James Leahy

Who was James Leahy?

James Leahy was an Irish nationalist politician who took his seat in the United Kingdom House of Commons as Member of Parliament for constituencies in County Kildare 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, as a Parnellite Home Rule League candidate for the Kildare constituency, 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, he was returned unopposed for the new Southern division of Kildare. He was again elected unopposed in 1886, and sided with Parnell when the IPP split in 1891. However, at the 1892 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.