The Irish general election of 1918 was that part of the 1918 United Kingdom general election that took place in Ireland. It is seen as a key defining moment in modern Irish history. This is because it saw the overwhelming defeat of the moderate nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), which had dominated the Irish political landscape since the 1880s, and a landslide victory for the radical Sinn Féin party, which had never previously enjoyed significant electoral success. The United Kingdom general election of 1918 held on 14th December 1918, after the Representation of the People Act 1918. ... The History of Ireland is the story of a large island in the north-west of Europe and is heavily influenced by the concurrent History of Britain, its larger neighbour to the east. ... Irish nationalism refers to political movements that desire greater autonomy or the independence of Ireland from Great Britain. ... In 1882 Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, formed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), replacing the Home Rule League, as a parliamentary party with strict rules. ... The Republic of Ireland is a sovereign, independent state. ... // Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ... It has been suggested that Provisional Sinn Féin be merged into this article or section. ...

The aftermath of the elections saw the convention of an extra-legal parliament, now known as the First Dáil, by the elected Sinn Féin candidates, and the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence. The First Dáil (Irish: An Chéad Dáil) was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. ... An Irish War of Independence memorial in Dublin The Anglo-Irish War (also known as the Irish War of Independence) was a guerrilla campaign mounted against the British government in Ireland by the Irish Republican Army under the proclaimed legitimacy of the First Dáil, the extra-legal Irish parliament...

Background

In 1918 the whole of Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was represented in the British Parliament by just over one hundred MPs. Whereas in Great Britain most elected politicians were members of either the Liberal Party or the Conservative Party, from 1882–1918 most Irish MPs were members of the Irish Parliamentary Party. The IPP strove for Home Rule in the form of internal self-government for Ireland, through a peaceful campaign of reform. This tactic did successfully bring a Home Rule Act 1914 on to the statute books in May 1918, but with a later amending partition of Northern Ireland bill enforced by Edward Carson's Ulster Unionist Party. The implementation of the Act was however temporarily postponed with the outbreak of World War I, expected to be over in a year. As the war prolonged, the more radical Sinn Féin began to grew in strength. 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Union Flag, in its modern form, was first adopted in 1801. ... The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party (the SDP) to form a new party which would become... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the right-of-centre in the United Kingdom. ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... The Government of Ireland Act 1914, more generally known as the Third Home Rule Act (or Bill) or the (Irish) Home Rule Act 1914, was an Act of Parliament passed by the British House of Commons in May 1914 which sought to give Ireland internal self_government within the United Kingdom... Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto) (French for God and my right)3 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 4th 1,685... Edward Carson HMSO image The Right Honourable Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC (February 9, 1854 – October 22, 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a Barrister and a Judge. ... The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party ) is a moderate unionist political party in Northern Ireland, which formed its government between 1921 and 1972 and was supported by most unionists throughout the Troubles. ... Introduction World War I is infamous for the protracted stalemate of trench warfare along the Western Front, embodied within a system of opposing manned trenches and fortifications (separated by a No mans land) running from the North Sea to the border of Switzerland. ...

Sinn Féin was founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905. He believed that Irish nationalists should emulate the Ausgleich of Hungarian nationalists who, in the 19th century under Ferenc Deák, had chosen to boycott the imperial parliament in Vienna and unilaterally established their own legislature in Budapest. Griffith had favoured a peaceful solution based on joint monarchy with Britain. However by 1918, under its new leader Eamon de Valera, Sinn Féin had come to favour achieving separation from Britain by means of an armed uprising if necessary and the establishment of an independent republic. In the aftermath of the 1916 Easter Rising the party's ranks were swelled by participants and supporters of the rebellion as they were freed from British gaols and internment camps, and at its 1917 Ard Fheis (annual conference) de Valera was elected leader and the new, more radical policy adopted. Arthur Griffith (Árt Ó Gríofa in Irish) (March 31, 1871 – August 12, 1922) was the founder and first leader of Sinn Féin. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The German term Ausgleich (Hungarian kiegyezés) refers to the compromise or composition of February 1867 that established the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was signed by Franz Joseph of Austria and a Hungarian delegation led by Ferenc Deák. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Deák Ferenc, (October 17, 1803, Söjtör - January 28, 1876, Budapest), was a Hungarian statesman, known as The Wise Man of the Nation. He first went into politics in 1833 when he attended the assembly of Pressburg (now Bratislava) instead of his older brother. ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Slovenian: Dunaj, Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Croatian and Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Nickname: Pearl of the Danubeor Queen of the Danube Motto: Official website: www. ... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Éamon de Bhailéara; October 14, 1882 – August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the early 20th Century, and... 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 - The Royal Army Medical Corps first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Easter Proclamation, read by Pádraig Pearse outside the GPO at the start of the Easter Rising, 1916. ... The word internment is generally used to refer to the imprisonment or confinement of people, generally in prison camps or prisons, without due process of law and a trial. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... An Ard Fheis is an annual convention, usually of a political party. ...

