Seán Hayes (29 March 1884 – 24 January 1928) was a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

member of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was a newspaper editor (the '' Cork County Southern Star'' of

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. Located ...

) and political propagandist. John Hayes was born in Clegg,

Glandore Glandore (, meaning ''harbour of the oak trees'') is the name of a village and harbour in County Cork, Ireland. It is off the N71 road, about 10 km east of Skibbereen. The village has several pubs, with traditional music performances. It ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

in 1888, the son of Denis Hayes, a farmer. He joined the civil service working as a sorter in the GPO, London from 1904 to 1912, returning to work in Dublin following that time. Subsequently, working in Skibbereen for the weekly ''Southern Star'' as an editor and a manager. He was a participant in the 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), 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 aim of establishing an ind ...

at the GPO, Dublin, for which he was arrested and spent time interned in

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough ...

. He was elected unopposed for Cork West at the 1918 general election. He did not take the seat he had won 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 650 memb ...

, but like other members of his party he joined the revolutionary

First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of 1919 to 1921. He represented the constituency of Cork Mid, North, South, South East and West from 1921 to 1923. He became a member of the pro-

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

faction of Sinn Féin before the 1922 general election. He did not seek re-election at the 1923 general election. Hayes was arrested by the British forces during a raid on party offices in Dublin in November 1919. As a result, he was sentenced to three months imprisonment. He was re-arrested in 1920 during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. He was a member of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

. He was also reputedly a member of Tom Barry's Flying Column in West Cork. He married Ciss Crowley from

Dunmanway Dunmanway (, official Irish name: ) is a market town in County Cork, in the southwest of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the geographical centre of the region known as West Cork. It is the birthplace of Sam Maguire, an Irish Protestant repub ...

, County Cork. They lived in

Clontarf, Dublin Clontarf () is an affluent coastal suburb on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of Dublin in the city's List of Dublin postal districts, Dublin 3 postal district. Historically, there were two centres of population, one on the coast towards the c ...

. He died on 24 January 1928, and was buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () 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 Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

on 26 January.

References

Sources

*''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Vol. III'', edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1979) * Townshend, Charles, ''Easter 1916: the Irish rebellion'' (London 2006) * Townshend, C, ''The Republic: The Fight For Irish Independence'' (London 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Sean 1884 births 1928 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Cork constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1918–1922 Politicians from County Cork People from Skibbereen People of the Irish Civil War (Pro-Treaty side)