illiam Archer Redmond (1886-1932), the eldest son of John Redmond, was born in Waterford, educated at Trinity College, Dublin and called to the Bar. He fought in the Irish Guards in the British army in the First World War and in 1917 he was decorated for bravery. He was one of five Nationalist members of parliament to join up, the others were J. L. Esmonde, D. D. Sheehan, Stephen Gwynn and William Archer's uncle, William Redmond, the younger brother of John Redmond. William Redmond was fifty-three years of age on joining up, well over military age, but he told a meeting in Cork, 'I prefer to say to my fellow countrymen "Come" instead of "Go."'  

  William Archer was a member of parliament for Waterford from 1918 until 1922 when he was elected to Dail Éireann as an independent. He founded the National League in 1926 and sought co-operation between Ireland, North and South, and Britain in an attempt to break the established political patterns in the Irish Free State. In 1927 his party won eight seats and he committed the party to Fianna Fail and the Labour Party in a motion of no confidence in the government of W. T. Cosgrave. This motion was defeated when one party member defected to the government and another, John Jinks, failed to appear for the vote. It was widely believed that Jinks had been intercepted on his way to the Dáil and entertained liberally until the vote was over. This resulted in the wry comment by William Archer that 'Jinks had been "spirited away."' The party was reduced to two seats in the next general election and William Archer joined Cosgrave's Cumann na nGaedheal in 1931. 

  He was only forty-six years of age when he died suddenly at the funeral of a friend.