The GPO viewed from Henry St 1916
Less than 50% of the population voted for Sinn Féin in the 1918 General Election. First past the post won them the day.
This was despite;
- the wave of sympathy for the 1916 executions
- widespread voter intimidation (check out Tim Pat Coogan’s history of the IRA)
- dissatisfaction with Britain reneging on Home Rule
- the Conscription threat
The victor’s post 1922 (and those pesky Unionists not being in the political discourse anymore) were political parties all led by descendants of 1916 and they ensured the history curriculum in schools as well as popular culture were wedded to the 1,500 men who fought in 1916. This gives rise to people like yourself who are all convinced you would have been in the same boat as the martyrs, when in reality you would have been out with your wee Union Jack celebrating King George in 1911 and would have sat on your arse with the other “Republicans” Fianna Fáil in 1970.
I’ll stop you at the first sentence. Your figure refers to votes cast. However Sinn Fein were returned unopposed in 25 constituencies which by their nature were considered to be Sinn Fein strongholds. So the number of votes cast (there being no votes cast in those unopposed constituencies) is widely accepted to be an underestimate of their support.
As to voter intimidation, this was a two way street. There was widespread intimidation by IPP mobs in Waterford for example.
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Tim Pat Coogan 
You know nothing about me, mate. I’ve already said I think '16 was a waste of time and a led to the death of some very great men who were replaced by the worst kind of political, pen pushing gutless ‘leaders’ .
A couple of posts back you were saying no one wanted a republic in '16 yet in just two years Sinn Fein had won an election - that’s a massive, massive rise in popularity whatever way you want to play it down…From zero to hero in just two years. Conscription had more or less passed by 1918 so you can re-edit that bit out. No one has denied a large percentage of the country supported the Irish parliamentary party but between both parties we wanted the right to rule ourselves and your lot wouldn’t allow it, leading to more violence and loss of life… you can spin it whatever way you want but it was the British state the created the IRA in the republic and later in the north. Your continued lip service to the Orange bastards in the north meant that the majority of the Island were denied the same rights as those citizens in Britain yet people on both islands had the same parliament… If you ask me the curriculum isn’t dressed up enough to show the real atrocities carried out in the name of the King and Queen in this country. But you are correct in that there was a large population of lickspittles that were horrified by Sinn Fein. These same conservative lickspitlles control the media today, work for the civil service, pay their water taxes… yet they’ll be giving it the ‘my grandfather bet 10 black and tans in 1920’ - the likes of @Mac, @tallback and @TheUlteriorMotive spring to mind here. Lilly at Easter and Poppy in November, you know the type of cunt.
#seniorhurling
I’d have been great mates with Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa.
He’d have had nothing to do with your prancing around with a hurley for a gun type freedom fighter, mate. The great ODR wanted English blood and din’t give a fuck about the consequences.
It is a two way street, many who would have voted for IPP candidates could not. The IPP were ravaged by the War and could not run everywhere either.
The reality is this - less than 50% of the population voted for SF. This was despite the Labour Party stepping aside for SF.
And don’t forget many of the votes cast for SF were Anti Consciption, even Dev was aware of this;
Significantly, Eamon de Valera, who was elected president of Dail Eireann, realized that the election results had to be interpreted with greater caution than the distribution of parliamentary seats at first indicated: almost a third of the Irish electorate did not vote, and only 47% of the votes cast were for Sinn Fein candidates. Moreover, many votes for Sinn Fein candidates were not cast for the Sinn Fein political program but were cast against conscription.
Was De Valera a Republican? D. H. Akenson
It makes people feel all warm and fuzzy to think that the War of Independence had a popular mandate and that’s the difference from those ghastly Provos and now Real IRA “freedom fighters”, it did not have a mandate from the majority of the population, it had a parliamentary majority.
Republicans have time and time again ignored democracy and picked and choosed when to use it.
As for comparing the IPP to voter intimidation from Irish Volunteers for SF. 
Yes a very respected historian.
Who were these great men, that nutter Pearse? 
Very respected me hoop.
Anyway, it’s all immaterial, pal. We are where we are and I’m in the ra.
THATS A CLAMPING
Yup, a partitioned island with babysitting democracy in the North.
I automatically switch off when people start quoting Tim Pat Coogan. He’s not a historian, he’s a journalist and he pursues certain agendas vigorously, generally based on the fact that his father Ned was Chief of Police in the Free State and was head of the Secret Police during the Civil War. As head of the Oriel House Gang he is widely believed to have fired the shot that killed Noel Lemass.
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How many insurrections, rebellions etc. etc had a fucking mandate? Mandate me hoop you nonce. I suppose the women’s lib gang had a mandate to throw themselves in front of horses? Black folk in southern America had a mandate to sit on the front of the bus? Did the colonists have a mandate to rebel against the brits…fuck off with your mandate…most people are quislings and mandates are forged by heroes like me.
Love all this stuff. Dont have enough knowledge to comment one way or another. A thread like this is the exact reason why Rory Quinn should be ashamed of himself for wanting to get history off the junior cert.
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The Irish people had a weapon, it was called the ballot box. The movements you described had no such thing so please save the nonsense.
Because you don’t like his opinions.
It’s a pity he also has the ballot box on his side, namely that the anti Treaty Republican rump ignored democracy.
Anyway, voter intimidation by Sinn Féin in 1918 has been widely written about. If you want to keep deflecting away from the fact that SF got just 46.9% of the vote in 1918 then go ahead but thems the facts.
Tim did you not say no-one wanted a Republic prior to '16 and that they were all out on the streets supporting the King? Are you putting 46.9% down to intimidation? That’s a huge turnaround in two years, from flag weaving to flag burning.
The majority of this country were not in favour of a Republic.
That was said.