Career
Power was a major supporter of Charles Stewart Parnell during his leadership crisis after the Katharine O"Shea divorce controversy. Despite this, he remained popular on both sides of the party. He was reported to have caught a chill at Parnell"s funeral, which left his lungs weak.
He was first elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1874 as a candidate of the Home Rule League, standing with Major Purcell O"Gorman, who was the other member elected.
He was re-elected in 1880, then stood successfully for the Irish Parliamentary Party in the elections of 1885 and 1886. He served as Mayor of Waterford in 1886 and 1887.
He held the position of Irish Whip in parliament from 1878 and performed a key role in coordinating MPs in carrying out Parnell"s highly disciplined pressure on the Liberal and Conservative parties over Home Rule.