conservative was over 1000 votes behind the second Home Ruler.

Liberal County Seats in Ulster
The Liberals took: -
1 of the 2 County Seats in Armagh
Both of the 2 County Seats in Donegal
Both of the 2 County Seats in Londonderry
Both of the 2 County Seats in Monaghan
1 of the 2 County Seats in Tyrone
In those days, there were 2 seats in each County Constituency, and each elector had 2 votes. So it made sense for a party to run 2 candidates, if they thought that they had more voters in the Constituency than any other party. The Liberals ran 2 candidates in Co Antrim, one of whom came within 147 votes of being elected. So if they had been a bit less ambitious, they might have taken a seat there. They also ran a candidate in County Down, who came within 20 votes of being elected.

Conservative County Seats in Ulster
The Conservatives took: -
Both of the 2 County Seats in Antrim
1 of the 2 County Seats in Armagh
Both of the 2 County Seats in Down
Both of the 2 County Seats in Fermanagh
1 of the 2 County Seats in Tyrone

BOROUGH SEATS IN ULSTER
In those days, various towns also had the right to return MP’s. The electorate there was much smaller. For example, in 1880 Co Tyrone had approximately 8,800 electors, out of a population of 193,152 in 1881. On the other hand, Dungannon Borough had 300 electors in 1884, out of a population of 4081 in 1881. There were 11 Boroughs seats in Ulster, of which the Liberals took 1 and the Conservatives 10.

Liberal Borough Seat in Ulster
The Liberals took the Borough of Dungannon in 1880, beating the Conservatives by 2 votes, 128 to 126. So they took 8 County seats and one Borough seat in Ulster, making a total of 9 seats in Ulster.

Conservative Borough Seats in Ulster
The Conservatives took all the other boroughs in Ulster, namely Armagh, Belfast (2 seats), Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Downpatrick, Enniskillen, Lisburn, Londonderry City, Newry. So they took 8 County seats and 10 Borough seats in Ulster, making a total of 18 seats in Ulster.

SEATS OUTSIDE ULSTER

Conservative seats outside Ulster
Their other 7 seats in Ireland were one of the 2 County Seats in Leitrim (where the Home Rulers ran 3 candidates for 2 seats, for reasons best known to themselves), both of the 2 County Seats in County Dublin, both of the 2 seats for Dublin University (Trinity College) and the Boroughs of Bandon and Portarlington. They took a total of 25 seats in Ireland (one less than they were to take as late as 1918).

Liberal seats outside Ulster
Their other 6 seats in Ireland were the boroughs of Athlone, Drogheda, Dundalk, Mallow and New Ross, and one of the two seats in Dublin City. They took a total of 15 seats in Ireland.

CHANGES IN 1885
Prior to the 1885 election, the franchise was widened. Up to that time, only those holding land worth at least £10 per year could vote in the County Constituencies. The franchise in the County Constituencies was also very limited. From 1885 on, all male householders could vote.

Most of the Borough Constituencies were abolished, and their representation transferred to County Constituencies. For example, County Down went up to 4 members (N, S, E and W). So did Co Antrim (N, Mid, E and S). Belfast also increased from 2 members to 4.

In the 1885 election in Ireland, the Irish Nationalist Party took 85 seats (and one in Liverpool), the Conservatives 18 and the Liberals none.

From then on, outside Ulster and Trinity College, the Conservatives could win only intermittent seats in South Dublin and Dublin City (Stephen’s Green). The Liberals held the occasional seat, e.g. North Tyrone from 1895-1918.