History of Sinn Féin 218. De Valera resigned and formed a new party, Fianna Fáil, on a platform of republicanising the Free State from within. He took the great majority of Sinn Féin support with him along with most of Sinn Féin's financial support from America. The remains of Sinn Féin fielded only 15 candidates and won only six seats in the June election, sinking to a level support not seen since before 1916. In the August 1927 by-election following the death of Constance Markievicz, SF's Cathal Ó Murchadha gained just 2.5% of the vote. Shortly after Vice-President and de facto leader MacSwiney announced
Tom McEllistrim (1926–2000) His son, Tom McEllistrim, was a TD for Kerry North from 2002 to 2011. Tom McEllistrim (1926–2000) Thomas "Tom" McEllistrim (15 January 1926 – 25 February 2000) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. Born in Boherbee, County Kerry in 1926, McEllistrim was the son of the Fianna Fáil politician and War of Independence veteran, Tom McEllistrim. McEllistrim the younger succeeded his father when he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency at the 1969 general election. At the 1977 general election McEllistrim was elected along with his running mate Kit