more lenient Lewes prison. He was then imprisoned two times within four months during 1919, both terms ending in celebrated escapes. After his final prison release, Michael Collins approached Béaslaí to edit An tOglach, the Irish Volunteer newspaper; this saw communication between GHQ and local volunteers drastically improved. Political career Later, Béaslaí became director of publicity for the Irish Republican Army, and at the 1918 general election he was elected to the First Dáil Éireann as Sinn Féin MP for Kerry East. Sinn Féin MPs who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and instead assembled the following January at the Mansion House in Dublin as a revolutionary parliament, Dáil Éireann. Béaslaí was noted for his translation of the democratic programme of the First Dáil, which he read aloud at the inaugural sitting. He was a member of the Sinn Féin party for five years. Between 1919 and 1921 he represented the Kerry East constituency in the First Dáil. Then, at the 1921 general election, he was returned unopposed to the Second Dáil as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála (TD) for Kerry–Limerick West. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Béaslaí was re-elected there unopposed at the 1922 election as a pro-Treaty Sinn Féin candidate, and was thus a member of the Third Dáil, which was Pro-Treaty at this stage. In 1922 he went to the USA to explain the Treaty to Sinn Féin's Irish-American supporters. He did not contest the 1923 election. He and Con Collins share the distinction of having been elected in three Irish general elections unopposed by any other candidates. Gaelic League During Béaslaí’s time in London, he gave a lot of his time to the Gaelic League. In the Keating branch of the league, in Ireland, Béaslaí developed an interest in the IRB. Cathal Brugha, a branch member, asked him to join the IRB. The Keating branch was where Béaslaí met Michael Collins, eventually introducing Collins to his cousin and fellow branch member, Elizabeth Mernin. Béaslaí was also instrumental in establishing An Fáinne, an Irish-speaking league whose members vowed to speak solely Irish among themselves and wore a membership badge of a circle. This coincided with his involvement in the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Béaslaí’s love of the Irish language gave him an opportunity to delve into his other hobbies. He wrote for Banba, an