James Lysaght Finegan

James Lysaght Finegan or Finigan (d. 8 September 1900) was an Irish barrister, soldier, merchant and politician. ["T.M. Healy: The Rise and Fall of Parnell and the Establishment of the Irish Free State", Frank Callanan] He was educated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and described as an "Anti-clericalist", and with his family engaged in the tea trade, while supporting the Nationalist cause. In 1867 a nationalist called Michael Breslin was forced to leave Ireland, and only avoided arrest thanks to documents given to him by Finegan certifying him as a tea trader. [http://www.abacci.com/annotated/ebook.aspx?bookID=1573&pagenumber=15 "The Life Story of an Old Rebel"; John Denvir] ]

Finegan later served in the French Foreign Legion during the Franco-Prussian War, leaving in 1871 at the conclusion of the war. In the 1879 by-election in Ennis he was proposed as an alternative candidate to that of the Home Rule League by Charles Stewart Parnell; he won by only six votes. [ [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=agkOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=%22James+Lysaght+Finigan%22&source=web&ots=gvoMq_8i1m&sig=3lyRsQcr2rSEuCBE8P11G-5Jcho&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA12,M1 Parnell in Perspective] ] His service in parliament was brief; he resigned in 1882.

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