Prior to 1916, Sinn Féin had been a fringe movement having a limited cooperative alliance with William O'Brien's All-for-Ireland League and enjoyed little electoral success. However between the Easter Rising of that year and the 1918 general election the party's popularity increased dramatically. This was due to the perceived failure of the IPP to have Home Rule implemented immediately, but also popular antagonism towards the British authorities created by the execution of most of the leaders of the 1916 rebels and by their botched attempt to introduce military conscription in Ireland. William OBrien (2 October 1852–25 February 1928) was an Irish journalist, writer and politician, particularly associated with campaigns for land reform in Ireland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... The All-for-Ireland League (A.I.L.), was an Irish, Munster based non-sectarian political party (1909-1918). ...

Sinn Féin demonstrated its new electoral capability in three by-election successes in 1917 in which Count Plunkett, W.T. Cosgrave and De Valera were each elected, although it did not win all by-elections in that year and in at least one case there were allegations of electoral fraud¹. Overall, however, the party would benefit from a number of factors in the 1918 elections. George Noble Plunkett (1851 — 1948) was an Irish nationalist and father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916. ... William Thomas Cosgrave, (June 6, 1880 - November 16, 1965) served as the first President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932. ...

Changes in the electorate

The Irish electorate in 1918, as with the entire electorate throughout the United Kingdom, had changed in two major ways since the preceding general election. Firstly, because of the intervening Great War, which had been fought from 1914 to 1918, the British general election due in 1915 had not taken place. As a result, no election took place between 1910 and 1918, the longest such spell in modern British and Irish constitutional history. Thus the 1918 elections saw dramatic generational change. In particular: Introduction World War I is infamous for the protracted stalemate of trench warfare along the Western Front, embodied within a system of opposing manned trenches and fortifications (separated by a No mans land) running from the North Sea to the border of Switzerland. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... -1...

• All voters between the voting age of 21 and 29 were first time general election voters. They had no history of past voter loyalty to the IPP to fall back on, and indeed had begun their political awareness in the period of 8 years that had seen a bitter world war, the home rule controversy and the Easter Rising and its aftermath.
• A generation of older voters, most of them IPP supporters, had died in the eight year period.
• Emigration (except to Britain) had been almost impossible during the war because of the dangerous sea lanes, which meant that tens of thousands of young people were in Ireland who in normal times would have been abroad.

Secondly, the franchise had been greatly extended by the Representation of the People Act 1918. This increased the Irish electorate from around 700,000 to about two million. It also granted voting rights to women (albeit only those with property over 35) for the first time. The voting age is the minimum legal age at which a person may vote in a governmental election. ... Meanings of franchise: Full rights of citizenship given by a country or a town, especially suffrage (political franchise) In a wider sense: any right or privilege granted by constitution or statute. ... The Representation of the People Act 1918 widened suffrage by abolishing practically all property qualifications for men and by enfranchising women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications. ...

Overall, a new generation of young voters, the disappearance of much of the oldest generation of voters, and the sudden influx of women over thirty-five, meant that vast numbers of new voters of unknown voter affiliation existed, changing dramatically the makeup of the Irish electorate.

