Joseph Aloysius Sweeney (c. 1897 – 25 November 1980) was an Irish politician.

As 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, he was elected to the British 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...

 as 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) for West Donegal

West Donegal (UK Parliament constituency)

West Donegal was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1922.Prior to the United Kingdom general election, 1885 the area was part of the Donegal constituency. From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament....

 in the 1918 general election, defeating the sitting nationalist Hugh Law. He did not attend (aged 21, he would have been the youngest MP

Baby of the House

Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament.-Australia:In Australia the term is rarely used...

), and instead participated in the First Dáil

First Dáil

The First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...

.

In 1921 he was one of six Sinn Féin candidates elected unopposed to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland for Donegal

Donegal (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Donegal was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1921 to 1937 and from 1977 to 1981...

. Again he did not attend and instead participated in the Second Dáil

Second Dáil

The Second Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919–1922 Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected in 1921...

. In 1922 he was re-elected as a Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin candidate and participated in the Third Dáil

Third Dáil

The Third Dáil, also known as the Provisional Parliament or the Constituent Assembly, was:*the "provisional parliament" or "constituent assembly" of Southern Ireland from 9 August 1922 until 6 December 1922; and...

.

He was born in Burtonport

Burtonport

Ailt an Chorráin or Ailt a' Chorráin is a Gaeltacht fishing village about 7 km northwest of Dungloe in County Donegal, Ireland....

, a town in The Rosses

The Rosses

The Rosses is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, centred around the town of Dungloe, which acts as the educational, shopping and civil centre for the area...

, a district in the north-west of County Donegal

County Donegal

County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

. He died in 1980 aged 83.