# Youghal (UK Parliament constituency)

Youghal was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.

## Boundaries

This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Youghal in County Cork. A Topographical Directory of Ireland, published in 1837, describes the Parliamentary history of the borough.
   The borough appears to have exercised the elective franchise by prescription, as, though no notice of that privilege appears in any of its charters, it continued to send two members to the Irish parliament from the year 1374 until the Union, since which period it has returned one member to the imperial parliament; the right of election was vested solely in the members of the corporation and the freemen, whether resident or not; but by the act of the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, it has been granted to the £10 householders, and the non-resident freemen have been disfranchised. A new boundary has been drawn round the town, including an area of 212 statute acres.
The new boundary of 1832, contained in the Parliamentary Boundaries (Ireland) Act 1832 was:
   From the Point to the South of the Town where the new Road to Cork quits the Sea-shore, Northward, in a straight Line to the Point in Windmill Lane where the same is joined by a Bye Road from the North, about Two hundred Yards to the West of the House occupied by Mr. Flyn; thence in a straight Line to the South-western Angle of the Ordnance Ground on which the Barracks stand, near the old Cork Road; thence along the Western Fence of the Ordnance Ground to the North-western Angle of the same; thence, Northward in a straight Line to the Spot where the upper Edge of the great Quarry near Counsellor Feuge's House is cut by a Road which runs through the same to the Mount Uniacke Road; thence along the Road so running through the Quarry to the Point where the same meets the Mount Uniacke Road; thence, Northward, in a straight Line to the Point where a Bye Road which leads from the Mount Uniacke Road to the Waterford Road makes a Turn almost at Right Angles a little to the South of the House called Eustace's Folly; thence, Northward, along the same Road, passing to the West of Eustace's Folly, to the Spot where the same Road meets the Waterford Road; thence in a straight Line to the nearest Point of the Sea-shore; thence along the Sea-shore to the Point first described.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party | Note |
| | 1801, 1 January | Sir John Keane, Bt | Tory | 1801: Co-opted. Created Baronet 1 August 1801. |
| | 1806, 10 November | James Bernard, Viscount Bernard | Tory | |
| | 1807, 18 May | Henry Boyle, Viscount Boyle | Whig | Became the 3rd Earl of Shannon |
| | 1807, 28 July | Sir John Keane, Bt | Tory | First returned at a by-election |
| | 1818, 27 June | James Bernard, Viscount Bernard | Tory | |
| | 1820, 15 March | John Hyde | | |
| | 1826, 14 June | Hon. George Ponsonby | Whig | Not George Ponsonby (1755–1817), but his nephew. |
| | 1832, 15 December | John O'Connell | Repeal Association | Re-elected as a candidate of a Liberal/Repealer pact |
| | 1837, 8 August | Frederick John Howard | Whig | |
| | 1841, 3 July | Hon. Charles Cavendish | Whig | |
| | 1847, 7 August | Thomas Chisholm Anstey | Irish Confederate | |
| | 1852, 15 July | Isaac Butt | Conservative | Re-elected as a Liberal candidate |
| | 1857, 28 March | Isaac Butt | Peelite | |
| | 1859, 9 May | Isaac Butt | Liberal | |
| | 1865, 18 July | Joseph Neale McKenna | Liberal | |
| | 1868, 23 November | Christopher Weguelin | Liberal | Unseated on petition and new writ issued |
| | 1869, 11 May | Montague Guest | Liberal | Returned at a by-election |
| | 1874, 4 February | Sir Joseph Neale McKenna | Home Rule League | Last MP for the constituency |
| 1885 | 1885 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | George Ponsonby | 66 | 95.7 |
| | Nonpartisan | Richard Smyth | 3 | 4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 63 | 91.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 69 | c. 28.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | c. 242 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
Ponsonby was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 4 December 1830: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | George Ponsonby | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1831: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | George Ponsonby | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 242 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1832: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Irish Repeal | John O'Connell | 22 | 81.5 |
| | Tory | Roger Green Davis | 5 | 18.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17 | 63.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27 | 9.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 297 | |
| | Irish Repeal gain from Whig | Irish Repeal gain from Whig | Irish Repeal gain from Whig | Irish Repeal gain from Whig |
* Davis resigned on the second day of polling
General election 1835: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Repeal (Whig) | John O'Connell | 137 | 51.3 | −30.2 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Cusack-Smith | 130 | 48.7 | +30.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7 | 2.6 | −60.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 267 | 79.0 | +69.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 338 | | |
| | Irish Repeal hold | Irish Repeal hold | Swing | −30.2 | |
General election 1837: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Frederick John Howard | 158 | 51.3 | +−0.0 |
| | Conservative | William Nicol | 150 | 48.7 | ±0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8 | 2.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 308 | 58.6 | −20.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 526 | | |
| | Whig gain from Irish Repeal | Whig gain from Irish Repeal | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Charles Cavendish | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 498 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1847: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Irish Confederate | Thomas Chisholm Anstey | 110 | 61.8 | New |
| | Whig | William Ponsonby | 68 | 38.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 42 | 23.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 178 | 34.1 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 522 | | |
| | Irish Confederate gain from Whig | Irish Confederate gain from Whig | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Isaac Butt | 111 | 50.5 | New |
| | Whig | John Fortescue | 109 | 49.5 | +11.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2 | 1.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 220 | 84.3 | +50.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 261 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Irish Confederate | Conservative gain from Irish Confederate | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1857: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Peelite | Isaac Butt | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 220 | | |
| | Peelite gain from Conservative | Peelite gain from Conservative | Peelite gain from Conservative | Peelite gain from Conservative | Peelite gain from Conservative |
General election 1859: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Isaac Butt | 128 | 70.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | John Rowland Smyth | 54 | 29.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 74 | 40.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 182 | 77.8 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 234 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Peelite | Liberal gain from Peelite | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Joseph Neale McKenna | 122 | 80.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Isaac Butt | 30 | 19.7 | −50.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 92 | 60.6 | +20.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 152 | 64.1 | −13.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 237 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1868: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Christopher Weguelin | 127 | 54.5 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Joseph Neale McKenna | 106 | 45.5 | −34.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21 | 9.0 | −51.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 233 | 83.8 | +19.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 278 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
On petition, Weguelin was unseated due to treating, and a by-election was called.
By-election, 11 May 1869: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Montague Guest | 126 | 50.6 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Charles Green | 123 | 49.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3 | 1.2 | −7.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 249 | 89.6 | +5.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 278 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Home Rule | Joseph Neale McKenna | 124 | 53.9 | +8.4 |
| | Conservative | Robert Penrose-Fitzgerald | 106 | 46.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18 | 7.8 | −1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 230 | 83.3 | −0.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 276 | | |
| | Home Rule gain from Liberal | Home Rule gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Youghal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Home Rule | Joseph Neale McKenna | 133 | 52.6 | −1.3 |
| | Conservative | David Taylor Arnott | 120 | 47.4 | +1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13 | 5.2 | −2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 253 | 87.5 | +4.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 289 | | |
| | Home Rule hold | Home Rule hold | Swing | −1.3 | |