Joseph McGuinness was selected against his will as Sinn Féin's candidate for the by-election. The prisoners in HM Prison Lewes, where McGuinness and other leaders of the Easter Rising were being held, were opposed to standing a candidate because the Irish Parliamentary Party looked likely to win, so McGuinness declined to stand. However, Michael Collins had him nominated anyway. His election slogan was "Put him in to get him out!".
The result of the by-election increased pressure on the British Government to free the remaining Irish prisoners in Lewes. They were eventually freed in June 1917.[1]