Irish General Election

The Irish component of the 1918 United Kingdom general election took place on 14 December 1918.^¹ It was the final United Kingdom general election to be held throughout Ireland, as the next election would happen following Irish independence.^¹ It is a key moment in modern Irish history, seeing the overwhelming defeat of the moderate nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), which had dominated the Irish political landscape since the 1880s, and a landslide victory for the radical Sinn Féin party.^¹ Sinn Féin had never previously stood in a general election, but had won six seats in by-elections in 1917–1918.^¹ The party had vowed in its manifesto to establish an independent Irish Republic.^¹ In Ulster, however, the Unionist Party was the most successful party.^¹