William Abraham (Irish politician)
William Abraham (1840 – 2 August 1915) was an Irish Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom House of Commons. He was born in Limerick.
Although a Protestant in religion (a Congregationalist), he became active in
Poor Law
in their district) 1882–1883 and 1885–1886.
Abraham represented three constituencies at
North-East Cork, succeeding Michael Davitt, and sat until he was defeated in the January 1910 general election by the dissident Nationalist William O'Brien, by the wide margin of 2,984 votes to 1,510. He was unopposed at the by-election for Dublin Harbour
in June 1910, and won comfortably against an O'Brienite Nationalist in the same seat in the general election of December 1910. He represented Dublin Harbour until his death in 1915.
According to the Irish Independent, he was assiduous in his duties at Westminster, and spoke at one time or another in every constituency in Great Britain, including Orkney and Shetland. He was a Treasurer of his party, and a prominent member of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons. However, in Maume's view, his age and lack of local contacts made him ineffective in his final role as a Dublin MP.[1]
References
- ^ Maume 1999, p. 223.
Sources
- Irish Independent, 3 August 1915
- Maume, Patrick (1999). The Long Gestation: Irish Nationalist Life 1891–1918. New York: St Martin's Press. ISBN 0717127443.
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Vol. II 1886-1918, edited by M. Stenton & S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1978)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland 1801-1922, edited by Brian M. Walker (Dublin, Royal Irish Academy 1978)