The National Party was a minor political party in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

between 1924 and 1925. It was a splinter group of nine

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; "Society of the Gaels") was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. In 1933 it merged with smaller groups to form the Fine Gael party. Origins In 1922 the pro-Treaty G ...

TDs led by Joseph McGrath, who had been Minister for Industry and Commerce in the Cumann na nGaedheal government. McGrath founded the National Party in the aftermath of the Army Mutiny, the last military challenge to civilian authority in Ireland. The nine TDs protested the refusal of the government to reinstate mutineers among the officer corps in October 1924. They were also impatient with progress towards a united 32-county Republic. The nine resigned their seats triggering simultaneous

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in March 1925, described as a "mini-general election",Manning (1972) as a test of public opinion and sympathy with the mutiny. Seven of the polls were won by Cumann na nGaedheal; the other two were won by the

abstentionist Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in ...

candidates of

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 ...

, then led by

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 ...

. None of the men themselves ran in the by-elections to retain their seats. The March 1925 "mini-general election" was the only time that double by-elections occurred in Ireland (filling two vacancies in the same constituency at the same time),

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 ...

and Leitrim–Sligo both elected two TDs.

Members

* Francis Cahill * Thomas Carter * Henry Finlay *

Seán Gibbons Séan Francis Gibbons (31 May 1883 – 19 April 1952) was an Irish politician who sat as Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála (TD) in the 1920s and as a Fianna Fáil TD in the 1930s. He later became a Senator, and was Cathaoirleach (chairperson) of ...

Alexander McCabe Alexander McCabe ( ga, Alasdar Mac Cába; 5 June 1886 – 31 May 1972) was an Irish Sinn Féin (later Cumann na nGaedheal) politician. Early life He was born in Keash, County Sligo in 1886. He was educated at Summerhill College, Sligo. He won a ...

* Daniel McCarthy *

Seán McGarry Seán McGarry (2 August 1886 – 9 December 1958) was a 20th-century Irish nationalist and politician. A longtime senior member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), he served as its president from May 1917 until May 1918 when he was one of ...

* Joseph McGrath *

Seán Milroy Seán Milroy (1877 – 30 November 1946) was an Irish revolutionary and politician, who took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and served in the Second Dáil during the War of Independence and afterwards in the Seanad of the Irish Free State. Bio ...

Notes

References

*Barberis, Peter, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, 2005. Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organisations. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. , * *National Party "CANDIDATES", ''Irish Independent'' Friday, 31 October 1924, Page 7 1924 establishments in Ireland 1925 disestablishments in Ireland Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Political parties disestablished in 1925 Political parties established in 1924 {{Ireland-party-stub