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1920 Dublin Corporation election

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1920 Dublin Corporation election

← 1914 15 January 1920 1925 →

All 80 seats to Dublin Corporation
41 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Thomas Kelly James Hubbard Clark
Party Sinn Féin Labour Municipal Reform
Seats won 42 14 9

Map showing the largest party, and affiliation of councillors, by electoral area.

Sinn Féin received a majority of the vote in wards 1, 3, 6, and 7, and a plurality in 2, 5, 9, and 10. Independent Nationalists received a majority of the vote in ward 8, and Official Nationalists won a plurality in ward 4.

Whilst Sinn Féin was the single largest party in ward 2, Municipal Reform and Unionist candidates together won more votes.

Lord Mayor of Dublin before election

Laurence O'Neill
Ind. Nationalist

Elected Lord Mayor of Dublin

Thomas Kelly (de jure)
Laurence O'Neill (de facto)
Sinn Féin

An election to Dublin Corporation took place on Thursday, 15 January 1920 as part of the 1920 Irish local elections. Dublin was divided into ten borough electoral areas to elect 80 councillors for a five-year term of office on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).

Sinn Féin won a slight majority in the council, with 42 seats. Whilst the Sinn Féin majority was small, they emerged from the election as by far the largest party on the Dublin Corporation council.[1]

Following the election Thomas Kelly, the Sinn Féin MP for Dublin St Stephen's Green, was unanimously elected by the council as the new Lord Mayor of Dublin. Kelly was elected despite being held at the time as a political prisoner in Wormwood Scrubs prison in England. Kelly was nominated for the position by the outgoing Lord Mayor Laurence O'Neill. Due to Kelly's imprisonment O'Neill continued as effective Lord Mayor.

Boundaries

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These were the first elections under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919, which introduced a form of proportional representation. Under the old ward system, each of 20 wards had elected one alderman and three additional councillors. In 1919, the Local Government Board of Ireland created 10 borough electoral areas (BEAs), taking a greater account of population in the city, which took effect at these elections. Two councillors from each BEA were designated as aldermen.[2]

Revised boundaries
BEA Seats Wards Former
representation
No. 1 9 Arran Quay 4
No. 2 8 Clontarf East, Clontarf West, Drumcondra and Glasnevin 16
No. 3 9 Fitzwilliam, Mansion House, Royal Exchange, South City 16
No. 4 10 Inns Quay and Rotunda 8
No. 5 7 Merchant's Quay 4
No. 6 7 Mountjoy 4
No. 7 9 New Kilmainham and Usher's Quay 8
No. 8 8 North City and North Dock 8
No. 9 6 Wood Quay 4
No. 10 7 Trinity and South Dock 8

Results by party

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Party Seats ± 1st pref FPv% ±%
Sinn Féin 42 Increase38 28,069 45.92
Labour 14 Increase5 7,693 12.58
Municipal Reform 9 Increase9 7,011 11.47 New
Ind. Nationalist 7 9,607 15.72
Irish Nationalist 4 Decrease52 3,302 5.40
Independent 2 4,087 6.69
Irish Unionist 1 Decrease4 702 1.49
Painters Society 1 Increase1 265 0.43 New
Ind. Republican 0 275 0.45
Independent Socialist 0 182 0.30
Independent Labour 0 8 0.01
Totals 80 61,131 100.00

Results by borough electoral area

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^ *: Incumbent councillor.

No. 1 Electoral Area

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Arran Quay Ward.

No. 1 Electoral Area: 9 seats[3]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2
Sinn Féin Michael Staines 30.83 1,675  
Labour Thomas P. O'Reilly (ITGWU) 13.62 740  
Labour John Farren 10.84 519 589
Sinn Féin William Paul 6.87 373 741
Irish Nationalist J. Keogh 5.71 310  
Irish Nationalist T. Rooney 5.14 279  
Municipal Reform E. McGeogh 5.04 274  
Sinn Féin Patrick McIntyre 4.90 266  
Labour D. Logue 4.66 253  
Sinn Féin Annie Eliza Ashton 4.38 238  
Sinn Féin Ml. McHugh 2.87 156  
Sinn Féin Francis Nolan 2.37 129  
Irish Nationalist Thomas Kavanagh 2.12 115  
Electorate: 9,741   Valid: 5,433   Spoilt: 145   Quota: 544   Turnout: 5,578  

No. 2 Electoral Area

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Clontarf East Ward, Clontarf West Ward, Drumcondra Ward and Glasnevin Ward

The count was particularly long, with no candidates meeting the quota from counts 2 to 14.[3]

