Aims of Fianna Fail:

Press Statement – April 17, 1926

THE new Republican organisation, Fianna Fail, has for its purpose the re-uniting of the Irish people and the binding of them together for the tenacious pursuit of the following ultimate aims, using at every moment such means as are rightfully available:

1. 1. Securing the political independence of a united Ireland as a Republic.
2. 2. The restoration of the Irish language and the development of a native Irish culture.
3. 3. The development of a social system in which, as far as possible, equal opportunity will be afforded to every Irish citizen to live a noble and useful Christian life.
4. 4. The distribution of the land of Ireland so as to get the greatest number possible of Irish families rooted in the soil of Ireland.
5. 5. The making of Ireland an economic unit, as self-contained and self-sufficient as possible—with a proper balance between agriculture and the other essential industries.

The conviction on which the new organisation is based is this:  that in the heart of every Irishman there is a 

native undying desire to see his country politically free, and not only free but truly Irish as well, and that the people recently divided are but awaiting an opportunity to come together again and give effective expression to that desire. They are conscious that, if real unity can be secured, Ireland is there for the taking.

The Split

Following the split in Sinn Féin on 16 May, 1926, which occurred when Éamon de Valera resigned to form Fianna Fáil after his motion to allow TDs to enter the Dáil (if the Oath of Allegiance was removed) was defeated, the remaining minority in the Sinn Féin party adhered to a policy of total abstentionism.

While most TDs left to join Fianna Fáil, the core group that stayed with the original Sinn Féin, or who remained aligned with its Abstentionist policy in the Fourth Dáil and into the 1927 elections, included: 

• • John J. O’Kelly (Sceilg):  Born Co. Kerry. (TD, SF. Louth 1918-21.  Defeated in 1927 Election) Acting President of Sinn Féin.
• • Brian O’Higgins: (T.D.) Born Kilskyre, Co. Meath.  Won an uncontested seat in Clare as a S.F. Candidate in 1922.  Re-elected in 1923 and defeated in 1927 June General Election.
• • Mary MacSwiney: ] (T.D.)  Born Bermondsey, London.  A staunch anti-Treaty member who did not join Fianna Fáil.  Lost her seat in Cork Borough in June 1927 following the Sinn Fein split.
• • Cathal Ó Murchadha (Cathal Murphy):  Born Dublin 1880.  Fought in 1916 Rising.  He was elected to the Second Dáil at the 1921Elections.  Held leadership positions in the party post-split.  President Sinn Fein (1935-37).
• • Countess Markievicz:  Born London.  Though she initially supported de Valera, she died shortly after the 1927 General Election and was part of the anti-Treaty Republican movement, though many of her immediate associates moved to FF.
• • Paddy McLogan: born Markethill, Co. Armagh. joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1913 and the Irish Volunteers, became more prominent in Sinn Fein party later, but remained with the anti-Treaty, non-entryist faction).  From 1933 to 1938 he was an abstentionist  Republican Member of Parliament for the South Armagh constituency in the Six County parliament.

• • Father Michael O’Flanagan, native of Castlerea, Co. Roscommon.  Became Vice-President of Sinn Fein in October 1917.  O’Flanagan was silenced by his Bishop in 1932.  O’Flanagan blamed de Valera for splitting the Republican movement
• • Plunkett, George Noble,Count, born Dublin 1851. Antiquarian and Republican.  His title was a Papal reward.  His son, Joseph Mary Plunkett, was one of the seven signatories to the Proclamation of the Republic.  Plunkett married Grace Gifford in 1916, seven hours before his execution.  The Count won Roscommon North by-election as Sinn Fein candidate in 1917 but refused to take his seat in Westminster.  Remained with Sinn Fein following break with Fianna Fail in 1926.

• • Oscar Traynor, born Dublin 1885.  One of the most crucial Republicans in the War of Independence and Civil War.  Traynor was elected to the Dail in a by-election in 1925 as a Sinn Fein candidate.  He did not leave Sinn Fein to join in the formation of Fianna Fail and stood in the June 1927 General Election for Sinn Fein.  He joined Fianna Fail following the September 1927 General Election in which he did not stand.  Was goalkeeper for Belfast Celtic FC between 1910 and 1912. 

The ‘core’ group in the Sinn Féin party was reduced to only five seats in the June 1927 General Election. 

The remaining, loyalist “Abstentionist” T.D.s, including those who were not re-elected in 1927, often included individuals aligned with the IRA’s Army Council, who deemed the new Free State institutions as illegitimate.

General Election to the Fifth Dail 1927.  

Polling 9.6.1927—First Preferences votes for Sinn Fein. (15 candidates)

(Clare) Brian O’Higgins S.F. 1,412; (Cork Borough) Mary MacSwiney S.F. 3,527; (Cork East) David Rice Kent S.F. 3,870 ELECTED; (Cork West) Sean Buckley S.F. 1,349; (Dublin North) Oscar Traynor S.F. 4,351 ELECTED; (Dublin South) Charles Murphy S.F. 2,211; (Dublin County) Kathleen Lynn S.F. 1,937; (Galway) Herbert Charles Mellows S.F. 2,548; (Kerry) Austin Stack S.F. 5,140 ELECTED; (Kildare) Art O’Connor S.F. 1,133; (Leitrim-Sligo) Sean Farrell S.F. 3,455; (Longford-Westmeath) Conor Byrne S.F. 1,766; (Mayo North) John A. Madden S.F. 3,550 ELECTED; (Roscommon) George Noble Count Plunkett S.F. 1,575; (Waterford) Caitlin Brugha S.F. 3,579 ELECTED.

The Fifth Dáil, elected in June 1927, was a pivotal and volatile assembly, marking the end of the post-Civil War political stalemate.  The election resulted in a fragmented parliament with no party having an overall majority, and it was notable for the first entry of the anti-Treaty party, Fianna Fáil, into Leinster House.

(June 1927 Election Results-153 seats)

Cumann na nGaedheal (Pro-Treaty): 47 seats (led by W.T. Cosgrave). Fianna Fáil (Anti-Treaty): 44 seats (led by Éamon de Valera). Labour Party: 22 seats (led by Thomas Johnson).

Farmers’ Party: 11 seats. National League: 8 seats (Led by William Redmond, representing old Irish Party sentiment). Sinn Féin: 5 seats (Abstentionist ). Independents: 16 seats. 

The assassination of Minister for Justice Kevin O’Higgins, on 10th July, 1927, changed the political landscape.  A Public Safety Act was introduced, leading to a temporary pact, under pressure, between Opposition parties in August 1927.  Fianna Fáil TDs entered the Dáil, declaring  the Oath an “empty formula”.

This instability led to the, at the time, unprecedented move of dissolving the Dáil in August 1927—after only 63 days—and calling a new election for  15th September 1927.

Sinn Fein did not contest the September, 1927 General Election.