Political factors

• Since the last general election in 1910 the local organisation of the previously dominant IPP, unchallenged for nearly a decade, had atrophied at worst and was largely elderly at best, making its defence of its seats difficult.
• The electorate had become enamoured to Sinn Féin by the harsh response of the authorities to the Easter Rising. The party also took most of the credit for the successful campaign to prevent the introduction of conscription.
• In contrast to the IPP Sinn Féin could be seen as a young and radical force. Its leaders were young politicians, such as Michael Collins (28) and de Valera (36), like most of the new voters, whereas the IPP was led by leaders such as John Dillon, who had been in public office since the 1880s and were largely elderly and still campaigning for home rule, as they had been since the 1870s under Isaac Butt. Therefore, whereas Sinn Féin represented change and a radical new policy for achieving Irish self-government, the IPP was still campaigning for the same issue as it has done for nearly fifty years. By 1918, Home Rule had come to be seen as an idea whose time had come and gone.

Easter Proclamation, read by Pádraig Pearse outside the GPO at the start of the Easter Rising, 1916. ... Michael John Collins (Irish name Micheál Ó Coileáin; October 16, 1890 – August 22, 1922), an Irish revolutionary leader, served as Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, as Director of Intelligence for the IRA, as a member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, as Chairman... John Dillon (September 4, 1851 - August 4, 1927) was an Irish nationalist politician. ... Events and Trends Technology The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. ... Issac Butt (September 6, 1813 - May 5, 1879) was the founder and first leader of the Home Rule League, subsequently known as the Irish Parliamentary Party. ...

The election

Voting in most Irish constituencies occurred on 14 December 1918. While the rest of the United Kingdom fought the 'Khaki election' on other issues involving the British parties, in Ireland four major political parties had national appeal. These were the IPP, Sinn Féin, the Irish Unionist Party and the Irish Labour Party. The Labour Party, however, decided not to take participate in the election, fearing that it would be caught in the political crossfire between the IPP and Sinn Féin; it thought it better to let the people make up their minds on the issue of Home Rule versus a Republic by having a clear two way choice between the two nationalist parties. The Unionist Party favoured continuance of the union with Britain and was supported by the Labour Unionist Party. A number of other small nationalist parties also took part. December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP) is a political party in Northern Ireland representing the unionist community, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. ... Logo of the Irish Labour Party The Irish Labour Party (Irish: Páirti an Lucht Oibre) is the third largest political party in the Republic of Ireland. ... The Ulster Unionist Labour Association was an association of trade unionists founded in 1917, aligned with the Ulster Unionists in Northern Ireland. ...

In Ireland 105 MPs were elected from 103 constituencies. Ninety-nine seats were elected from single seat constituencies under the Single Member Plurality or 'first past the post' system. However the were also two two seat constituencies: University of Dublin, (Trinity College) elected two MPs under the Single Transferable Vote and Cork City elected two MPs under the Bloc voting system. The plurality voting system, also known as first past the post, is a voting system used to elect a single winner in a given election. ... The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin or more commonly Trinity College, Dublin was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, and is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ... This STV ballot for the Australian Senate illustrates group voting tickets. ... Cork (Corcaigh in Irish) is the second city of the Republic of Ireland. ... Bloc voting (or block voting) (also called Plurality-at-large) refers to a class of voting systems which can be used to elect several representatives from a single constituency. ...

In addition to ordinary geographical constituencies there were three university constituencies: Queen's University, Belfast and the University of Dublin (which would return three Unionist MPs), and the National University of Ireland (which would elect a member of Sinn Féin). Queens University, Belfast - or officially The Queens University of Belfast (QUB; in Irish, Ollscoil na Banríona, Béal Feirste) - is a university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... The National University of Ireland (NUI) is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997. ...

Of the 105 seats in Ireland many were uncontested. In some cases this was clearly because there was a certain winner, and the rival parties decided against devoting their money and effort to unwinnable seats. However there were also allegations that republican militants had threatened potential candidates to discourage non-Sinn Féin candidates from running. For whatever reason, in the 73 constituencies in which Sinn Féin candidates were elected 25 were returned unopposed. Irish Republicanism is the nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a united independent republic. ...

