Background
Sheil was the son of General Sir Justin Sheil and nephew of Richard Lalor Sheil, a political ally of Daniel O’Connell. His mother was Mary Leonora, daughter of the Rt Honorary
Sheil was the son of General Sir Justin Sheil and nephew of Richard Lalor Sheil, a political ally of Daniel O’Connell. His mother was Mary Leonora, daughter of the Rt Honorary
He was educated at The Oratory School, and Christ Church, Oxford.
Stephen Woulfe, an Member of Parliament and afterwards Chief Baron of the Exchequer, Ireland. At the 1874 general election, when the franchise was still very restricted, he stood as a Home Rule League candidate and unseated Athlone"s sitting Liberal Member of Parliament, Sir John James Ennis. The poll was initially tied, each candidate scoring 140 votes, but Sheil was declared elected and on petition the result was amended to 153 votes for Shiel and 148 for Ennis.
Sheil acted as Whip of the Home Rule Party for four years.
In the Split in the Irish Parliamentary Party in December 1890 over the leadership of Charles Stewart Parnell, he supported Parnell. He wrote to John Redmond on 8 February 1892: ‘I am not prepared to continue resistance to what I conceive to be Irish public opinion…, the sympathy of the great majority of electors in Ireland is with the section of the Irish Party led by Mr.
McCarthy’ (ie the Anti-Parnellites). In retirement Sheil lived at Ramsgate, Kent, where he died on 3 July 1915 and was buried on 6 July.
Sheil was returned unopposed for Meath County in a by-election in April 1882, and when the Meath constituency was divided under the Redistribution of Seats Acting 1885, he was returned unopposed at the 1885 general election as Irish Parliamentary Party Member of Parliament for the newly created Southern Division of Meath, where he was re-elected unopposed in 1886.
However, he retired from Parliament at the general election of July 1892, apparently feeling that he could no longer defend the Parnellite cause.
21st United Kingdom Parliament. 22nd United Kingdom Parliament. 23rd United Kingdom Parliament.
24th United Kingdom Parliament]
He was a Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Athlone from 1874 to 1880, for Meath from 1882 to 1885, and for South Meath from 1885 to 1892, taking his seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.