Frank Lawless | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office May 1921 – 16 April 1922 | |
| Constituency | Dublin County |
| In office December 1918 – May 1921 | |
| Constituency | Dublin North |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1870-10-10)10 October 1870 Saucerstown,Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 16 April 1922(1922-04-16) (aged 51) Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Children | 11 |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Irish Republican Army |
| Battles/wars | |
Frank J. Lawless (10 October 1870 – 16 April 1922) was an Irish revolutionary and politician who served as aSinn FéinTeachta Dála (TD) forDublin North from 1919 to 1922.[1] He was a farmer at Saucerstown,Swords, County Dublin, and a member of a widely connected North Dublin family identified with the National movement. He was an early member of Sinn Féin and of theGaelic League.
Frank Lawless took part in the 1916Easter Rising, beingsecond-in-command underThomas Ashe in the fight atAshbourne,County Meath. Two of his sons were also combatants on that occasion.[2] As a result, he was condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to ten years' penal servitude. He was imprisoned atLewes withHarry Boland. He was released in the generalamnesty of 1917. He was again arrested in connection with the "German Plot" and was confined inUsk prison. He was paroled to permit him to take part in the 1918 election, was present at the declaration atBalbriggan but returned to Usk prison on the same day. After his release from Usk he was interned in Ballykinlar Camp. Ashe was Frank Lawless's commanding officer, when the latter served with 4th section, Cork no.1 brigade during the war of independence. Lawless took an active part in the battle of Ashbourne, being battalionquartermaster. A victory for the Irish volunteers, who defeated a superior number ofRIC at the crossroads of Ballyannan on the Friday of Easter Week. Coming from the south in a reserve position from behind a hedgerow, his men were fired on by their own 1st section by mistake. But many of the police lay dead in the ditches, and other surrendered, thanks to timely planning and courageous leadership from Mulcahy and Ashe, respectively.[3] It was a wider attempt to raise rebellion outside Dublin.[4]
At the1918 general election, he was elected as part of the Sinn Féin landslide, defeating theNationalistJ. J. Clancy, who had sat for the Dublin North seat since 1885, by 9,138 to 4,428.[5] Like the other Sinn Féin members, Lawless did not take his seat at Westminster but took part in the revolutionaryFirst Dáil. He was re-elected in 1921 to theSecond Dáil for the newDublin Countyconstituency. He was one of the majority of 64–57 who voted in favour of ratification of theAnglo-Irish Treaty in the critical debate of 7 January 1922.
He died three months later at the age of 51 from injuries received when thepony trap in which he was riding was accidentally upset. He was buried with full military honours at Killossery Cemetery,Rolestown. His funeral was supposedly one of the final timesMichael Collins andÉamon de Valera would stand side by side. He was married with six sons and five daughters.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDublin North 1918–1922 | Constituency abolished |
| Oireachtas | ||
| New constituency | Teachta Dála forDublin North 1918–1921 | Constituency abolished |
