J. P. Farrell was an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 nationalist

Irish nationalism

Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) from 1895 to 1918, taking his seat in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

. He was also owner of the Longford Leader Newspaper.

Farell stood as an Anti-Parnellite candidate at the general election in July 1895

United Kingdom general election, 1895

The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...

 in Kilkenny City

Kilkenny City (UK Parliament constituency)

Kilkenny City was an Irish Borough constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament...

, where the outgoing Anti-Parnellite MP Thomas Curran

Thomas Bartholomew Curran

Thomas Bartholomew Curran was an Irish barrister and an Anti-Parnellite/Irish National Federation politician who served in the United Kingdom House of Commons as Member of Parliament for the constituencies of Kilkenny City and North Donegal .He was the son of Thomas Curran, MP for South Sligo...

 was not standing again. Farrell lost narrowly to the Parnellite candidate, Patrick O'Brien by a margin of only 667 votes to 681, but a vacancy arose immediately in West Cavan

West Cavan (UK Parliament constituency)

West Cavan was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which from 1885 to 1922 returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.Prior to 1885 the area was part of the Cavan constituency...

. Edmund Vesey Knox, who had been West Cavan's MP since 1890, was re-elected there in 1895 but also won a seat in Londonderry City

Londonderry City (UK Parliament constituency)

Londonderry City was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system .-Boundaries and Boundary Changes:...

, and chose to sit for the latter. The resulting by-election in West Cavan was held on 2 August 1895, and Farell was elected unopposed in the first by-election of that Parliament.

When the split in the Irish Parliamentary Party

Irish Parliamentary Party

The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...

 was resolved in time for the 1900 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1900

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

, Farrell did not seek re-election in Cavan, but stood instead in North Longford, where he was returned unopposed. He was re-elected unopposed in 1906

United Kingdom general election, 1906

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

, and at both elections in 1910, but at the 1918 general election he was heavily defeated in the new Longford constituency

Longford (UK Parliament constituency)

Longford was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885, and one MP from 1918–1922.- MPs 1801–1885 :- MPs 1918–1922 :...

 by the Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 candidate Joseph McGuinness

Joseph McGuinness

Joseph P. McGuinness was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who was elected as Member of Parliament for South Longford at by-election in 1917....

.

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