David O'Connor Henchy

{{Short description|Irish politician}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}

{{Use Irish English|date=March 2018}}

David O'Connor-Henchy (23 May 1810 – 1 December 1876) was an Irish Whig politician. From 1852 to 1859, he was one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for Kildare, representing the county in the United Kingdom House of Commons.{{cite web |url=http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Kcommons1.htm |title=Historical list of MPs: constituencies beginning with "K", part 1 |work=Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages |accessdate=5 December 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625233627/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Kcommons1.htm |archive-date=25 June 2015 }}

He was born David O'Connor, the son of Valentine O'Connor and Mary Henchy, and adopted the additional surname of Henchy. He lived at Stonebrook, County Kildare.{{cite web| url = http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/family-show.jsp?id=2738|title= Family: O'Connor/O'Connor-Henchy |publisher= NUI Galway|accessdate = 8 October 2013}}

He was appointed High Sheriff of Kildare for 1844–1845. He was first elected to the UK Parliament at the general election in July 1852, when he defeated a Conservative opponent to succeed the Marquess of Kildare as the second of Kilkare's two MPs.{{cite book

| title = Parliamentary election results in Ireland 1801–1922

| editor = Brian M. Walker

| publisher = Royal Irish Academy

| location = Dublin

| year = 1978

| isbn = 0-901714-12-7

| page = 84

}} He was re-elected unopposed at the general election in 1857, pledged to support the creation of an independent Irish opposition,Walker, op. cit., page 91 but did not stand again in 1859.Walker, op. cit., page 96

He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir John Burke, 2nd Baronet of Marble Hill, Co. Galway and was succeeded by his son Henry.