Seán Redmond Etchingham (27 March 1868 – 23 April 1923) 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 Gr ...

politician. He was born in the townland of Ballintray,

Courtown Courtown () is a village in County Wexford, Ireland. It was developed after Lord Courtown ordered the construction of a harbour during the Famine years, 1839–1846. The economic boost of the new harbour led to a small village developing with f ...

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí C ...

, one of five children of John Etchingham, described as a coachman, servant or butler, and Elizabeth (Bessie) Redmond, both of whom were also from County Wexford. Like four of his siblings, his surname was recorded as Hutchingham in the birth register, although the family is referred to as Etchingham in most official documents. In 1901, he was living in Church Lane, Gorey, where he was employed as a horse trainer. By 1911, he was back in Courtown, where he gave his profession as journalist in the census of that year. He became a member of the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...

, Sinn Féin, 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 ...

and the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

(IRB). He never married. He was jailed in 1916 for his part in the

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountain ...

raid to seize the railway and to prevent reinforcements reaching Dublin to put down the

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 t ...

. When the Dublin rising failed, Etchingham surrendered and was arrested, but released in the amnesty of 1917. He was first elected as a Sinn Féin candidate for Wicklow East at the 1918 general election. As with the other Sinn Féin MPs, he did not take his seat in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 65 ...

, sitting instead 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 United ...

, which met in the

Mansion House, Dublin The Mansion House ( ga, Teach an Ard-Mhéara) is a house on Dawson Street, Dublin, which has been the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715, and was also the meeting place of the Dáil Éireann from 1919 until 1922. Histor ...

in January 1919. He was later appointed to the government as Secretary for Fisheries. In May 1921 his residence at Courtown was destroyed by the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

. He was returned unopposed in the 1921 general election and 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 ...

in the Dáil debates and again at the Volunteer Executive. He lost his Dáil seat in the 1922 election. After several months in a Dublin nursing home he returned to Courtown, where he died on 23 April 1923.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Etchingham, Sean 1868 births 1923 deaths People from County Wexford Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Wicklow constituencies (1801–1922)