Results

Sinn Féin candidates were elected in 73 constituencies but three party candidates (Arthur Griffith, Eamon de Valera and Liam Mellows) were elected for two constituencies and so the total number of individual Sinn Féin MPs elected was 70. Despite the isolated allegations of intimidation and electoral fraud on the part of Sinn Féin supporters, the election was seen as a landslide victory for the party. Liam Mellows (1895-1922) was born in County Galway, Ireland. ... Intimidation is the act of making others do what one wants through fear. ... Electoral fraud is the deliberate intentional interference with the process of an election. ...

The party returned with the second-largest number of seats was the Irish Unionist Party with 22 seats. The success of the Unionists was largely limited to Ulster, however, and in the rest of Ireland Unionists were elected only in the constituencies of the University of Dublin and Rathmines. Ulster (Irish: Cúige Uladh, IPA: ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland. ... Rathmines is a suburb on the southside of Dublin. ...

The IPP suffered a catastrophic defeat and even its leader, John Dillon, failed to be re-elected. The IPP won six seats in Ireland, all but one of which were won in Ulster. It was represented in Westminster by seven MPs because an IPP candidate won election from emigrant votes in the English city of Liverpool. The IPP's losses were exaggerated by the first-past-the-post system which gave it a share of seats far short of its rather larger share of the vote. Ulster (Irish: Cúige Uladh, IPA: ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... Liverpool waterfront by night, as seen from the Wirral. ...

It has been suggested that Provisional Sinn Féin be merged into this article or section. ... The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP) is a political party in Northern Ireland representing the unionist community, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. ... In 1882 Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, formed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), replacing the Home Rule League, as a parliamentary party with strict rules. ... The Ulster Unionist Labour Association was an association of trade unionists founded in 1917, aligned with the Ulster Unionists in Northern Ireland. ... The Belfast Labour Party was a political party in Northern Ireland from 1892 until 1924. ...

Aftermath and legacy

After the election the elected Sinn Féin candidates, although entitled to sit as MPs in the British parliament, chose to boycott the Westminster body and instead assembled as a revolutionary parliament they called Dáil Éireann: the Irish for "Assembly of Ireland". However Unionists and members of the IPP refused to recognise the Dáil. At its first meeting on 21 January 1919 the Dáil issued a Declaration of Independence and proclaimed itself the parliament of new a state called the "Irish Republic". The Dáil Chamber Dáil Éireann is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Declaration of Independence was a document adopted by Dáil Éireann, the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic, at its first meeting in the Mansion House, Dublin, on 21st January, 1919. ...

On the same day, in unconnected circumstances, two members of the Royal Irish Constabulary were ambushed and killed at Soloheadbeg, in Tipperary, by members of the Irish Volunteers. Although it had not ordered this incident the course of events soon drove the Dáil to recognise the Volunteers as the army of the Irish Republic and the ambush as an act of war against Great Britain. The Volunteers therefore changed their name, in August, to the Irish Republican Army. In this way the 1918 elections lead to the outbreak of the Anglo-Irish War. The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was one of Irelands two police forces in the early twentieth century, alongside the Dublin Metropolitan Police. ... Tipperary (Irish: Tiobraid Árann) is a town in the centre of County Tipperary. ... Irish Volunteers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... An Irish War of Independence memorial in Dublin The Anglo-Irish War (also known as the Irish War of Independence) was a guerrilla campaign mounted against the British government in Ireland by the Irish Republican Army under the proclaimed legitimacy of the First Dáil, the extra-legal Irish parliament...

The train of events set in motion by the elections would eventually bring about the first internationally recognised independent Irish state, the Irish Free State, established in 1922. Furthermore the leaders of the Sinn Féin candidates elected in 1918, such as de Valera, Michael Collins and W.T. Cosgrave, came to dominate Irish politics. De Valera, for example, held at least some form of elected office from his first election as an MP in a by-election in 1917 until 1973. The two major parties in the Republic of Ireland today, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, are both descendants of Sinn Féin, a party that first enjoyed substantial electoral success in 1918. The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British and... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Michael John Collins (Irish name Micheál Ó Coileáin; October 16, 1890 – August 22, 1922), an Irish revolutionary leader, served as Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, as Director of Intelligence for the IRA, as a member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, as Chairman... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; English translation: Soldiers of Ireland but more often translated - inaccurately - as Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in Ireland. ... Fine Gael (IPA , though often mispronounced (approximate English translation: Family of the Irish) is the second largest political party in the Republic of Ireland. ...

