1920 Rathmines and Rathgar Urban District Council election
An election to the urban district council of Rathmines and Rathgar took place on Thursday, 15 January 1920 as part of the 1920 Irish local elections. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 had changed the electoral system for local government in Ireland from first-past-the-post to single transferable vote.
The election saw Unionists reduced to a majority of 1 on the council. Prior to the election the Rathmines and Rathgar council had been composed almost entirely of Unionists.[1]
Following the election, Robert Benson (Unionist) was elected chairman, and William Ireland (Unionist) was elected as vice-chairman. Mary Kettle, the only Irish Party representative, did not vote for a chairman; however, she voted for Áine Ceannt for vice-chairman. Ceannt lost to Ireland by a single vote.[2]
Results by party[edit]
| Party | Seats | ± | First Pref. votes | FPv% | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Unionist | 11 | 
|
4,589 | 45.83 | ||
| Sinn Féin | 9 | 
|
3,952 | 39.46 | ||
| Irish Nationalist | 1 | 987 | 9.86 | |||
| Independent | 0 | 486 | 4.85 | |||
| Totals | 21 | 10,014 | 100.00 | — | ||
Results by local electoral area[edit]
No. 1 West Ward[edit]
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Sinn Féin | William Sears MP | 30.28 | 678 | ||||||
| Irish Unionist | George Metcalfe (incumbent) | 22.42 | 502 | ||||||
| Irish Unionist | J. J. McKenzie | 13.26 | 297 | 377 | |||||
| Sinn Féin | Sean Doyle | 10.94 | 245 | - | - | 337 | 340 | 407 | |
| Irish Nationalist | J. J. Kiernan | 8.04 | 180 | - | - | 186 | 283 | 283 | |
| Sinn Féin | Madeleine ffrench-Mullen | 5.94 | 133 | - | - | 234 | 234 | 356 | |
| Irish Unionist | A. A. O'Malley | 4.96 | 111 | - | - | 164 | |||
| Sinn Féin | George Irvine | 4.15 | 93 | - | - | 196 | 196 | ||
| Electorate: 3,158 Valid: 2,239 Spoilt: 30 Quota: 374 Turnout: 2,269 | |||||||||
No. 2 West Ward[edit]
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| Irish Unionist | Robert Benson (incumbent) | 508 | ||
| Sinn Féin | Robert Brennan | 499 | ||
| Irish Unionist | Mrs M. K. Dixon | 392 | ||
| Irish Unionist | William Ireland (incumbent) | 256 | ||
| Irish Nationalist | P. J. Munden | 244 | ||
| Independent | C. B. W. Boyle | 226 | ||
| Sinn Féin | Mrs M. J. Mulcahy | 205 | ||
| Irish Unionist | S. G. Slater | 130 | ||
| Sinn Féin | Archibald J. Nicolls | 116 | ||
| Irish Unionist | F. W. Giddings | 78 | ||
| Electorate: 3,585 Valid: 2,654 Spoilt: 34 Quota: 433 Turnout: 2,688 | ||||
No. 1 East Ward[edit]
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||||
| Irish Unionist | Mr. Carruthers | 494 | |||||
| Sinn Féin | Dr. Kathleen Lynn | 427 | |||||
| Sinn Féin | James Dwyer | 382 | 383 | 410 | |||
| Irish Unionist | John Russell | 221 | |||||
| Irish Nationalist | Patrick Moore | 202 | |||||
| Irish Unionist | William M. Hatte | 117 | |||||
| Sinn Féin | Thomas O'Conner | 83 | |||||
| Electorate: 2,673 Valid: 1,926 Spoilt: 48 Quota: 386 Turnout: 1,974 | |||||||
No. 2 East Ward[edit]
No. 2 East Ward saw the return of republican activist Áine Ceannt, Mary Kettle (daughter of David Sheehy and widow of Thomas Kettle), along with the abstentionist Sinn Féin MP Joseph MacDonagh.
Ceannt's husband, Éamonn (left) had died fighting for the Irish Republican Brotherhood during the Easter Rising four years prior. Kettle's husband, Tom (right), a Home Ruler and former MP for East Tyrone, had died the same year fighting in the Battle of the Somme.
Ceannt's husband, Éamonn (left) had died fighting for the Irish Republican Brotherhood during the Easter Rising four years prior. Kettle's husband, Tom (right), a Home Ruler and former MP for East Tyrone, had died the same year fighting in the Battle of the Somme.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| Sinn Féin | Joseph MacDonagh MP | 549 | |||
| Irish Unionist | John Sibthorpe | 456 | |||
| Irish Unionist | J. C. Anderson | 422 | |||
| Sinn Féin | Frances Ceannt | 363 | 449 | ||
| Irish Nationalist | Mary Kettle | 361 | |||
| Irish Unionist | David Jackson M.D. | 267 | |||
| Independent | Thomas Saul | 260 | |||
| Irish Unionist | H. B. Goulding | 235 | |||
| Sinn Féin | Thomas Cullen M.R.I.A. | 127 | |||
| Irish Unionist | R. D. Bolton | 103 | |||
| Sinn Féin | George Daly | 52 | |||
| Electorate: 4,435 Valid: 3,195 Spoilt: 48 Quota: 400 Turnout: 3,243 | |||||
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Municipal elections: Dublin Townships". Dublin Evening Telegraph. Dublin. 19 January 1920. pp. 1–3.
- ^ Yeates, Pádraig. A City in Turmoil – Dublin 1919–1921: The War of Independence.
- ^ a b "Dublin Townships: Two ladies elected to the Rathmines Council". Dublin Evening Telegraph. Dublin. 17 January 1920. p. 5.
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