John O'Donnell (Irish politician, born 1866) facts for kids

John O’Donnell (1866–1920) was an Irish journalist and politician. He was a Nationalist who believed in Ireland having more control over its own affairs. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the British Parliament from 1900 to 1910.

O’Donnell first became involved in politics around 1898. He worked as an organizer for the United Irish League (UIL) in County Mayo. He was a close supporter of William O'Brien, a well-known political leader.

Early Political Career

In 1900, a politician named Michael Davitt stepped down from his role as an MP. He did this because he disagreed with the Second Boer War. John O’Donnell was then elected as the MP for South Mayo in a special election held on February 27, 1900.

He was elected again later that year in the October 1900 general election. O’Donnell was seen as a new kind of nationalist politician. He became the national secretary of the United Irish League. He remained very loyal to William O’Brien, even when O’Brien left the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) in 1903. O'Donnell even tried to help O'Brien rejoin the party.

Because of his loyalty, O’Donnell was later replaced in his UIL role. This happened at a UIL meeting in 1904. John Dillon, a leader in the Irish Parliamentary Party, helped arrange for O’Donnell to be replaced by Joseph Devlin. This was part of the IPP's plan to gain more control over the United Irish League.

New Ventures and Challenges

After his time as national secretary, O’Donnell bought the equipment from William O’Brien's newspaper, the Irish People, which had closed down. He moved to Galway and started his own newspaper called the Connaught Champion.

In 1905, there was a lot of unrest about land ownership. O’Donnell was involved in these protests and faced legal consequences for his actions.

He was re-elected in the January 1906 general election. Some local priests in South Mayo tried to stop him from being re-elected. However, William O'Brien's influence helped O'Donnell win. After this election, O’Donnell was known as one of O’Brien's strongest supporters. Because of this, he and another supporter, D. D. Sheehan, were removed from the Irish Parliamentary Party that autumn.

In 1908, O’Donnell officially rejoined the Irish Parliamentary Party. This happened because the party leader, John Redmond, wanted to bring everyone together for the sake of unity.

Later Years in Politics

In the January 1910 general elections, O’Donnell was elected again. This time, he ran for O’Brien's new political group, the All-for-Ireland League. He even had support from the local clergy this time.

However, in the next election, the December 1910 general elections, O’Donnell had to step down. He did not have enough support to run again. Also, the Irish Party boycotted his newspaper, which meant it went out of business in 1911.

John O’Donnell kept in touch with William O’Brien. However, he never returned to politics after 1910.