Editing Seán T. O'Kelly (section)

==1918 general election==
O'Kelly was elected a Sinn Féin [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Dublin College Green (UK Parliament constituency)|Dublin College Green]], in the [[1918 Irish general election|1918 general election]].<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=978|title=Seán T. O'Kelly|work=ElectionsIreland.org|accessdate=11 February 2012|archive-date=12 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412171355/http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=978|url-status=live}}</ref> In his role as Secretary, O'Kelly was tasked with preparing the Sinn Féin Executive Council for the [[Dáil Éireann]] Constituent Assembly, which had been agreed at the party [[Ard Fheis]] in October 1918. Along with other Sinn Féin MPs, he refused to take his seat in the [[UK House of Commons]] in [[London]]. Instead, they set up an Irish Parliament, called Dáil Éireann, in Dublin. O'Kelly served as [[Ceann Comhairle]] (chairperson) of the [[First Dáil]].<ref>Townshend, p.64.</ref> O'Kelly published the Democratic Programme, which he himself had edited. It appealed to a wider mission statement for independence and separatism, which was not sanctioned by the electorate. In fact, it was a skeleton document borrowed on the back of Pearse's martyrdom, written in the late leader's style, from the Labour leader [[Thomas Johnson (Irish politician)|Thomas Johnson]].<ref>C Townshend, p.66, citing J.J.Lee, ''Ireland 1912–1985: Politics and Society (Cambridge 1989), p.41.''</ref>

O'Kelly's approach to [[US President]] [[Woodrow Wilson]] to visit Dublin in 1919 on his way to [[Versailles]], [[France]], was roundly rejected. Wilson was already withdrawing from the Self-Determination League, making his critics label O'Kelly as 'pompous.' Despite the [[US Senate]] resolution in June, the President would not break his commitment to the Big Four for unanimity.<ref>Townshend, p.68.</ref> He also served as the [[Irish Republic]]'s envoy, demanding recognition of the Republic and its admittance to the post-[[World War I]] peace treaty negotiations at the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]]. While this request to [[Georges Clemenceau|Clemenceau]] was sincere, it naively ignored the fact that France and Britain had been allied for the previous four years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=4 |title=Letter to Clemenceau Feb 1919 |access-date=6 May 2009 |archive-date=18 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118185643/http://difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=4 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=13 |title=O'Kelly and Gavan Duffy to Clemenceau, June 1919 |access-date=27 December 2007 |archive-date=18 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118225222/http://difp.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=13 |url-status=live }}</ref> O'Kelly was followed to [[Paris]] as envoy by the eminently better-qualified [[George Gavan Duffy]], who was from a titled family of barristers and diplomats.<ref>Townshend, p.69.</ref> In 1920, O'Kelly relocated to [[Italy]], where he met with [[Pope Benedict XV]], briefing the pontiff on the political situation in Ireland.<ref>Memorandum by Sean T. O'Ceallaigh to Pope Benedict XV; ROME, 18 May 1920 https://www.difp.ie/volume-1/1920/memorandum-by-sean-t-oceallaigh-to-pope-benedict-xv/35/#section-documentpage</ref> At the same time, O'Kelly met with the future dictator of Italy, [[Benito Mussolini]], who helped the Irishman and other Sinn Féin emissaries to source weapons for use by the IRA.<ref>Mark Phelan, 'Prophet of the Oppressed Nations': Gabriele D'Annunzio and the Irish Republic, 1919–21, History Ireland, 21:5 (Sep./Oct. 2013) http://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/gabriele-dannunzio-irish-republic-1919-21/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213050550/http://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/gabriele-dannunzio-irish-republic-1919-21/ |date=13 December 2016 }}</ref>