No. 2 Electoral Area: 8 seats[3]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
Sinn Féin Seán McGarry 16.64 1,058
Municipal Reform James Hubbard Clark 12.08 768
Irish Unionist W. McCarthy[*] 9.15 582
Municipal Reform James Moran[*] 7.04 448
Independent David A. Quaid[*] 6.97 443
Municipal Reform Michael Moran[*] 6.93 441
Sinn Féin Thomas Loughlin 6.07 386
Sinn Féin Robert Rooney 5.82 370
Independent J. P. MacAvin[*] 4.06 258
Municipal Reform John Foley[*] 3.93 250
Sinn Féin S. Macaoilte 3.35 213
Sinn Féin Gifford Wilson 2.70 172
Sinn Féin Mary J. McKean 2.28 145
Independent Michael Maher[*] 2.09 133
Irish Unionist W. P. Dinnage[*] 1.89 120
Sinn Féin Sean O'Shea 1.64 104
Independent James Brady 1.64 104
Independent Daniel Daly[*] 1.12 71
Independent C. Monks[*] 1.07 68
Independent Patrick Ring 1.04 66
Independent Labour J. Manning[a] 0.13 8
Electorate: 9,680   Valid: 6,360   Spoilt: 86   Quota: 717   Turnout: 6,446  

No. 3 Electoral Area

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Fitzwilliam Ward, Mansion House Ward, Royal Exchange Ward and South City Ward.

No. 3 Electoral Area: 9 seats[3]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Sinn Féin Thomas Kelly[*] 41.70 3,438                    
Municipal Reform Andrew Beattie[*] 12.83 1,058                    
Municipal Reform Sir James Gallagher[*] 8.65 713 - 907                
Municipal Reform J. R. Stritch 7.95 655 - - - - - - - 846    
Labour O. Hynes (Bricklayers' Union) 5.46 450 - - - - - - - - 892  
Sinn Féin Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington 4.12 340 1,551                  
Sinn Féin T. Adkins 3.64 300 - - - - - - - - - 830
Independent William Corrigan[*] 3.46 285                    
Sinn Féin Joe Clarke 3.40 280 - - 876              
Independent J. J. Higgins[*] 2.55 210                    
Socialist Walter Carpenter 2.21 182                    
Sinn Féin M. J. White 1.64 135                    
Sinn Féin Robinsou Raul 1.15 95 - - - - - - - - - 713
Independent C. Perkins 0.93 77                    
Independent P. J. Giles 0.32 26                    
Electorate: 12,638   Valid: 8,244   Spoilt: -   Quota: ~825   Turnout: -  

No. 4 Electoral Area

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Inns Quay Ward and Rotunda Ward.

No. 4 Electoral Area: 10 seats[3]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Ind. Nationalist Laurence O'Neill[*] 48.95 3,672                        
Sinn Féin Seán T. O'Kelly[*] 17.48 1,311                        
Sinn Féin J. Brennan 498 801                      
Sinn Féin M. Flanagan 298 - - 683                  
Irish Nationalist William P. Delaney 280 - - - - - - - 821        
Painters' Society Jos Farrell 265 - - - - - - - - - - 690  
Labour John Lawlor 229 795                      
Municipal Reform James Grierson 185                        
Sinn Féin M. Dowling 143 - - - - - - - - - - - 620
Sinn Féin Seán O'Mahony 136 - - - - - - - - - - 737  
Irish Nationalist P. J. Duffy[*] 121 - - - - - - - - - - - 599
Sinn Féin Jennie Wyse Power 110 - - - - - - - - - - 761  
Sinn Féin Kathleen O'Doherty[*] 106                        
Irish Nationalist M. J. O'Hara[*] 73                        
Municipal Reform Anne Egan 43                        
Sinn Féin Joseph C. Larkin 41                        
Electorate: 12,856   Valid: 7,501   Spoilt: 185   Quota: 682   Turnout: 7,686  

No. 5 Electoral Area

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Merchant's Quay Ward.

No. 5 Electoral Area: 7 seats[3]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
Sinn Féin Joseph MacDonagh 1,067
Labour J. Bohan (ITGWU) 616
Irish Nationalist William O'Connor[*] 596
Sinn Féin J. P. Mooney 552
Sinn Féin Patrick Gordon 375
Municipal Reform R. H. White 374
Labour T.D. Herbert 307
Ind. Republican Arnold Lowe 275
Independent H. C. Neill Watson 275
Independent Sarah Harrison 223
Independent J. Vaughan[*] 194
Sinn Féin Mrs. McGarry 190
Sinn Féin Patrick Walsh 178
Irish Nationalist E. Brooks 55
Independent J. Reed 30
Electorate: 8,032   Valid: 5,307   Spoilt: 94   Quota: 664   Turnout: 5,401 (67.24%)  

No. 6 Electoral Area

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Mountjoy Ward.

No. 6 Electoral Area: 7 seats[4]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Ind. Nationalist L. G. Sherlock 1,507                
Sinn Féin Kathleen Clarke 937                
Sinn Féin P. Mahon[*] 568 751              
Sinn Féin James Malinn 486 - 769            
Ind. Nationalist J. M. C. Briscoe[*] 290 799              
Sinn Féin John Byrne 222 - - - - - - - 493
Ind. Nationalist William Chase[*] 173 - - - - - - - 591
Sinn Féin Joseph Toomey 143                
Sinn Féin Ml. Slater 116 - - - - - - - 456
Municipal Reform Miss Weldrick 93 - - - - - - -  
Sinn Féin Mrs O'Shea Leamy 78                
Electorate: 8,784   Valid: 4,613   Spoilt: 113   Quota: 577   Turnout: 4,726  

No. 7 Electoral Area

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New Kilmainham Ward and Usher's Quay Ward.

