Tom Mitchell (Irish politician) facts for kids

Thomas James Mitchell (born July 29, 1931 – died July 22, 2020) was an Irish republican. This means he believed Ireland should be a united country, independent from the United Kingdom. He was involved with the Irish Republican Army (IRA). In 1954, he took part in a raid on an army barracks in Omagh, where he was captured and sent to prison. While he was in jail, he was chosen twice to be a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament. However, he was not allowed to keep his seat, and his elections were overturned.

The Omagh Barracks Raid

Thomas Mitchell was born in Dublin on July 29, 1931. In 1954, he worked as a bricklayer. He was part of an IRA raid on a British Army barracks in Omagh, County Tyrone, in October 1954. The raid was not successful. Because of his involvement, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a serious crime against the government.

Winning an Election from Prison

While Thomas Mitchell was in Crumlin Road prison, he was chosen to be a candidate for Sinn Féin. This was for the Mid-Ulster area in the May 1955 UK general election. He ran on an abstentionist platform, which meant that if he won, he would not take his seat in the British Parliament.

Mitchell received 29,737 votes and won the election by 260 votes. The 1955 elections were very important for Sinn Féin. It was the first time since 1921 that the party had candidates in every area in Northern Ireland. It was also the first time since 1918 that any Sinn Féin candidates had been elected for Northern Ireland areas in the British Parliament.

A law from 1870 stated that anyone convicted of a serious crime and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison could not be elected to Parliament. On July 18, 1955, the House of Commons decided that Mitchell was covered by this law. They officially declared that he could not hold his seat, and his position became empty. A special election, called a by-election, was then ordered.

The by-election took place on August 11. Mitchell ran again, facing the same opponent from the Ulster Unionist Party. He won this election too, with even more votes and a larger lead of 806 votes.

Challenging the Election Result

After Mitchell won the by-election, his opponent, Charles Beattie, filed a complaint called an election petition. He claimed that he should have won because voters knew Mitchell was not allowed to be elected, so their votes for Mitchell should not count.

Mitchell decided to go to the election court himself, without a lawyer. He spoke for a long time on the second day, saying that the people of Mid-Ulster were being put on trial and were about to lose their right to choose their representative. As Mitchell expected, the court decided that he was not properly elected. The court then gave the seat to Beattie.

Later Elections

The next year, Beattie himself was not allowed to stay in Parliament. This was because he held certain government jobs that were not allowed for a Member of Parliament. A new by-election had to be held. Mitchell was again chosen as the Sinn Féin candidate.

This time, Mitchell also faced another candidate, Michael O'Neill, who was supported by the Irish Anti-Partition League. Mitchell and O'Neill split the votes of people who wanted a united Ireland. Because of this, Mitchell lost the election on May 8, 1956, to George Forrest, who ran as an independent candidate.

Mitchell also tried to be elected to the Dáil, which is the Irish Parliament. He ran in Dublin North-East in the 1957 and 1961 general elections for Sinn Féin, using the Irish version of his name, Tomás Misteil, but was not successful.

Later Life and Passing

Running as an Independent Republican, Mitchell tried to win back the Mid-Ulster seat in three more general elections: 1959, 1964, and 1966. He was not successful. In the 1969 Mid-Ulster by-election, he supported and campaigned for Bernadette Devlin. Mitchell joined the Official Sinn Féin group during a disagreement within the republican movement.

In 2006, Mitchell gave a speech at the funeral of Frank Morris, an older member of the IRA.

Thomas Mitchell passed away on July 22, 2020, just before his 89th birthday.

See also

• List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service