Question of interpretation

The correct interpretation of the results of the 1918 general election has been the subject of some controversy. This is because Sinn Féin treated the result as a mandate from the Irish people to immediately set about establishing an independent, all-Ireland state, and to initiate a war of separation from Great Britain.

In 1921, under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, Ireland was divided into two separate jurisdictions: six counties in the northeast became Northern Ireland, and the rest of the country that would eventually become the modern Republic of Ireland. 1918 was therefore the last occasion on which a general election occurred across the whole of Ireland, north and south, on the same day. For this reason many radical republicans have regarded the election as conferring a mandate for a united Ireland that was still unchanged over eighty years later. Indeed the 1918 general election has become a potent symbol for militant republicans who have argued that the elections conferred legitimacy both on the anti-Treaty faction in the Irish Civil War of 1922–1923 and on the violent campaigns of later groups such as the Provisional IRA that erupted many decades later. 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 (this is its official short title; the formal citation is 10 & 11 Geo. ... Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto) (French for God and my right)3 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 4th 1,685... Signature page of the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called the Articles of association between Ireland and the British Empire, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and representatives of the (extra-judicial) Irish Republic which concluded the Anglo-Irish War. ... The Irish Civil War (June 1922–April 1923) was a conflict between supporters and opponents of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 6, 1921, which established the Irish Free State, precursor of todays Republic of Ireland. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA; more commonly referred to as the IRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the army or the RA) is an Irish Republican paramilitary organization dedicated to the end of British rule in Northern Ireland and to a United Ireland. ...

Critics of these interpretations make a number of arguments. Some question the legitimacy of the original mandate won by Sinn Féin. It is argued that Sinn Féin practiced widespread intimidation and electoral fraud and that this called the result into question. Some also argue that the use of the first-past-the-post electoral system and/or the large number of uncontested constituencies exaggerated the effect of the pro-Sinn Féin vote so that, while the party won around 70% of the total number of Irish seats, its share of the vote may have been less than 50% and so not have amounted to a majority. Also turnout was only 68% (quite low by the standards of the time especially for such a crucial election) that means that only about 37% of the electorate supported SF. It is also sometimes pointed out that voting in the 1918 election was limited to Males over 21

Because of the large number of uncontested constituencies, it is impossible to know with certainty what share of the vote Sinn Féin would have won had all seats been contested, except that it would have increased. However, this has not stopped some historians attempting to speculate, for example by extrapolating from the vote counts in constituencies neighbouring those that were uncontested³.

Unionists argue from a different perspective. They insist that, regardless of the result, no election result considered on an all-Ireland basis could justify the imposition of a united Ireland on the Unionist minority in the north-east. Some stil point to the fact that Unionists won a majority share of the vote, in both the historical northern province of Ulster and in the six counties that would later become Northern Ireland, to argue that the 1918 election in fact established a mandate for the north-east, at least, to remain within the United Kingdom. and that In any case there were (and are) two 'peoples' on the island of Ireland not one. SF got majority support (maybe ?) from one people, the other people voted Unionist. There are at least 3 peoples on the island of Britain; at least three peoples in the Iberian peninsula; at least three peoples in Scandinavia; Many peoples in North America. But when these peoples want to go their own separate ways no-one tells them they all have to stay together because the biggest people said so...

Other arguments, leaving aside the immediate politics of 1918, dispute the capacity of any 1918 mandate for a united Ireland to legitimise acts of violence committed then or later. Although the 1918 general election was the last held throughout the whole of Ireland on a single day, in every election held since 1921 candidates advocating violent resistance to the partition of Ireland have fallen far short of winning a majority in either part of Ireland. Some also question why an election held nearly 90 years ago (practically all the voters and candidates are now dead) is deemed by many Irish nationalists to be of more significance than any held ever since just because the election was held on an “all Ireland” basis (Although it was actually an “all British Isleselection”) The Partition of Ireland took place in May 1921. ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ...

