1899 Limerick Corporation election

An election for Limerick Municipal Council was held in 1899 as part of the wider 1899 Irish local elections. Following the reforms of the 1898 Act Limerick's franchise had increased from 709 to 5,521.[1]

A total of 79 candidates contested the 40 seats; with 27 of the outgoing councillors putting themselves forward for re-election, 34 Laborites putting themselves forward, 18 Merchants and large rate-payers.

The election saw Labour winning control of the council, with 24 of the councils 40 seats. Hand in hand with Labour's victory, went the victory of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Of the 40 councillors, 21 were members of the IRB. Of these 21 IRB members, 18 were Labourites.

Aggregate results

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Limerick Corporation election, 1899[1]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  LEA 24 53.22 9,070
  Re-elect 11 27.21 4,637
  Merchant 5 19.58 3,337

The result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:

Party Previous council New council
Cllr Ald Cllr Ald
Independent 32 8 12 4
Labour 0 0 20 4
Total 32 8 32 8
40 40
Working majority  32   8   8   0 
 40   8 

Ward results

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Abbey Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Re-elect M. McDonnell 403
LEA W. Fitzgerald 356
LEA J. O'Brien 342
LEA M. Murphy 332
LEA P. Moloney 324
Re-elect J.J. Cleary J.P 205
Re-elect J. Kivlehan 179
Merchant W. Holliday 86
Merchant J. Power 54
Turnout 2,281
Castle Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
LEA D. Gilligan 345
LEA J. Hassett 325
LEA J. Connery 318
LEA J. Vaughan 311
Re-elect T. Donnellan 290
Re-elect A. Hall J.P. 231
Re-elect R. Nash 156
Re-elect W. O'Connell 131
Merchant W. McDonnell 82
Turnout 2,189
Custom House Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
LEA M. Joyce 276
LEA J. Kett 264
Independent T. Cleeve J.P 225
Independent S. Quin J.P 224
Independent L. Carr 197
LEA J. Maloney 194
LEA J. O'Neill 172
Independent R. Gleeson 102
Independent W. Frost 72
Independent D. Nelson 68
Independent J. McMahon 30
Turnout 1,824

References

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  1. ^ a b McKay, Enda (1999). "The Limerick Municipal Elections, January 1899" (PDF). The Old Limerick Journal. 36: 3–10.