Nearly half of Irish Party retire as Parliament is dissolved

London, 26 November 1918 - The Westminster parliament has been dissolved and will reconvene on 21 January 1919 after the results of the general election are announced.

In the case of the Irish Party, many of those who served in the outgoing House of Commons will not be returning in the new year.

The disarray in which the party finds itself is becoming clear now that the general election campaign has begun. The large number of resignations and retirements means that many of its outgoing MPs will not be defending their seats.

The latest MP to indicate that he will not be seeking re-election is Daniel O’Leary who is citing family reasons for abandoning his candidacy just days after stating not only that he would put his name forward but that he was confident of victory in the West Cork constituency.

As it stands, there are currently no Irish Party candidates selected for all of Co. Cork where seven seats are up for grabs.

Despite the obvious implications of these losses of personnel, John Dillon, leader of the Irish Party, insists that they will not capitulate but will ‘fight Sinn Féin with all the resources at their disposal’.

Mr Dillon will himself face off with the Sinn Féin leader, Éamon de Valera, in the constituency of East Mayo.

Rival newspaper election ads: (L) Pro Sinn Féin from the Irish Independent, 25 Nov 1918 focusing in on the East Mayo constituency where the rival party leaders will go head to head (R) Pro-IPP ad from the Freeman's Journal, 27 Nov 1918 - 'Vote for the policy of Parnell and Davitt'

A meeting addressed by Dillon in the town hall in Swinford was constantly interrupted by Sinn Féin supporters. Shouts of ‘Who pushed up recruiting?’ and ‘He should be in jail’ punctuated his address. The town itself was full as it was market day and Sinn Féin flags on display everywhere.

There were riotous scenes in Wexford, where Fr Michael O’Flanagan, accompanied by Volunteers with sticks, attended a meeting in support of the local Sinn Féin candidate. A fracas ensued when the meeting hall was subject to an attack by Irish Party supporters.

About 50 policemen intervened with a baton charge, and a number of people - among them a one-armed ex-soldier named Tobin who had given evidence at the trial of Roger Casement - were treated for serious injuries at the county infirmary.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]