James Leahy was an Irish nationalist politician who took his seat in the United Kingdom House of Commons as 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 constituencies in 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...

 from 1880 to 1892.

He was the son of Daniel Leahy, a farmer of Templemore, Co. Tipperary. He was educated privately and was himself a tenant farmer. In 1850 he married Julia, daughter of John Mulhall, of Boyle, Co. Roscommon.

Leahy was first elected at the 1880 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1880

-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 *...

, as a Parnell

Charles Stewart Parnell

Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...

ite 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:...

 candidate for the Kildare constituency

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...

, In the vital vote of 17 May 1880 in which Parnell displaced William Shaw as chairman of the Parliamentary Party, Leahy voted for Parnell. When the Kildare constituency was divided at the 1885 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1885

-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

, he was returned unopposed for the new Southern division of Kildare

South Kildare (UK Parliament constituency)

South Kildare was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1922.Prior to the 1885 general election the area was part of the Kildare constituency. From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament....

. He was again elected unopposed in 1886

United Kingdom general election, 1886

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

, and sided with Parnell when the IPP split in 1891. However, at the 1892 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1892

The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...

 he lost the seat by a wide margin to the Anti-Parnellite candidate, Matthew Minch. He did not stand for Parliament again, but appears to have remained an active Parnellite. He was present at the nomination of J. L. Carew as Parnellite candidate for Dublin College Green on 6 April 1896.

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