Recent BLOGS of mine referred to parliamentary and local government election in Ireland, focussing on the General Election in 1918 and Local Elections in 1920, both of which returned majorities of candidates who had run on a Republican Separatist Manifesto,
I’m unaware of any references in recent years to the Local Elections of 1920 – which confirmed Sinn Fein’s stunning victory of 1918. Nor any remark on how, following those local elections, the British Government ratcheted up its campaign of repression in Ireland by murdering Mayors and Councillors and Trade Union Officers and others sought by terror to persuade the population of the virtues of British Rule.
Perhaps some academics might consider those local elections, and interested citizens might research their own localities.
Some very learned commentators have raised doubts as to the validity of Sinn Fein’s 1918 mandate. Within the past year Eoghan Harris parroted an objection, previously voiced by Professor Joost Augusteijn, Garret Firzgerald and Professor Richard English, all learned men well versed in Twentieth Century Irish History.
It seems to me that the objection – that Sinn Fein took a mere 47% of the Votes Cast was designed to fool bird-brained readers and listeners or those expected to take the parrots on trust. For their trick was noted as far back back as 1919 as recorded in Edward MacLysaght’s Diary –
28 January 1919 –
“Just one thing occurs to me to mention before I put this diary away:an example of how our claim for self-determination of small nations – championed by Britain in the case of the Czechs – is misrepresented by politicians and newspapers there. In quoting statistics for last year’s general election they give the total votes cast for and against Sinn Fein only in contested elections,completely ignoring the 25 constituencies where Sinn Fein candidates were returned unopposed, thus presenting an entirely misleading picture.”
In 12 UK General Elections between 1964 and 2005 only once did the winning party collect as many as 47% of the votes cast. In none of them were uncontested seats a factor.In 2005 the Labour Party secured a large majority of Commons seats with but 35% of the votes cast. (See letter “Sinn Fein’s Vote in 1918” in History Ireland May/June 2009).
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