William Sears (politician)

William Sears
Senator
In office 6 December 1928 – 23 March 1929
Teachta Dála
In office August 1923 – June 1927
Constituency	Mayo South
In office May 1921 – August 1923
Constituency	Mayo South–Roscommon South
In office December 1918 – May 1921
Constituency	Mayo South
Personal details
Born	1868 (1868) Neale, County Mayo, Ireland
Died	23 March 1929(1929-03-23) (aged 60–61) Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Sinn Féin

William Frederick Sears (1868 – 23 March 1929) was an Irish Sinn Féin and later Cumann na nGaedheal politician.^[1][2]

Sears was born in Neale, County Mayo in 1868. He was elected as a Sinn Féin MP for the Mayo South constituency at the 1918 general election.^[3] In January 1919, Sinn Féin MPs refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled at the Mansion House in Dublin as a revolutionary parliament called Dáil Éireann, though Sears did not attend as he was in prison.^[4] He was elected unopposed as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo South–Roscommon South constituency at the 1921 elections.

He supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty and voted for it. He was re-elected unopposed for the same constituency at the 1922 general election, this time as a pro-Treaty Sinn Féin TD. He was elected as a Cumann na nGaedheal TD for Mayo South constituency at the 1923 general election.^[5] He lost his seat at the June 1927 general election but was elected to the Seanad in 1928. He died in office in 1929 and the by-election for his seat was won by Sir Nugent Everard.

In 1902 he founded the Enniscorthy Echo in co-operation with Sir Thomas Esmonde.^[1]

References

1. Maume, Patrick (October 2009). "Sears, William". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
2. "Castle File No. 1407: Sears, William" (PDF). War Office: Army of Ireland: Administrative and Easter Rising Records. p. 5. Retrieved 26 October 2020. Age 59 (in) 1921
3. "William Sears". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
4. "Roll call of the first sitting of the First Dáil". Dáil Éireann Historical Debates (in Irish). 21 January 1919. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
5. "William Sears". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 10 April 2009.

External links

• "Sears, William" . Thom's Irish Who's Who . Dublin: Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. 228  – via Wikisource.

• 
  British Army intelligence file for William Sears

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by John Fitzgibbon	Member of Parliament for Mayo South 1918–1922	Constituency abolished
Oireachtas
New constituency	Teachta Dála for Mayo South 1918–1921	Constituency abolished