No. 7 Electoral Area: 9 seats[4]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Sinn Féin W. T. Cosgrave[*] 2,033                        
Municipal Reform B.F. Shields 679                        
Sinn Féin P. S. Doyle[*] 625 765                      
Labour D. Magee 578 - - - - - - 814          
Sinn Féin James McGrath 531 1,059                      
Labour J. O'Connor (ITGWU) 409 - - - - - - - - - - - 686
Irish Nationalist P. Medlar 314 - - - - - - - - - - - 624
Irish Nationalist J. S. Kelly 284                        
Labour L. Keegan 249                        
Sinn Féin A. Fitzpatrick 231 - - - - - - - - - 759    
Irish Nationalist J. Groome 221                        
Sinn Féin John Doran 163 - - - - - - 666          
Irish Nationalist C. Donaghy 117                        
Sinn Féin Michael Lynch 111                        
Labour Mary C. Kelly 14                        
Electorate: 9,985   Valid: 6,428   Spoilt: 131   Quota: 650   Turnout: 6,559 (%)  

No. 8 Electoral Area

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North City Ward and North Dock Ward.

No. 8 Electoral Area: 8 seats[4]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2
Ind. Nationalist Alfie Byrne 3,180  
Sinn Féin Francis Cahill 826  
Labour P. T. Daly[*] 499 1,344
Ind. Nationalist James Gately[*] 438 879
Sinn Féin Patrick McDonnell 413 704
Sinn Féin James V. Lawless 393 780
Sinn Féin Joseph M. Stanley 299  
Labour Michael Brohoon (ITGWU) 231 606
Municipal Reform Dr. MacWalter[*] 192 1,078
Municipal Reform T.D. Lambert 146  
Sinn Féin James Mallon 126  
Sinn Féin Mary Walker 122  
Sinn Féin Thomas Leahy 96  
Irish Nationalist J. O'Doherty 45  
Labour R. Graham 34  
Sinn Féin Thomas O'Reilly 27  
Irish Nationalist J. J. Fox 18  
Irish Nationalist James Higgins 7  
Labour Michael Mullen 7  
Independent T. Healy 1  
Electorate: 11,488   Valid: 6,898   Spoilt: 196   Quota: 789   Turnout: 7,094 (%)  

No. 9 Electoral Area

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Wood Quay Ward.

No. 9 Electoral Area: 6 seats[4]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Sinn Féin Kathleen Clarke 1,374                  
Labour Thomas Lawlor 1,187                  
Labour Thomas Kennedy (ITGWU) 422 468 582 - - 614        
Ind. Nationalist T. Byrne[*] 347 - 409 - - - - - - 501
Irish Nationalist William McCabe[*] 321                  
Sinn Féin John J. Murphy 256 - - - - - - - 636  
Sinn Féin John Grace 150 635                
Sinn Féin Patrick McGuirk 105                  
Labour M. C. Scully 51 - 315              
Labour M. Keavey 15                  
Irish Nationalist M. J. Creagh 12                  
Electorate: 6,959   Valid: 4,250   Spoilt: 106   Quota: 606   Turnout: 4,356 (%)  

No. 10 Electoral Area

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Trinity Ward and South Dock Ward.

No. 10 Electoral Area: 7 seats[4]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
Sinn Féin Cathal Ó Murchadha 1,173
Labour William O'Brien (ITGWU) 883
Sinn Féin Thomas Cassidy 665
Independent L. O'Toole[*] 639
Independent Myles Keogh[*] 634
Sinn Féin G. A. Lyons 433
Independent T. M. O'Beirne 350
Municipal Reform W. J. Maxwell-Lemon 317
Municipal Reform Sir John Irwin 274
Sinn Féin John Farrell 259
Sinn Féin Patrick Power 169
Irish Nationalist Jeremiah Looney 134
Municipal Reform Frederick T. Rainford 101
Sinn Féin William Murray 61
Electorate: 9,075   Valid: 6,097   Spoilt: 146   Quota: 763   Turnout: 6,243 (68.79%)  

Notes

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  1. ^ While still appearing on the ballot, Manning withdrew from the election campaign after nominations had closed.

References

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  1. ^ "Irish Elections". Mariposa Gazette. 24 January 1920.
  2. ^ "The Municipal Elections". The Irish Times. 31 December 1919. p. 4.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Sinn Fein leading in the municipal elections". Dublin Evening Telegraph. Dublin. 17 January 1920. pp. 1–6.(subscription required)
  4. ^ a b c d e "How the people voted: Sinn Fein dominates the Dublin, Cork and Limerick city councils". Dublin Evening Telegraph. 19 January 1920. p. 1 of 6.(subscription required)