Page "D. D. Sheehan" Paragraph 18

The January 1906 general election returned Sheehan unopposed.

The IPP deputy leader John Dillon set about splitting the ILLA, forming a new ILLA group under its secretary, the loyal " Redmonite " J. J. O ' Shee ( MP ), – to confine Sheehan ’ s movement, otherwise " the whole of Munster will be poisoned and no seat safe on vacancy ".

Later that year, the Irish Party mounted a feud against Sheehan for being a " factionist " by supporting a policy of Conciliation and for not allowing his labourers ' movement be subservient to the Party autocracy, his reason being " to realize the great democratic principle of the government of the people, by the people and for the people ".

Also for not adhering to the party pledge and expelled both him and John O ' Donnell from its ranks.

It deprived them both of the quarterly party stipends provided for attendance at Westminster, particularly damaging because the first regular salary for an MP was set in 1911.

Sheehan retaliated by resigning his seat in November and challenged the IPP to stand against him.

He was re-elected unopposed as Ireland's first independent nationalist Labour MP on 31 December 1906.

His income from then depended on constituent's collections at church gates on Sundays.