The daughter of renowned Irish author Liam O’Flaherty left just under £340,000 to Sinn Féin in her will, new figures from the Electoral Commission have revealed.
A donation of £338,550.17 was donated to the party from ‘Ms Elizabeth known as Pegeen O’Sullivan’ on May 21, 2025.
Ms O’Sullivan died in 2022 at the age of 96 and was described as a lifelong Republican.
Read more: Political donations rules ‘need strengthening’ says head of Electoral Commission
Her father, Mr O’Flaherty, was one of the most prominent Irish writers of the 20th century, known for novels including The Assassin (1928) and Famine (1937).
His most famous work, The Informer, was released in 1925 and was later adapted into an Oscar-winning film.
Originally from Inis Mór off the coast of Co Galway, he served in the British army in World War One and, upon his return, later helped establish the Communist Party of Ireland.
During the Irish Civil War, he fought on the Anti-Treaty side before moving to London to embark on his literary career.
His daughter, Pegeen O’Sullivan, was born in Dublin but was a resident of Camden Town for most of her life.
In England, she was active among Irish organisations and prisoner support groups.
At her funeral in 2022, friend and Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan said: “She often reminded me that she was appalled by the partition of Ireland against the wishes of the Irish people as expressed in the 1918 election.
“This and her hunger for justice is what spurred her on. There wasn’t a protest on Irish issues that she and her late husband Christy weren’t at.’
The donation from Ms O’Sullivan accounted for almost three-quarters of their total for the second quarter of 2025 (£457,641.68).
The DUP accepted donations of £104,325.30 during the same period, followed by the SDLP (£71,562.79) and Alliance (£57,215.55).
Elsewhere, the UUP received £8,543.59, while the TUV and People Before Profit accepted £6,859.47 and £6,453.39 respectively.
Donations accepted by parties during Q2 totalled £723,576 - up on £477,461 for the same period in 2024 and £437,613 in Q1 of this year.