In 1998 both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland voted on the same day in referenda on the Belfast Agreement. Voters in both jurisdictions endorsed the agreement which, among many other provisions, enshrined the principle that a united Ireland should only be brought about by peaceful, constitutional means. Whether or not it should only be prevented by peaceful, constitutional means is still debated hotly in some circles. Dissident Republicans reject the contention that the 1998 referendum overrides the 1918 election result. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was arguably a major step in the Northern Ireland peace process. ... A United Ireland is the common demand of Irish nationalists, envisaging that the island of Ireland (currently divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) be reunited as a single political entity. ...

Prominent candidates

Elected unopposed

• Arthur Griffith (SF) Cavan East (also won Tyrone North East in a contest)
• Eamon de Valera (SF) Clare East
• Terence McSwiney (SF) Cork County Mid
• Michael Collins (SF) Cork County South
• Sean Hayes (SF) Cork County West
• Liam Mellows (SF) Galway East (also won Meath North in a contest)
• Pierce Beaslai (SF) Kerry East
• Austin Stack (SF) Kerry West
• W.T. Cosgrave (SF) Kilkenny North
• Patrick MacCartan (SF) King's County⁴
• Count Plunkett (SF) Roscommon North

Arthur Griffith (Árt Ó Gríofa in Irish) (March 31, 1871 – August 12, 1922) was the founder and first leader of Sinn Féin. ... Eamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Éamon de Bhailéara; October 14, 1882 – August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the early 20th Century, and... Michael John Collins (Irish name Micheál Ó Coileáin; October 16, 1890 – August 22, 1922), an Irish revolutionary leader, served as Minister for Finance in the Irish Republic, as Director of Intelligence for the IRA, as a member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, as Chairman... Sean Hayes at the SAG Awards Sean Patrick Hayes (born June 26, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor. ... Liam Mellows (1895-1922) was born in County Galway, Ireland. ... Austin Stack (December 7, 1879-April 27, 1929) was an Irish revolutionary. ... William Thomas Cosgrave, (June 6, 1880 - November 16, 1965) served as the first President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932. ... George Noble Plunkett (1851–1948) was an Irish nationalist and father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916. ...

Elected in contests

• Robert William Hugh O'Neill (Unionist Party) Antrim Mid
• Rt Hon. Sir Edward Carson (UP) Belfast Duncairn
• Joseph Devlin (IPP) Belfast Falls
• Samuel McGuffin (LUP) Belfast Shankhill
• Sir James Craig (UP) Down Mid
• Jeriamiah MacVeagh (IPP) Down South
• Sean T. O'Kelly (SF) Dublin City College Green
• Desmond FitzGerald (SF) Dublin County Pembroke
• Sir Maurice Dockrell (UP) Dublin County Rathmines
• Joseph McGrath (SF) Dublin City St. James's
• Countess Markievicz (SF) Dublin City St. Patrick's
• Sir Robert Woods (UP) University of Dublin
• Padraic Ó Maille (SF) Galway Connemara
• Frank Fahy (SF) Galway South
• Domhnall Ua Buachalla (SF) Kildare North
• Professor Eoin MacNeill (SF) Londonderry city (also elected for the National University of Ireland)
• Hugh Anderson (IPP) Londonderry county North
• Denis Stanislaus Henry (IPP) Londonderry county South
• Ernest Blythe (SF) Monaghan North
• Seán MacEntee (SF) Monaghan South
• Kevin O'Higgins (SF) Queen's County⁵
• Harry Boland (SF) Roscommon South
• Captain Willie Redmond (IPP) Waterford city
• Cathal Brugha (SF) Waterford county
• Laurence Ginnell (SF) Westmeath
• Dr. James Ryan (SF) Wexford South
• Robert Childers Barton (SF) Wicklow West

