sentences:  He was an early member of Sinn Féin and of the Gaelic League.At the 1918 general election, he was elected as part of the Sinn Féin landslide, defeating the Nationalist J. J. Clancy who had sat for the Dublin County North seat since 1885, by 9,138 to 4,428.Frank Lawless took part in the 1916 Easter Rising, being second-in-command under Thomas Ashe in the fight at Ashbourne, County Meath.