Samuel O'Flaherty (1895 – 22 May 1930) was an Irish

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 G ...

politician. He first stood for election at the 1918 general election as a Sinn Féin candidate for the Donegal East constituency but was defeated by Edward Kelly of the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nation ...

. An electoral pact was brokered by Cardinal Michael Logue under which eight seats in northern Ireland were allocated either to the Irish Parliamentary Party or to Sinn Féin and not contested by the other.Dublin Evening Telegraph, 4 December 1918. In the election Kelly obtained 7,596 votes to the Unionist's 4,797. O'Flaherty, the unofficial Sinn Féin candidate broke the pact but obtained a mere 46 votes. He was elected unopposed as a Sinn Féin

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) to the 2nd Dáil at the 1921 elections for the Donegal constituency. He opposed 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 ...

and voted against it. He was re-elected unopposed as an anti-Treaty Sinn Féin TD at the 1922 general election but did not take his seat. He lost his seat at the 1923 general election. O'Flaherty was the son of James O'Flaherty, a farmer and mill-owner of

Castlefin Castlefin (), sometimes spelt Castlefinn, is a market town and townland in the Finn Valley of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is located between Ballybofey and Lifford in East Donegal and, , the population was 705 ...

. His brothers were similarly involved with the Sinn Féin: John who was interned at Curragh; James, a priest and professor at Dungannon College; and Manus, a civil servant; his three sisters all belonged to

Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; literally "The Women's Council" but calling themselves The Irishwomen's Council in English), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and d ...

. He died from

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

in Stranorlar aged 35 on 22 May 1930.

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* File:Piece 207-084; Samuel P O'Flaherty (1922).pdf, page=2, alt=British Army intelligence file for Samuel P O'Flaherty], British Army intelligence file for Samuel P O'Flaherty 1895 births 1930 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil Politicians from County Donegal People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Sinn Féin parliamentary candidates People educated at St Columb's College Alumni of University College Dublin People from Castlefin {{SinnFéin-politician-stub