The 1872 Kerry by-election was fought on 6 February 1872. The by-election was held due to the incumbent Liberal MP Valentine Browne succeeding to the peerage as Earl of Kenmare. It was won by the Home Rule candidate Rowland Blennerhassett.[1] The by-election was important in the decline of the Catholic Union whose candidate was defeated by Blennerhassett, who although a Home Ruler was a Protestant. The Bishop of Kerry had condemned the Home Rule campaign.