It followed the death of the incumbent MP, Willie Redmond of the Irish Parliamentary Party, who was killed in action during the First World War.
It was won by the Sinn Féin candidate Éamon de Valera who had campaigned in military Irish Volunteers uniform.
His campaign maintained that he was also against conscription, despite the IPP's support for Irish recruitment into British forces in the First World War.
[2] David McCullough writes, 'There was a lot of violence during the campaign, much of it apparently coming from Lynch's supporters'[1] and 150 British Army soldiers had to be drafted in to help the police maintain order.
[3] Daith O Corrain writes, 'The East Clare by-election was a milestone for Sinn Féin because it secured a striking popular mandate which helped the organisation to continue its rapid growth ahead of the 1918 general election.