ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the social composition of the Irish Conservative party at the period of its greatest electoral success. It builds on the foundations laid by the works but also adds significant new details which augment the portrait of the party presented in them. Irish historiography had focused on Nationalist political organisations and movements, giving insufficient attention to both the Irish Conservative and Liberal parties. The exceptional nature of Irish politics in the 1850s and early 1860s also contributed to the success of the Irish Conservative party. The 1859 election was marked by the close co-operation on electoral matters between the Independent Irish and the Conservative parties. A number of factors were responsible for this. A constant factor in the beliefs of Irish Conservatives was their ambivalent attitude towards the Union, which they saw as both securing their position and at the same time limiting their freedom of action.
