Thomas Sexton (1848–1932) was an Irish journalist, financial expert, nationalist politician and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1880 to 1896, representing four different constituencies.

[1] He was noted for once having spoken for 3 hours straight during an attempt by the Irish Parliamentary Party to block the government from introducing the Coercion Act.

[4] In 1896, following the resignation of Justin McCarthy as leader of the Irish National Federation, Sexton was offered the role but instead not only opted to decline, but he also retired from parliamentary politics, disgusted at the bitter factionalism following the failure of the second Home Rule bill.

By 1903, Sexton's Freeman's Journal was staunchly critical of the party, particularly over the issue of a land purchase scheme introduced by George Wyndham.

After Wyndham's Land Act came into law, John Dillon joined Sexton in rejecting the policy of seeking further areas of ‘conciliation’ between the IPP and the landlords.

[7] He was hostile to the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 on financial grounds, and regarded by William O'Brien as one of the principal players involved in his subsequent marginalisations from the Irish Party.

[1] Sexton continued to be a leading ally of Dillon as chairman of the board of the Freeman's Journal from 1893 to 1911;[1] however, his policy of cutting investments to maintain dividends led to the demise of the paper through William Martin Murphy's Irish Independent.

[1] During Sexton's time as chairman of the Freeman's Journal, the paper began to suffer financially, struggling with competition from the National Press and from 1891 onwards, the pro-Parnall Irish Daily Independent.

In the face of this competition, the Journal found it difficult to attract new investment and Sexton was unwilling to sell his shares in the paper for fear of losing control over it.

[4] After retiring from the Freeman's Journal he became Chairman of Boland's Mill, and during World War I denounced wartime taxation and in 1918 endorsed Sinn Féin.