1920 Cork Corporation election
Elections to the Cork Corporation took place on Thursday 15 January 1920 as part of that year's Irish local elections.[1]
Campaign
The Labour vote was split between the Cork and District Labour Council and the more militant Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU); the latter formed an electoral alliance with Sinn Féin, whose MPs elected in December 1918 had proclaimed an Irish Republic in January 1919. Polling day was marred by scenes of violence between supporters of Sinn Féin and ex-servicemen.[2]
Results by party
Party | Candidates | Seats | ± | First Pref. votes | FPv% | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sinn Féin–ITGWU[3] | 54 | 30 | |||||
Irish Nationalist | 33 | 14 | |||||
Cork Ratepayers' Association | 22 | 4 | |||||
Cork and District Labour Council | 12 | 3 | |||||
Ex-Soldiers & Sailors | 2 | ||||||
Independent | 37 | 3 | |||||
Totals | 160 | 56 | 100% | — |
Results by electoral area
The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 introduced the single transferable vote, so the seven wards used in previous council elections were revised into seven borough electoral areas (BEAs). Four inner wards were merged into one BEA, two outer wards were split into two and three BEAs, and one was retained as a BEA.[4] The first two candidates elected in each area would be styled "alderman", the rest "councillor".[5]
Central
37 candidates. Wards: Centre, North Centre, South Centre, and West.
Central: 10 seats[6] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count 1 | |
Sinn Féin | James Joseph Walsh MP[n 1] | |||
Ratepayers | Richard Beamish[n 2] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Daniel Gamble[n 3] | |||
Sinn Féin | Terence MacSwiney MP | |||
Sinn Féin | Prof Alfred O'Rahilly | |||
Irish Nationalist | Thomas Stack[n 2] | |||
Ratepayers | William Desmond[n 3][n 4] | |||
Labour Council | Jeremiah Kelleher[n 5] | |||
Sinn Féin | John Fitzpatrick | |||
Irish Nationalist | William F. O'Connor[n 6][n 4] | |||
Irish Nationalist | R. H. Tilson[n 3] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Cornelius Desmond[n 3] | |||
Irish Nationalist | John Dunlea[n 3] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Denis Cullinane[n 3] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Denis Buckley[n 3][n 4] | |||
Irish Nationalist | John Murphy[n 3] | |||
Sinn Féin | Richard Hawkins | |||
Sinn Féin | John Jennings | |||
Sinn Féin | Francis Keogh | |||
Sinn Féin | Cornelius O'Donovan[n 7] | |||
Sinn Féin | Timothy Francis O'Leary | |||
Sinn Féin | Denis O'Neill | |||
Ratepayers | Daniel Williams[n 3][n 8] | |||
Ratepayers | T. H. G. Wallis | |||
Ratepayers | Daniel Humphreys | |||
Labour Council | John Hurley[n 9] | |||
Independent | William Hart[n 3] | |||
Independent | Jeremiah Lane[n 3] | |||
Independent | Patrick J. Bradley[n 3] | |||
Independent | Eugene Buckley | |||
Independent | John Callanan[n 3] | |||
Independent | Cornelius Curtin[n 10] | |||
Independent | John Hurley[n 9] | |||
Independent | John Hoare | |||
Independent | Mortimer Kelleher[n 11] | |||
Independent | Cornelius O'Donovan[n 7] | |||
Independent | Robert Joseph Warren | |||
North-East
26 candidates
North-East: 10 seats[6] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count 1 | |
Sinn Féin | William Stockley | |||
Irish Nationalist | James Daly | |||
Sinn Féin | Anne Sutton | |||
Irish Nationalist | Daniel Horgan[n 3][n 12] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Michael Joseph O'Riordan | |||
Sinn Féin | Robert F. Day | |||
