Seán O'Mahony (also John O'Mahoney) (20 October 1872 – 28 November 1934) 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 and member of the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

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 elect ...

. He was born as John Mahony in Logan Street,

Thomastown Thomastown (), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number o ...

, County Kilkenny, to James Mahony, a tailor, and Mary Cantwell. A successful businessman he was a tea merchant and a commercial traveller. His company, John O'Mahoney & Co., was located on Middle Abbey St., and was destroyed during the 1916 Easter Rising. It subsequently reestablished on

Parnell Square Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district. Formerly named ''Rutland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart Parnell (1 ...

. He subsequently purchased and ran Fleming's Hotel which was located at 31–32 Gardiner Place,

Dublin 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 c ...

. A close friend of

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...

, he became an organiser for

and was elected to

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

for the party. He participated in the Easter Rising and was subsequently interned at

Frongoch Frongoch is a village located in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies close to the market town of Bala, on the A4212 road. It was the home of the Frongoch internment camp, used to hold German prisoners-of-war during First World War, and then Irish Rep ...

and Lincoln Gaol. He remained with Sinn Féin after it was re-constituted as a republican party at the 1917

Ardfheis or ''ardfheis'' ( , ; "high assembly"; plural ''ardfheiseanna'') is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for i ...

. He was arrested during the German Plot of 1917 and was imprisoned in Lincoln Gaol. While imprisoned he was elected as a Sinn Féin MP for Fermanagh South in the 1918 general election. He was released from prison in 1919 and attended the proceedings of the First Dáil. He was re-arrested at the Sinn Féin offices in November 1919 and was imprisoned for three months in England. He would be arrested several more times throughout the

Anglo-Irish War The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mi ...

and his hotel was used as a meeting place by Sinn Féin members throughout the time. He was elected in the 1921 general election to the

for Fermanagh and Tyrone. As a result of the

Government of Ireland Act 1920 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5 c. 67) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill ...

this election was to provide the membership of two assemblies: the

Southern Ireland House of Commons The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,"Order in Co ...

and the Northern Ireland House of Commons. The eight seat Fermanagh-Tyrone constituency was one of several in the Northern Ireland House of Commons. As members of Sinn Féin did not recognise either assembly he and the other five Sinn Féin TDs continued to attend the Dáil. During the debates on 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 ...

he opposed ratification of the document and voted against ratification. He left the Dáil with

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 govern ...

and the other Anti-Treaty TDs. As the only member of the Second Dáil not elected to the Southern Ireland House of Commons, his status in the

Third Dáil The Third Dáil was elected at the general election held on 16 June 1922. This election was required to be held under the Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921. It first met on 9 September and until 6 December 1922, it was the Provisio ...

in 1922 was unclear. O'Mahony was not invited to attend the opening of the Provisional Parliament. De Valera was keen for him to attend since if he had been refused entry it would have demonstrated, in the minds of Anti-Treaty supporters, that the assembly was not an All-Ireland Dáil. In the end O'Mahony did not attend, but his case was taken up by

Laurence Ginnell Laurence Ginnell (baptised 9 April 1852 – 17 April 1923) was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Irish Parliamentary ...

. O'Mahony remained an

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 ...

MP to Stormont until the 1925 Northern Ireland general election, when he did not stand for re-election. He remained with Sinn Féin after the 1926 split, serving on the party's Ard Chomairle until his death. He died in 1934. His funeral was attended by representatives of Sinn Féin, the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

Fianna Éireann Na Fianna Éireann (The Fianna of Ireland), known as the Fianna, is an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded by Constance Markievicz in 1909, with later help from Bulmer Hobson. Fianna members were involved in setting up the Irish Volun ...

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 ...

, and Mná na Poblachta.''Irish Independent'', 1 December 1934, p. 10. He is buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

. He was survived by his wife, and a son, Malachy, and a daughter, Máire. The Gaelic football club Seán O'Mahony's (

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

) is named after him.

References

Sources

*Dorothy Macardle, (1937), ''The Irish Republic.'' *Frank Gallagher, ''The Four Glorious Years'', 2005 edition.
Biography from Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results
*''Irish Independent'', 29 & 30 November, 1 December 1934.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omahony, Sean 1872 births 1934 deaths Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Fermanagh constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Kilkenny UK MPs 1918–1922 Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Fermanagh and Tyrone People from Thomastown