Edward Carson HMSO image The Right Honourable Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC (February 9, 1854 – October 22, 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a Barrister and a Judge. ... Joseph (Joe) Devlin (1872-18 January 1934) was an influential Nationalist politician and Member of Parliament in Northern Ireland. ... Sir James Craig, later Viscount Craigavon 1st Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Sean Thomas OKelly (Irish name: Seán Tomás Ó Ceallaigh, (August 25, 1882 - November 23, 1966) was the second President of Ireland (1945-1959). ... Desmond FitzGerald (1888-1947), Irish revolutionary, poet and Cumann na nGaedhael politician. ... Joseph McGrath (1887 - 1966) was an Irish politician. ... Constance Georgine Markiewicz (1868?1927), was an Irish politician and nationalist. ... Categories: People stubs | 1948 births | Soap opera actors ... Frank Fahy (1880-1953) was Ceann Comhairle (Chairman) of Dáil Éireann from 1932 to 1951. ... Domhnall Ua Buachalla (pronounced Donal ou-a Bu-calla) (February 3, 1866 - October 30, 1963) was an Irish politician, who served as third and final Governor-General of the Irish Free State. ... Eoin MacNeill (May 15, 1867 - October 15, 1945) was an Irish scholar, nationalist and revolutionary. ... Ernest Blythe (Ir: Earnán de Blaghd) (April 13, 1889–February 23, 1975), Irish politician. ... Seán MacEntee (1889–1984) was a senior Irish politician. ... Kevin Christopher OHiggins ( 7 June 1892- 10 July 1927), Irish politician. ... Harry Boland (1887-1922) was an Irish nationalist of the early Twentieth Century. ... Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (born Charles William St. ... Dr. James Ryan (December 6, 1891 - September 25, 1970), was a senior Irish politician. ...

Defeated

• John Dillon, MP, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party.

John Dillon (September 4, 1851 - August 4, 1927) was an Irish nationalist politician. ...

Footnotes

1. On one occasion the 'victory' of a Sinn Féin candidate in the Longford by-election is said to have been achieved through putting a gun to the head of a returning officer and telling him to "think again" when he was about to announce an IPP victory. On doing a 'recheck' the official 'found' a new uncounted ballot papers in which votes were cast for the Sinn Féin candidate. Tim Pat Coogan, Michael Collins: A Biography (Hutchinson, 1990) p.67.
2. The percentage of votes given is a percentage of the total number of votes cast and therefore does not take into account the preferences of voters in constituencies where no contest occurred because of the overwhelming support for Sinn Féin there. It is impossible to know with certainty what the final shares of votes cast might have been had all constituencies been contested.
3. See for example The Irish Election of 1918, a paper by Nicholas Whyte discussing the level of support for Sinn Féin that can be inferred from the 1918 election results; from Northern Ireland Elections.
4. King's County is now known as County Offaly.
5. Queen's County is now known as County Laois (old spelling, 'Leix').

In United Kingdom, a Returning Officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. ... Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historian, broadcaster, newspaper columnist and former editor of the Irish Press newspaper. ... Nicholas Whyte (born 26th April 1967) is a political analyst for the International Crisis Group, heading their Balkans and South Caucasus research team. ... County Offaly (Irish: Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Leinster, Ireland, bordered by seven other counties: Galway, Roscommon, Westmeath, Meath, Kildare, Laois, and Tipperary. ... County Laois (pronounced Leash), also spelt Laoighis or Leix (Irish: Contae Laoise) , is a county in the midlands of Ireland. ...

See also

• History of Ireland, notably History of Ireland (1801-1922)
• John Redmond
• Sir Edward Carson

The History of Ireland is the story of a large island in the north-west of Europe and is heavily influenced by the concurrent History of Britain, its larger neighbour to the east. ... From 1801 to 1922 the whole island of Ireland formed a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK). ... John Redmond, MP John Edward Redmond (1856 – March 1918) was the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918. ... Edward Carson HMSO image The Right Honourable Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC (February 9, 1854 – October 22, 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a Barrister and a Judge. ...

Further reading

• Tim Pat Coogan, Michael Collins
• Tim Pat Coogan, Eamon de Valera
• Robert Kee, The Green Flag
• F.S.L. Lyons, Ireland Since the Famine
• Dorothy MacCardle, The Irish Republic (book)
• Brian Walker, Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922