Ratepayers | Sir John Scott | |||
Ratepayers | James Thomas Mulligan | |||
Sinn Féin | Seán O'Leary | |||
Sinn Féin | Seán French | |||
Irish Nationalist | Matthew Kenneally[n 3] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Cornelius Mullanny[n 2] | |||
Sinn Féin | Ed. Goggin | |||
Sinn Féin | Stephen Heffernan | |||
Sinn Féin | Paul O'Flynn | |||
Ratepayers | A. M. Cole, JP | |||
Ratepayers | Simon Spiro, JP | |||
Ratepayers | John Ronan | |||
Ratepayers | Clarence de Foubert | |||
Ratepayers | Daniel Williams[n 3][n 8] | |||
Independent | Patrick Clarke | |||
Independent | William Dalton | |||
Independent | Denis Mack[n 13] | |||
Independent | Maurice O'Carroll | |||
Independent | Robert Edwin Roberts | |||
Independent | Edward E. Whitaker | |||
North-West No.1
23 candidates; covering Sunday's Well area
North-West No.1: 7 seats[7] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count 1 | |
Sinn Féin | Frederick J. Murray | |||
Sinn Féin | Tadhg Barry[n 14] | |||
Labour Council | Patrick J. Murphy | |||
Irish Nationalist | William F. O'Connor[n 6][n 4] | |||
Sinn Féin | James Allen | |||
Sinn Féin | Thomas Daly | |||
Independent | Michael Joseph O'Callaghan | |||
Irish Nationalist | John Joseph Doherty | |||
Irish Nationalist | Patrick Keane | |||
Irish Nationalist | Patrick F. O'Sullivan[n 3][n 15] | |||
Sinn Féin | Patrick O'Sullivan[n 15] | |||
Sinn Féin | James Purcell | |||
Sinn Féin | James Walsh[n 1] | |||
Ratepayers | Thomas Andrews | |||
Ratepayers | R. A. Atkins | |||
Ratepayers | Henry Dawson | |||
Labour Council | John O'Connor | |||
Independent | Cornelius Curtin[n 10] | |||
Independent | Mortimer Kelleher[n 11] | |||
Independent | Daniel Lynch | |||
Independent | Laurence Prior | |||
Independent | John Roche | |||
Independent | James Walsh[n 1] | |||
North-West No.2
13 candidates; covering Shandon area.
North-West No.2: 6 seats[7] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count 1 | |
Sinn Féin | Edmond Coughlan | |||
Sinn Féin | Patrick Higgins | |||
Irish Nationalist | John Francis O'Sullivan[n 16] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Patrick F. O'Sullivan[n 3][n 15] | |||
Sinn Féin | Simon Daly | |||
Ex-Soldiers & Sailors | Timothy O'Neill | |||
Irish Nationalist | Daniel Horgan[n 3][n 12] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Patrick Stack[n 3] | |||
Sinn Féin | John Kelleher | |||
Sinn Féin | Henry Lorton | |||
Sinn Féin | John O'Keeffe | |||
Ratepayers | Michael D. Spillane[n 17] | |||
Independent | John Flynn | |||
Independent | Joseph Leonard | |||
North-West No.3
18 candidates; covering Blackpool area
North-West No. 3: 6 seats[6] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count 1 | |
Sinn Féin | Tomás Mac Curtain | |||
Sinn Féin | Denis Lucey | |||
Ex-Soldiers & Sailors | Gerald Byrne[n 18] | |||
Sinn Féin | Mícheál Ó Cuill (Michael O'Quill) | |||
Sinn Féin | Thomas Patrick Forde | |||
Labour Council | Michael Egan[n 3] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Edward A. Lyons | |||
Irish Nationalist | Charles Whelan | |||
Sinn Féin | Timothy Gearan | |||
Sinn Féin | Bartholomew Quinlan | |||
Ratepayers | Michael D. Spillane[n 17] | |||
Labour Council | Cornelius Hobart | |||
Labour Council | Thomas Walsh | |||
Independent | Mortimer Kelleher[n 11] | |||
Independent | Denis Mack[n 13] | |||
Independent | John McAuley[n 3] | |||
Independent | Daniel O'Leary | |||
Independent | Michael O'Connell | |||
South No.1
30 candidates
South No. 1: 11 seats[7] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count 1 | |
