Griffith, Arthur
Griffith, Arthur (1871–1922). A printer from Dublin, Griffith was active in the Celtic Literary Society, the Gaelic League, and the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He spent 1896–9 in South Africa, returning to Ireland to commence vigorous journalism, urging that Ireland could emulate Hungary and acquire substantial autonomy. In 1906 he launched Sinn Fein, preaching abstention from British politics, and was involved in the Howth gun-running in 1914. Twice imprisoned during the First World War, Griffith did not take part in the Easter Rising, but was returned for East Cavan at a by-election in 1918. He was again imprisoned but emerged to lead the Irish delegation at the negotiations in 1921 which resulted in the Irish Free State. He succeeded de Valera as president of the Dáil in January 1922 but died from a stroke seven months later, just as the civil war between pro- and anti-treaty factions was beginning.
J. A. Cannon
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Griffith, Arthur