1885 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1885 United Kingdom general election in Ireland" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

1885 United Kingdom general election in Ireland

← 1880 24 November – 18 December 1885 (1885-11-24 – 1885-12-18) 1886 →
← outgoing members elected members →
101 of the 670 seats to the House of Commons
Turnout	75.0% (In contested seats)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Charles Stewart Parnell Marquess of Salisbury William Ewart Gladstone Party Irish Parliamentary Conservative Liberal Leader since 17 October 1882 April 1881 April 1880 Leader's seat Cork City House of Lords Midlothian Seats before 63 23 15 Seats won 85 16 0 Seat change 22 7 15 Popular vote 307,119 111,503 30,022 Percentage 67.8% 24.8% 6.8% Swing 30.3% 15.0% 15.9%
Results of the 1885 election in Ireland

The 1885 general election in Ireland was the first election following the Representation of the People Act 1884 and the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, which redrew the Irish electoral landscape.

The election saw the Irish Parliamentary Party secure their place as the dominant party in Irish politics, winning the vast majority of available seats. In comparison, the Liberals were wiped out in Ireland, whilst the Conservatives were reduced to 16 seats.

The election also saw the emergence of the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union; one of the forerunners of the later Irish Unionist Alliance. The IPLU sought to maximise the number of candidates elected from unionist parties in the three southern Irish provinces. In doing this the party would support individual candidates in various constituencies, and encourage Irish unionists to vote for these candidates, instead of splitting their vote between the various parties. Despite the IPLU's attempts, no southern Unionists were elected.

The election also saw a similarly named Loyal Irish Union, which campaigned alongside Irish Conservatives. Unlike the ILPU, which prioritised Unionism over party politics, the Loyal Irish Union prioritised opposition to the Liberals over forming any kind of bi-partisan Unionist alliance.