Sinn Féin | Charles Coughlan | |||
Sinn Féin | Seán O'Sullivan[n 16] | |||
Independent Nationalist | John (Seán) Cronin[n 2][n 19] | |||
Sinn Féin | John (Seán) Good | |||
Irish Nationalist | John Horgan[n 3] | |||
Sinn Féin | Jeremiah Kelleher[n 5] | |||
Irish Nationalist | Simon Mahony[n 3] | |||
Irish Nationalist | William F. O'Connor[n 6][n 4] | |||
Sinn Féin | Liam (William) Russell[n 20] | |||
Sinn Féin | John F. Sheehan[n 21] | |||
Sinn Féin | Maurice Walsh | |||
Irish Nationalist | Jeremiah Ahern | |||
Irish Nationalist | David Murphy | |||
Irish Nationalist | Simon Mahony | |||
Irish Nationalist | James O'Connell[n 3] | |||
Sinn Féin | William Kenneally | |||
Sinn Féin | Michael Landy | |||
Sinn Féin | Michael Murphy | |||
Sinn Féin | Frank O'Neill | |||
Ratepayers | Robert Pulvertaft | |||
Labour Council | James Harty | |||
Labour Council | William Waldrock | |||
Labour Council | John Donovan | |||
Independent | Thomas Donovan | |||
Independent | Fred Howe | |||
Independent | Dr. E. Magner | |||
Independent | John O'Sullivan[n 16] | |||
Independent | William James Russell[n 20] | |||
Independent | John Sheehan[n 21] | |||
Independent | Daniel Sheehan | |||
South No.2
18 candidates
South No.2: 6 seats[7][9] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count 1 | |
Sinn Féin | Liam de Róiste MP | 697 | ||
Independent Nationalist | Sir Edward Fitzgerald, 1st baronet[n 2] | 474 | ||
Sinn Féin | Daniel Barry | |||
Sinn Féin | Stephen John O'Riordan | |||
Irish Nationalist | John Desmond | |||
Irish Nationalist | William Ellis[n 3] | |||
Irish Nationalist | John McCarthy | |||
Sinn Féin | Stephen Harrington | |||
Sinn Féin | Denis Hegarty | |||
Sinn Féin | P. Austin O'Riordan | |||
Ratepayers | Thomas Farrington | |||
Ratepayers | Thomas A. Callanan | |||
Labour Council | William Byrne | |||
Labour Council | Martin Hawkins | |||
Ex-Soldiers & Sailors | Gerald Byrne[n 18] | |||
Independent Nationalist | John (Seán) Cronin[n 2][n 19] | |||
Independent | Joseph O'Brien | |||
Independent | Joseph Parfrey | |||
Subsequent changes
William F. O'Connor, having been returned in three BEAs, chose to represent North-West No.1, triggering by-elections in the other two BEAs on 10 March, both won by Sinn Féin candidates: Barry Egan defeated Jeremiah Lane in the Central ward, while Donal O'Callaghan was returned unopposed in South No.1. Ten subsequent by-elections returned: Joseph Hennessy, Madeline Hegarty, William Kenneally, Michael Moroney, Cornelius Neenan, Seán Nolan, Michael O'Donovan, Paul O'Flynn, James O'Riordan, and Jeremiah Walsh. Among the vacancies filled were several deaths related to the Irish War of Independence: Tomás Mac Curtain (assassinated by Royal Irish Constabulary members on 20 March 1920), his successor as Lord Mayor Terence MacSwiney (died on hunger strike on 25 October 1920), and Tadhg Barry (shot in Ballykinlar Camp, 15 November 1921).[10]
In 1924 the Cumann na nGaedheal government dissolved the city council for misgovernment, after which the corporation was administered by an unelected commissioner. The next Free State local elections, originally scheduled for 1923, were repeatedly postponed until 1925. The city council was excluded from the 1925 and 1928 local elections and not restored until 1929, reduced to 21 councillors, with the entire county borough forming a single 21-seat electoral area.[11]
References
Footnotes
- The two candidates in North-West No.1 BEA named James Walsh and the James Joseph Walsh in Central BEA were three different people.
