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The South Longford by-election in May 1917 was a crucial factor in the emergence of Sinn Fein as the main political force in Southern Ireland as well as the final defeat of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Rule party. The threat of conscription in Ireland added fuel to the increasing fires that Sinn Fein had lit under disaffected ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Rulers. Dr. Marie Coleman of the School of History and Anthropology at Queen’s University Belfast went to Longford town which has the names of the 285 men from Longford who died in the Great War on its war memorial. This, however, was not representative of the county as recruitment was lower here than elsewhere in Ireland. The two central issues of the by-election were conscription and partition. Location: 4 Main St, Longford. 53°43'46.7"N 7°48'06.6"W Image: Campaigners for Joe McGuinness, including McGuinness family members, in Longford 1917 Image courtesy of the McGuinness Collection