John Philip Nolan

Lieutenant-Colonel John Philip Nolan (1838 – 30 January 1912) was an

represented County Galway (1872–1885) and Galway North (1885–1895), (1900–1906).

He was the eldest son of John Nolan,

(then known as Magdala) and was mentioned in despatches. He was awarded the Abyssinian War Medal and retired from the Army with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1881.

Nolan became involved in the nascent

Catholic

, 2,823 voted for Nolan and 658 for Trench.

Trench appealed the result, claiming on petition that there was widespread intimidation during the election campaign. The local Catholic bishops and clergy had strongly supported Nolan, chiefly because the family of his opponent, a Captain Trench, was active in proselytism. The trial of the County Galway Election Petition began, before Judge William Keogh, on 1 April and ended on 21 May 1872.

Judge Keogh found that Capt. Nolan had been elected by the undue influence and intimidation and in his report stated that he found 36 persons guilty of undue influence and intimidation, including

, John McEvilly, and twenty nine named priests, such intimidation being in some cases exercised in the very churches. As a result, Captain Nolan was unseated on 13 June, the seat going to Captain Trench. The judgement caused an uproar; the judge was threatened with removal from the bench and his reputation never recovered.

Nolan retook the seat at the 1874 election. He remained MP after the 1885 constituency reforms as MP for

until 1895.

When the Irish Parliamentary Party split over

and lost the Galway North seat for the last time.

Writings

• "Galway Castles and Owners in 1574", Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 1:2 (1900–1901), pp. 109–123
• “The Castles of Clare Barony. The thirty-four De Burgo Castles in the Barony of Clare”, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 1:1 (1900–1901), pp. 11–48

References

External links

• Samuel J. Maguire, "Trench v. Nolan The Galway Election Petition"

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Philip Nolan

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by William Henry Gregory Mitchell Henry	Member of Parliament for County Galway 1872 With: Mitchell Henry	Succeeded by Mitchell Henry William Le Poer Trench
Preceded by William Le Poer Trench Mitchell Henry	Member of Parliament for County Galway 1874–1885 With: Mitchell Henry	constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Galway North 1885–1895	Succeeded by Denis Kilbride
Preceded by Denis Kilbride	Member of Parliament for Galway North 1900–1906	Succeeded by Thomas Higgins