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
Fianna Éireann been an outstanding Fianna officer for years. After internment he got married and eventually fell on hard times. In his own words, he was compromised by the Free State Special Branch and agreed to become an agent for them within the republican movement. He was eventually exposed by the Fianna Intelligence Officer, Frank Sherwin in 1926. Two former Fianna members made an attempt on his life in 1928, but Harling escaped and actually shot dead one of his attackers, Tim Coghlan of Inchicore. Harling was secreted out of the country by the Special Branch and ended up in the US