| Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union | |
| Ideology: | Big tent Anti-Home Rule Irish Unionism |
| Successor: | Irish Unionist Alliance |
| Newspaper: | Notes from Ireland |
| Headquarters: | Dublin |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Elections Dab1: | List of United Kingdom general elections |
The Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union (ILPU) was a unionist political organisation in Ireland, established to oppose the Irish Home Rule movement.[1]
The Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union was formed in Dublin in May 1885 by a small number of southern businessmen, landowners and academics.[2] It sought to unite Liberals and Conservatives in the three southern provinces of Ireland on a common platform of maintenance of the union between Great Britain and Ireland. In doing so, it undermined the Conservative Loyal Irish Union, which shut down as a result of the ILPU's founding. From its inception, the ILPU's main opponent was the Irish Parliamentary Party. The ILPU published pamphlets, leaflets and a news sheet, Notes from Ireland, which were distributed widely in Ireland.[3] [4] The organisation had some success in preventing rivalry between Liberals and Conservatives, and in a number of cases candidates came forward in the 1885 general election simply as ‘loyalists’. A total of 54 of the southern seats were contested by anti-home rule candidates.
The success of the organisation led its leaders to found the Irish Unionist Alliance in 1891, at which point the ILPU ceased to exist as a separate body.
Table shows results for candidates running under a purely "Loyalist" banner.
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position | Winning party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur St George Patton | 106 | 2.1 | 2 | Irish Parliamentary Party | ||
| Augustus Stewart | 952 | 17.2 | 2 | Irish Parliamentary Party | ||
| Thomas George Palmer Hallett | 164 | 10.9 | 2 | Irish Parliamentary Party | ||
| Daniel O'Connell | 133 | 4.6 | 2 | Irish Parliamentary Party | ||
| Capt. William Gervaise de la Poer | 314 | 8.7 | 2 | Irish Parliamentary Party | ||
| Herman Southwood Smith | 200 | 5.2 | 2 | Irish Parliamentary Party |