South Sligo (UK Parliament constituency)

South Sligo was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected on a system of first-past-the-post, from 1885 to 1922.

South Sligo
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1922
Seats	1
Created from	County Sligo
Replaced by	Sligo–Mayo East

Prior to the 1885 general election the area was part of the two-seat County Sligo constituency. From 1922, on the establishment of the Irish Free State, it was not represented in the UK Parliament.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the southern part of County Sligo.

1885–1922: The baronies of Coolavin, Corran and Tirerrill, and that part of the Barony of Leyny not contained within the constituency of North Sligo.

Members of Parliament

Year	Member	Party
1885	Thomas Sexton	Nationalist
1887	Edward Joseph Kennedy	Nationalist
1888	Edmund Leamy	Nationalist
1892	Thomas Curran	Anti-Parnellite
1900	John O'Dowd	Nationalist
1918	Alexander McCabe	Sinn Féin

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 3 December 1885: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Thomas Sexton	5,151	90.5
	Irish Conservative	Alexander Perceval	541	9.5
Majority			4,610	81.0
Turnout			5,692	74.0
Registered electors			7,693
	Irish Parliamentary win (new seat)

General election 3 July 1886: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Thomas Sexton	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,693
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Sexton is also elected MP for Belfast West and opts to sit there, causing a by-election.

By-election 7 February 1887: Sligo South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Edward Joseph Kennedy	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,209
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Kennedy resigns, causing a second by-election.

By-election 6 July 1888: Sligo South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Edmund Leamy	Unopposed
Registered electors			8,447
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 11 July 1892: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Thomas Bartholomew Curran	4,300	88.7	N/A
	Irish Unionist	John ffolliott	548	11.3	New
Majority			3,752	77.4	N/A
Turnout			4,848	60.2	N/A
Registered electors			8,055
	Irish National Federation gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

General election 19 July 1895: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish National Federation	Thomas Bartholomew Curran	3,717	87.7	−1.0
	Irish Unionist	James Campbell	522	12.3	+1.0
Majority			3,195	75.4	−2.0
Turnout			4,239	58.9	−1.3
Registered electors			7,203
	Irish National Federation hold		Swing	−1.0

Elections in the 1900s

General election 2 October 1900: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John O'Dowd	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,670
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General election 17 January 1906: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John O'Dowd	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,273
	Irish Parliamentary hold

Elections in the 1910s

General election 19 January 1910: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John O'Dowd	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,096
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General election 8 December 1910: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	John O'Dowd	Unopposed
Registered electors			7,096
	Irish Parliamentary hold

General Election 14 December 1918: South Sligo

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Alexander McCabe	9,113	82.1	New
	Irish Parliamentary	John O'Dowd	1,988	17.9	N/A
Majority			7,125	64.2	N/A
Turnout			11,101	61.7	N/A
Registered electors			18,013
	Sinn Féin gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing	N/A

References

• Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 3)