Irish general election, 1921
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Two elections in Ireland took place in 1921, as a result of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to establish the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the
House of Commons of Southern Ireland 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 Cou ...
. The election was used by Irish Republicans as the basis of membership of the Second Dáil. Where contested, the elections used single transferable vote. Multi-member districts were used electing from three to eight members in each district. In the election to the area designated as Northern Ireland, 52 members were elected from 9 geographic constituencies and Queen's University of Belfast. In the election to the area designated as Southern Ireland, 128 candidates, 124 of whom were members of Sinn Féin, were returned unopposed from 26 geographic constituencies and the National University constituency.


Southern Ireland result

No actual polling took place in
Southern Ireland Southern Ireland, South Ireland or South of Ireland may refer to: *The southern part of the island of Ireland *Southern Ireland (1921–1922), a former constituent part of the United Kingdom *Republic of Ireland, which is sometimes referred to as ...
as all 128 candidates were returned unopposed. Of these, 124 were won by Sinn Féin and four by independent Unionists representing
Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
(Trinity College). When the date of the elections was announced in the House of Commons, the Conservative MP
Sir William Davison William Henry Davison, 1st Baron Broughshane, KBE, FSA, JP, DL (1872 – 19 January 1953) was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Kensington South for twenty-four years. Early life Davison was born in Broug ...
, who had been born in Broughshane, County Antrim, had asked "What is the object of holding elections in Southern Ireland when any candidates who do not support Sinn Fein would be shot?" Other members had replied "How do you know?"
John Dillon John Dillon (4 September 1851 – 4 August 1927) was an Irish politician from Dublin, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 35 years and was the last leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. By political disposition Dillon was an a ...
and
T. P. O'Connor Thomas Power O'Connor (5 October 1848 – 18 November 1929), known as T. P. O'Connor and occasionally as Tay Pay (mimicking his own pronunciation of the initials ''T. P.''), was an Irish nationalist politician and journalist who served as a ...
both agreed that the Irish Party should not fight Sinn Féin for seats for the Southern parliament as things stood. Former Irish Parliamentary Party MP Stephen Gwynn, now a member of the
Irish Dominion League The Irish Dominion League was an Irish political party and movement in Britain and Ireland which advocated Dominion status for Ireland within the British Empire, and opposed partition of Ireland into separate southern and northern jurisdictions ...
, advocated putting up League candidates against Sinn Féin. In early March he met with southern Unionists Viscount Midleton and Lord Oranmore, requesting them to pool their resources to contest the election and contest the election on a platform opposing the IRA's violence, under Midleton's leadership. Midleton declined the invitation, just as he had declined a previous request for his Unionist Anti-Partition League to join the Dominion League. A single Unionist candidate had been selected to contest the constituency of
Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...
: Major Robert L Moore, who had contested East Donegal in 1918. Moore however later withdrew his candidacy just before the election.New-York tribune., May 14, 1921, Page 2, Image 2, citing Associated Press
/ref> Only Sinn Féin candidates recognised the Dáil and five of these had been elected in two constituencies (
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
, Éamon de Valera, Arthur Griffith, Seán Milroy and Eoin MacNeill) one in each part of Ireland. The total number of members who assembled in the Second Dáil was 125: 119 elected solely in Southern Ireland, 1 solely in Northern Ireland (
Seán O'Mahony Seán O'Mahony (also John O'Mahoney) (20 October 1872 – 28 November 1934) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician and member of the First and Second Dáil. He was born as John Mahony in Logan Street, Thomastown, County Kilkenny, to James Mahony, ...
), and 5 in both. In Southern Ireland, there were fresh elections in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.


Northern Ireland result

The general election to the Northern Ireland House of Commons occurred on Tuesday, 24 May. Of 52 seats, including
Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...
, 40 were won by Unionists, 6 by moderate nationalists and 6 by Sinn Féin.


Voting summary


Seats summary


See also

* Members of the 2nd Dáil *
Government of the 2nd Dáil There were two Governments of the 2nd Dáil, which were Ministries of Dáil Éireann, the assembly of Dáil Éireann that was the legislature of the Irish Republic, a unilaterally declared state which lasted from 1919 to 1922. The Second Dáil ...
*
1918 Irish general election The 1918 Irish general election was the part of the 1918 United Kingdom general election which took place in Ireland. It is now seen as a key moment in modern Irish history because it saw the overwhelming defeat of the moderate nationalist Iris ...


References

{{United Kingdom elections Ireland Elections Irish elections
1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...
Ireland 1921 2nd Dáil Irish elections General