page_title: John Mitchel
section_title: Elected an MP
hierarchical_section_title: John Mitchel / Elected an MP
caption_attribution_description: English: John Mitchel Paris, 1861.
context_page_description: John Mitchel was an Irish nationalist activist, author, and political journalist. Born in Camnish, near Dungiven, County Londonderry and reared in Newry, he became a leading member of both Young Ireland and the Irish Confederation. He was transported to Van Diemen's Land but later escaped to the United States in the 1850s, he became a pro-slavery editorial voice. Mitchel supported the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, and two of his sons died fighting for the Confederate cause. He was elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in 1875, but was disqualified because he was a convicted felon. His Jail Journal is one of Irish nationalism's most famous texts.
context_section_description: Mitchel returned to Ireland where in 1875 he was elected in a by-election to be a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom representing the Tipperary constituency. However his election was invalidated on the grounds that he was a convicted felon. He contested the seat again in the resulting by-election, again being elected, this time with an increased vote. At the time of his sudden death, an election petition had been lodged, and the courts subsequently decided that voters in Tipperary had known that Mitchel was ineligible. Therefore, the seat was awarded to his Conservative opponent.
caption: John Mitchel, Paris, 1861
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