Seán O'Mahony (also John O'Mahoney) (20 October 1872 – 28 November 1934) was an Irish

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 ...

politician and member of the

First 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 ...

and

Second Dáil The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

. He was born as John Mahony in Logan Street, Thomastown,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

, 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 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 ...

. 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. History Formerly named ''Ruthland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart ...

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

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. A close friend of

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith (; 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 produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Trea ...

, 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 si ...

for the party. He participated in the

and was subsequently interned at

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

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

Ardfheis or ( , ; 'high assembly'; plural ) is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. Usage Among the parties who use the term or are: * * * * Irish Republican Socialist Party * * Green Party * Republican ...

. 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 (), also known as the 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 wi ...

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 Bi ...

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 Counc ...

and the

Northern Ireland House of Commons The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished with the p ...

. 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. Significantly, this represented six nationalists elected from Fermanagh and Tyrone; five in the Sinn Féin interest and Harbison as a Nationalist to two Unionists. During the debates on the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

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 an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

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 Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

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 ...

. This was to demonstrate de jure existence of the Second Dáil as a representative for Fermanagh was unable to attend the assembly, the point made by Ginnell and argued in theoretical republican theology. O'Mahony remained an

abstentionist Abstentionism is the political practice of 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 abst ...

MP to Stormont until the 1925 Northern Ireland general election, which he did not contest. Remaining with Sinn Féin after the 1926 split he served on the party's Ard Chomairle until his death. He died in 1934. His funeral was attended by representatives of the then Sinn Féin, 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 ...

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

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

Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; but in English termed The Irishwomen's Council), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and dissolving Inghinidhe na hÉireann, and in 191 ...

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

. He was survived by his wife, and a son, Malachy, and a daughter, Máire.

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 Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Fermanagh and Tyrone Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Fermanagh constituencies (1801–1922) People from Thomastown, County Kilkenny People of the Easter Rising Politicians from County Kilkenny UK MPs 1918–1922