after food was fed into his lungs during a forced feeding. Lynch, returning from his own forced feeding had said to Ashe as they crossed paths ‘Stick it Tom boy’ to which he replied ‘I’ll stick it Fin’. Fionán Lynch records the fact that he was the last person to speak to Ashe before his death, as these were Ashe's last words. The prisoners were released in November 1917, but Lynch was re‐arrested on 18 May 1918, along with most of those previously released on licence, this time the reason given was a ‘German Plot’. First Dáil and War of Independence (1918–1921) In December 1918, Lynch stood as a candidate in the United Kingdom general election, being elected unopposed as an abstentionist Sinn Féin MP for Kerry South, becoming a Member of the 1st Dáil. Apparently his candidature was a surprise as, being imprisoned, Lynch had not been available to sign his assent to his nomination which had been done for him by Michael Collins, without troubling to notify his friend that he had done so. Sinn Féin won an overwhelming majority in Ireland at the 1918 Westminster election, but did not take up their seats in Westminster in protest. The parliament met in Dublin in January 1919, but Lynch, along with many other members, was unable to attend being imprisoned at the time. In April 1919, Lynch was transferred to Strangeways Prison, Manchester as a political prisoner. He was released from Manchester Jail “time served”, again while on hunger strike, on 19 August 1919, and was met upon release by Paddy O'Donoghue, who passed onto him orders from Michael Collins. Lynch pointed out areas of the prison that were weakly guarded inside, including counting the number of bricks in the walls to estimate the height for the rope ladders. This led to the successful escape of the remaining political prisoners eight weeks later, including Austin Stack and Stack's father. As TD for Kerry South he spent much time in the county on parliamentary and paramilitary activities. Many meetings were held in Tralee, in the premises of Thomas Slattery an active republican in his hometown who figured prominently in the movement. In November 1919, Lynch married Bridget Slattery, daughter of Tom Slattery, having met at a republican meeting hosted by Tom Slattery in August 1917. After the marriage, which was conducted by his brother, Father John Lynch, he and Bridget