 STV had been introduced in university constituencies by the Representation of the People Act 1918, and was envisaged for the Home Rule assembly of the Government of Ireland Act 1914 which never came into force.STV's success in Sligo saw it extended to all Ireland for the 1920 local elections.As a barrister, Scanlan represented the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union at the inquiry into the sinking of the "Titanic" in 1912.