- Outgoing alderman
- Outgoing councillor
- The following Nationalists in Centre BEA were also endorse by the Ratepayers: Denis Buckley, William F. O'Connor, and William Desmond.
- Two different men named Jeremiah Kelleher were elected: a Labour candidate and outgoing alderman from Gillabbey Terrace in Central BEA, and a Sinn Féin candidate from Lough Road in South No.1 BEA.
- William F. O'Connor, the incumbent Lord Mayor, was returned in three electoral areas.
- There were two candidates named Cornelius O'Donovan in Central BEA.
- Daniel Williams ran in Central and North-East BEAs.
- Two men named John Hurley ran in Central BEA.
- Cornelius Curtin ran in Central and North-West No.1 BEAs.
- Mortimer Kelleher ran in Central, North-West No.1 and North-West No.3 BEAs.
- Daniel Horgan ran in North-East and North-West No.2 BEAs.
- Denis Mack ran in both North-East and North-West No.3 BEAs.
- Tadhg Barry was a union official representing the ITGWU portion of the join ITGWU–Sinn Fein ticket.[8]
- Patrick F. O'Sullivan of Dominick Street ran in North-West No.1 and No.2 BEAs; Patrick O'Sullivan of St. Mary's Terrace, Fair Hill, ran in North-West No.1 BEA.
- Seán O'Sullivan, John Francis O'Sullivan and John O'Sullivan were different people.
- Michael D. Spillane ran in North-West No.2 and No.3 BEAs.
- Gerald Byrne ran in both North-West No.3 and South No.2 BEAs.
- John (Seán) Cronin ran in South No.1 amd No.2 BEAs.
- William (Liam) Russell and William James Russell were different people.
- John F. Sheehan and John Sheehan were different people.
Sources
- McCabe, Conor (2010). "The Irish Labour Party and the 1920 local elections". Saothar. 35: 7–20. ISSN 0332-1169. JSTOR 23200073.
- McCarthy, Kieran (2 January 2020). "Our City, Our Town: Remembering 1920: Preparing for local elections". Cork Independent. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- McCarthy, Kieran (16 January 2020). "Our City, Our Town: Remembering 1920: The Newly Elected Corporation". Cork Independent. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- Quinlivan, Aodh (26 January 2020). "Cork City Council Centenary: When Tomás MacCurtain was elected Lord Mayor of Cork". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- "Cork Municipal Elections: Candidates nominated". Cork Examiner. 6–7 January 1920. Retrieved 3 February 2020 – via Cork Genealogy.
Citations
- "Municipal elections: Dublin Townships". Dublin Evening Telegraph. Dublin. 19 January 1920. pp. 1–3 – via britishnewspaperarchive.
- "Municipal elections — Sinn Féin and Labour perform strongly as unionists falter". Century Ireland. RTÉ. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- McCabe 2010 p.12
- "Table 6" (PDF). Census of Ireland 1926. I. p. 12.
- Local Government Board for Ireland (1921). "Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1919: Elections". Annual report for the year ended 31st March 1920. Command papers. Cmd.1432. Dublin: HMSO. pp. i–xi, Appendix p.1.
- "Dublin Evening Telegraph". britishnewspaperarchive. Dublin. 19 January 1920.
- "Dublin Evening Telegraph". britishnewspaperarchive. Dublin. 17 January 1920.
- McCabe 2010 p.20 fn.57
- "Irish Independent". britishnewspaperarchive. Dublin. 17 January 1920.
- Ó Drisceoil, Donal (January 2008). "Labour lives: Tadgh Barry (1885-1921)". Saothar: Journal of Irish Labour History. 33: 89–92. hdl:10468/3035.
- Moran, John (1972). "Local Elections in Cork City (1929-1967)". Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society: 124–125. Retrieved 15 September 2018.