The National Party was a minor political party in the Irish Free State between 1924 and 1925. It was a splinter group of nine Cumann na nGaedheal TDs led by Joseph McGrath, who had been Minister for Industry and Commerce in the Cumann na nGaedheal government.
National Party | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Joseph McGrath |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Dissolved | 1925 |
| Split from | Cumann na nGaedheal |
McGrath founded the National Party in the aftermath of the Army Mutiny, the last military challenge to civilian authority in Ireland. The nine TDs protested the refusal of the government to reinstate mutineers among the officer corps in October 1924. They were also impatient with progress towards ending partition.
The nine resigned their seats triggering simultaneous by-elections in March 1925, described as a "mini-general election",[1] as a test of public opinion and sympathy with the mutiny. Seven of the seats were won by Cumann na nGaedheal; the other two were won by the abstentionist candidates of Sinn Féin, then led by Éamon de Valera. Seán Milroy was the only one of the Group who ran in a by-election to regain his seat. These saw the only time that by-elections to fill two vacancies in the same constituency occurred in Ireland, with Dublin North and Leitrim–Sligo electing two TDs.[citation needed]
Members
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editReferences
edit- Barberis, Peter, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, 2005. Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organisations. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-5814-9, ISBN 978-0-8264-5814-8
- Manning, Maurice (1972). Irish Political Parties: An Introduction. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-7171-0536-6.
- National Party "CANDIDATES", Irish Independent Friday, 31 October 1924, Page 7
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