William Henry Ford Cogan PC

Privy Council of Ireland

The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...

 (1823 – 28 September 1894) was an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 Whig (and later Liberal) politician. He was Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Kildare

Kildare (UK Parliament constituency)

A former UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning two Members of Parliament.-Members of Parliament:-References:*The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith , 2nd edition edited by F.W.S. Craig *Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M...

 from 1852 to 1880, representing the county in the United Kingdom House of Commons.

Cogan was first elected to the Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 at a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 on 13 March 1852, when he was returned unopposed after the Conservative

Irish Conservative Party

The Irish Conservative Party, often called the Irish Tories, was one of the dominant Irish political parties in Ireland in the 19th century...

 MP Lord Naas

Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo

Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo KP, GMSI, PC , styled Lord Naas between 1842 and 1867, was a statesman and prominent member of the British Conservative Party from Dublin, Ireland....

 was appointed as Chief Secretary for Ireland

Chief Secretary for Ireland

The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...

. He was re-elected at the general election in July 1852

United Kingdom general election, 1852

The July 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed election in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/Liberal party became the party of the rising...

, when Kildare's two Whig MPs secured a large majority over a lone Conservative challenger. He was then returned unopposed in four successive general elections, and held the seat in 1874 against a strong challenge from Home Rule League

Home Rule League

The Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a political party which campaigned for home rule for the country of Ireland from 1873 to 1882, when it was replaced by the Irish Parliamentary Party.-Origins:...

 candidates, one of whom defeated his fellow Liberal MP Lord Otho FitzGerald

Lord Otho FitzGerald

Lord Otho Augustus FitzGerald PC was a British soldier and Liberal politician. He notably served as Comptroller of the Household under William Gladstone between 1868 and 1874.-Background:...

. He did not contest the 1874 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1874

-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

, when Home Rulers took both seats in Kildare.

Cogan was the last Whig or Liberal MP returned for County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

. After his retirement in 1880, all further MPs for the county were Irish nationalists of various parties, until and Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 from 1918 until Irish representation at Westminster

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

 ended in 1922 with the foundation of the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

.

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