Thomas Kelly (13 September 1868 – 20 April 1942) 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 ...

and later

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 ...

politician. He was a book and picture dealer before entering politics. He was a founder member of Sinn Féin and was elected to

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

in 1899. Kelly was arrested after 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 ...

and sent to prison in England, and after becoming seriously ill, he was released back to Dublin. He was elected as a

MP for the Dublin St Stephens's Green constituency at the 1918 general election. In January 1919, Sinn Féin MPs refused to recognise the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

and instead assembled at the Mansion House in

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 ...

as a revolutionary parliament called

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 ...

. Kelly was unanimously elected as

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

while being held in Wormwood Scrubs prison in England. Due to his imprisonment, he was unable to formally take up the position. He was re-elected unopposed at the 1921 elections for the Dublin South constituency. He supported 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 ...

but was too ill to attend the Dáil vote. He served as substitute Minister for Labour from 19 March 1919 to end of October 1919. He was again re-elected at the 1922 general election as a member of Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin but did not take his seat in the Dáil. He did not join

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; ) was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. It was named after the original Cumann na nGaedheal organisation which merged with the Dungannon Clubs and the National Co ...

along with other pro-Treaty Sinn Féin TDs in 1923, nor did he contest the 1923 general election. In 1930 he joined Fianna Fáil and was elected as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) at the 1933 general election for Dublin South. He remained a TD and councillor until his death in 1942. No

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was held to fill his seat.

Gallery

Piece 207-108; Thomas Kelly (1922).pdf, alt=British Army military intelligence file for Thomas Kelly, British Army military intelligence file for Thomas Kelly Some members of the 1st Dail, 22 Jan 1919 (cropped).jpg, Kelly (bottom right) with members of the

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Thomas 1868 births 1942 deaths Fianna Fáil TDs Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil Members of the 8th Dáil Members of the 9th Dáil Members of the 10th Dáil Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Dublin constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Dublin UK MPs 1918–1922 Lord mayors of Dublin