National Group

National Group
Founder	Joseph McGrath
Founded	1924
Dissolved	1925
Split from	Cumann na nGaedheal

Francis Cahill

Seán McGarry

Seán Milroy

Alexander McCabe

Cahill, McGarry, Milroy and McCabe were among the TDs who resigned from their seats in protest.

The National Group was a minor political party in the Irish Free State between 1924 and 1925.

On 11 March, Joseph McGrath resigned as Minister for Industry and Commerce because of his support for the Irish Republican Army Organisation in the Army Mutiny, the last military challenge to civilian authority in Ireland. Later that month, McGrath and eight other Cumann na nGaedheal TDs left the party: Francis Cahill, Thomas Carter, Henry Finlay, Seán Gibbons, Alexander McCabe, Daniel McCarthy, Seán McGarry, and Seán Milroy. McCartgy had been serving as the Government Chief Whip.

They initially constituted as Constitutional Republicans ^[1] or Independent Republicans. ^[2] In May 1924, McGrath and McCarthy issued a statement in which they stated that the organisation was to be called the National Group which go into opposition. ^[3] The criticism of the government cited included the "Army trouble", the lack of sound economic policy, and the delay in establishing the Boundary Commission to consider the partition of Ireland.

Osmond Esmonde also left Cumann na nGaedheal to join the National Group in June 1924. ^[4]

On 29 October 1924, McGrath resigned from the Dáil. ^{[5] [6]} He was followed by the eight initial members of the National Group; Esmonde did not resign. ^{[7] [8]}

By-elections were held in March 1925 to fill the vacancies, described as a "mini-general election", ^[9] as a test of public opinion and sympathy with the mutiny. Seán Milroy, who had resigned from his seat in Cavan, contested the by-election in Dublin North; he was the only one of the resigned TDs who sought re-election. ^[10] These saw the only time that by-elections to fill two vacancies in the same constituency occurred in Ireland, with Dublin North and Leitrim–Sligo electing two TDs.^{[ citation needed ]} Seven of the seats were won by Cumann na nGaedheal; the other two were won by the abstentionist candidates of Sinn Féin, led by Éamon de Valera.

Notes

1. "New Party in the Dail" . The Irish Times. 31 March 1924. p. 5.
2. "Mr. J. McGrath" . The Irish Times. 3 April 1924. p. 5.
3. "National Group" . The Irish Times. 10 May 1924. p. 7.
4. "Mr. Osmond Esmonde, T.D." . The Irish Times . 21 June 1924. p. 8.
5. "Mr. J. McGrath: Resignation from Dail" . 30 October 1924. p. 7.
6. "Resignation of a Deputy". Dáil Debates. 9 (5). Houses of the Oireachtas. 29 October 1924. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
7. "National Group: Eight Resignations from Dail" . 31 October 1924. p. 7.
8. "Resignation of Deputies". Dáil Debates. 9 (6). Houses of the Oireachtas. 30 October 1924. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
9. Manning 1972.
10. "Mr. Milroy's Campaign: Criticism of Executive Council" . 23 February 1925. p. 3.

References

• Barberis, Peter, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, 2005. Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organisations. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN   0-8264-5814-9, ISBN   978-0-8264-5814-8
• Manning, Maurice (1972). Irish Political Parties: An Introduction. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. ISBN   978-0-7171-0536-6.
• "National Party "CANDIDATES"". Irish Independent. 31 October 1924. p. 7.