Frank Lawless
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Frank J. Lawless (10 October 1870 – 16 April 1922) was an Irish revolutionary and politician who served as a
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TD) for
Dublin North Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ce ...
from 1919 to 1922. He was a farmer at Saucerstown,
Swords A sword is a cutting and/or thrusting weapon. Sword, Swords, or The Sword may also refer to: Places * Swords, Dublin, a large suburban town in the Irish capital * Swords, Georgia, a community in the United States * Sword Beach, code name for ...
,
County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
, and a member of a widely connected North Dublin family identified with the National movement. He was an early member of Sinn Féin and of the
Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...
. Frank Lawless took part in the 1916
Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...
, being
second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...
under
Thomas Ashe Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...
in the fight at Ashbourne,
County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...
. Two of his sons were also combatants on that occasion. As a result, he was condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to ten years' penal servitude. He was imprisoned at
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
with
Harry Boland Harry Boland (27 April 1887 – 1 August 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood from 1919 to 1920. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1922. He was elected at the 1918 ...
. He was released in the general
amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...
of 1917. He was again arrested in connection with the "German Plot" and was confined in
Usk prison HM Prison Usk (Welsh: ) is a Category C men's prison, located in Maryport Street in Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and jointly managed with the nearby HMP Prescoed. History Usk Prison was bu ...
. He was paroled to permit him to take part in the 1918 election, was present at the declaration at
Balbriggan Balbriggan (; , IPA: bˠalʲəˈbʲɾʲɪɟiːnʲ is a coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland, approximately 34 km from Dublin City. The 2016 census population was 21,722 for Balbriggan and its environs. ...
but returned to Usk prison on the same day. After his release from Usk he was interned in Ballykinlar Camp. Ashe was Frank Lawless's commanding officer, when the latter served with 4th section, Cork no.1 brigade during the war of independence. Lawless took an active part in the battle of Ashbourne, being battalion
quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...
. A victory for the Irish volunteers, who defeated a superior number of RIC at the crossroads of Ballyannan on the Friday of Easter Week. Coming from the south in a reserve position from behind a hedgerow, his men were fired on by their own 1st section by mistake. But many of the police lay dead in the ditches, and other surrendered, thanks to timely planning and courageous leadership from Mulcahy and Ashe, respectively. It was a wider attempt to raise rebellion outside Dublin. At the 1918 general election, he was elected as part of the Sinn Féin landslide, defeating the
Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
J. J. Clancy, who had sat for the Dublin North seat since 1885, by 9,138 to 4,428. Like the other Sinn Féin members, Lawless did not take his seat at Westminster but took part in the revolutionary
First Dáil The First Dáil ( ga, An Chéad Dáil) was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919 to 1921. It was the first meeting of the unicameral parliament of the revolutionary Irish Republic. In the December 1918 election to the Parliament of the Unite ...
. He was re-elected in 1921 to the
Second Dáil The Second Dáil () was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected ...
for the new Dublin County
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
. He was one of the majority of 64–57 who voted in favour of ratification of the
Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...
in the critical debate of 7 January 1922. He died three months later at the age of 51 from injuries received when the pony trap in which he was riding was accidentally upset. He was buried with full military honours at Killossery Cemetery,
Rolestown Rolestown, (Irish: ''Baile Rothluis''), is a small village six miles (10 km) north-west of Swords along the R125 in Fingal, Ireland. It lies about halfway between Swords and Ashbourne. It is located around two parallel roads intersected b ...
. His funeral was supposedly one of the final times
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
and
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
would stand side by side. He was married with six sons and five daughters.


References


Bibliography

* Augusteijn, Joost, ''From the Public Defiance to Guerilla Warfare. The Experience of Ordinary Volunteers in the Irish War of Independence 1916-1921'' (Dublin 1996) * Brian M. Walker (ed.), Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922, Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, 1978 * Dod's Parliamentary Companion, London, 1920 *
Freeman's Journal The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper. Patriot journal It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radi ...
, 30 December 1918, 17 April 1922, 19 April 1922 * David Fitzpatrick, ''Harry Boland's Irish Revolution'', Cork University Press, 2003, p. 410, citing ''Irish Independent'', 17 and 19 April 1922. * O'Reilly, Terence (ed.) ''Our Struggle For Independence: Eye-Witness Accounts From the Pages of
An Cosantóir ''An Cosantóir'' (; meaning "The Defender") is the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces. It was originally established in December 1940 by Colonel Michael Joe Costello as a means of disseminating training material among the Local Sec ...
'' (Cork 2009), pp. 121–137. * Townshend, Charles, ''Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion'' (London 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, Frank J 1870 births 1922 deaths Irish farmers Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Dublin constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Dublin UK MPs 1918–1922