Sean Hales 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...

 political activist in the early 20th century. Hales was born in Ballinadee

Ballinadee

Ballinadee is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It lies in the parish of Courceys, some 12 km by road west of Kinsale and 9 km South East of Bandon....

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, where he and his brothers Tom, Donal and Robert (Bob) were involved in the Irish Republican Army

Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...

 (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence

Irish War of Independence

The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...

.

At the 1921 elections

Irish elections, 1921

Two elections in Ireland took place in 1921, as a result of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to establish the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The election was used by Irish Republicans as the basis of membership of the Second Dáil...

 Hales was elected to 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...

 as a 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...

 member for the Cork Mid, North, South, South East and West

Cork Mid, North, South, South East and West (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Cork Mid, North, South, South East and West was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1921 to 1923...

 constituency. Despite originally being anti-Treaty

Anglo-Irish Treaty

The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...

, Hales was persuaded by Michael Collins

Michael Collins (Irish leader)

Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...

 to join the pro-Treaty side and he voted for

Anglo-Irish Treaty Dáil vote

The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London on 6 December 1921. Dáil Éireann voted on the treaty on 7 January 1922, following a debate through late December 1921 and into January 1922.-Result:Of the 125 Teachtaí Dála , 121 cast their vote in the Dáil...

 the Treaty.

At the 1922 general election

Irish general election, 1922

The Irish general election of 1922 took place in Southern Ireland on 16 June 1922, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State...

, he was elected to 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...

 as a pro-Treaty Sinn Féin Teachta Dála

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 (TD) for the same constituency. Shortly afterwards, the Irish Civil War

Irish Civil War

The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....

 broke out between the pro-Treaty faction, who were in favour of setting up the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

 and the anti-Treaty faction, who would not accept the abolition of the Irish Republic

Irish Republic

The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...

.

On 6 December 1922, Hales was killed by anti-Treaty IRA men as he left the Dáil. Another TD Pádraic Ó Máille

Pádraic Ó Máille

Pádraic Ó Máille was an Irish politician. He was born in County Galway and was a farmer. He was a founder member of Sinn Féin and of the Gaelic League in Galway. He was a member of the Irish Volunteers from 1917–1921....

 was also shot and badly wounded in the incident. His killing was in reprisal for the Free State's execution of anti-treaty prisoners. In revenge for Hales' killing, four republican leaders, whom the Free State held in custody, were executed on 8 December. See also Executions during the Irish Civil War

Executions during the Irish Civil War

The executions during the Irish Civil War took place during the guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War . This phase of the war was bitter, and both sides, the government forces of the Irish Free State and the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army insurgents, used executions and terror in what...

.

According to information passed on to playwright Ulick O'Connor

Ulick O'Connor

Ulick O'Connor is an Irish writer, historian and critic.-Early life:Born in Rathgar, County Dublin in 1928, O'Connor attended St. Mary's College, Rathmines and later University College Dublin, where he studied law and philosophy, becoming known as a keen sporting participant, especially in boxing,...

, an anti-Treaty IRA volunteer named Owen Donnelly of Glasnevin was responsible for the killing of Hales. Seán Caffrey, O'Connor's informant and adjutant of IRA unit at the time of the shooting, stressed however that Donnelly had not been ordered to shoot Hales specifically but was following the general order issued by Liam Lynch to shoot TDs or senator

Seanad Éireann (Irish Free State)

Seanad Éireann was the upper house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922–1936. It has also been known simply as the Senate, or as the First Seanad. The Senate was established under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State but a number of constitutional amendments were...

s if they could.