Conclusion

In 1879, Archibald Dobbs promoted the idea of proportional representation (PR) in Irish elections as ‘the best method of ascertaining the depth and breadth of political opinion’. Dobbs was a barrister from a prominent Protestant family in Co. Antrim that claimed a rich heritage in national and local politics stretching back centuries. 1 Part of his advocacy of PR was connected to an effort to stymie ‘agitators’ gaining electoral success. ‘[Charles Stewart] Parnell and the Obstructionists are the worst foes of the men who could be responsible statesmen, of the able members of the Home Rule party’, proclaimed Dobbs. He continued:I cannot take the point of view and attitude of the Home Rulers, so far as I know it, nor can I take the English point of view. But my present task is to endeavour to obtain a full and free and real representation for Ireland, believing as I do in the great fund of good stored up in the hearts of her people. 2