Margaret Pearse defeated at the 1922 general election. She supported those who opposed the Treaty during the Irish Civil War and continued to be a member of Sinn Féin until 1926. In 1926 she left the party conference with Éamon de Valera and became a founder member of Fianna Fáil. She never stood for election again. Her daughter Margaret Mary Pearse also joined Fianna Fáil, and served as a TD from 1933 to 1937 and later served in Seanad Éireann as a Senator from 1938 until her death in 1968. At the launch of "The Irish Press" newspaper Margaret was asked to
Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin. The party dominated Irish political life for most of the 20th century, and since its foundation either it or Fine Gael has led every government. Between 1989 and 2011, it led coalition governments with parties of both the left and the right. Fianna Fáil was last in government from 1997 to 2011 under Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, with a periodic high of 81 seats in 2002, reduced to 77 in 2007 and then to 20 in 2011, the lowest in the party's history. Having won 44 seats at the 2016 general election, Fianna Fáil is currently