Prelude to the Easter Rising of 1916

Prelude to the Easter Rising of 1916
The Signatories of the Proclamation

Search This Blog

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Members of the Thirteenth Dáil - Seán Keane

Seán Keane

Seán Keane (14 September 1899 – 29 March 1953) was an Irish Labour Party politician and publican. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork East constituency at the 1948 general election and was re-elected at the 1951 general election. He died in office in 1953 and the by-election caused by his death was won by Richard Barry of Fine Gael.

Members of the Thirteenth Dáil - Michael Sheehan

Michael Sheehan was an Irish politician and company director. Sheehan was elected to Dáil Éireann as an independent Teachta Dála (TD) at the 1948 general election for the Cork Borough constituency. He lost his seat at the 1951 general election. He also served as Lord Mayor of Cork from 1945–1949.

Members of the Thirteenth Dáil - Jack Lynch

Jack Lynch

 John Mary "Jack" Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was the Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office; from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979.

Lynch was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork in 1948, and was re-elected at each general election until his retirement in 1981. He previously served as Minister for Finance (1965–1966), Minister for Industry and Commerce (1959–1965), Minister for Education (1957–1959), Minister for the Gaeltacht (1957) and as a Parliamentary Secretary. He was the third leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 until 1979, succeeding the hugely influential Seán Lemass. Lynch was the last Fianna Fáil leader to secure (in 1977) an overall majority in the Dáil. Historian and journalist T. Ryle Dwyer has called him "the most popular Irish politician since Daniel O'Connell."

Prior to his political career Lynch had a successful sporting career as a dual player of Gaelic games. He played hurling with his local club Glen Rovers and with the Cork senior inter-county team from 1936 until 1950. Lynch also played Gaelic football with his local club St. Nicholas' and with the Cork senior inter-county team from 1936 until 1946. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest dual players of all-time.

In a senior inter-county hurling career that lasted for fourteen years, he won five All-Ireland titles, seven Munster titles, three National Hurling League titles and seven Railway Cup titles. In a senior inter-county football career that lasted for ten years Lynch won one All-Ireland title, two Munster titles and one Railway Cup title. Lynch was later named at midfield on the GAA Hurling Team of the Century and the GAA Hurling Team of the Millennium

John Mary Lynch was born on 15 August 1917, just yards from the famous Shandon bells and St. Anne's in Cork City. The youngest of five boys, with two girls born after him, Jack, as he was known, was generally regarded as the "wild boy" of the family. He was educated at St. Vincent's Convent on Peacock Lane, and later at the famous "North Mon", the North Monastery Christian Brothers School. When Lynch was just thirteen years old his mother died suddenly. Lynch, who had been particularly close to his mother, was deeply affected by her death. His aunt, who herself had a family of six, stepped in to look after the family in this time of great upheaval for them. Lynch sat his Leaving Certificate in 1936, after which he moved to Dublin and worked with the Dublin District Milk Board, before returning to Cork to take up a position in the Circuit Court Office.

Lynch began working at the Cork Circuit Court as a clerk while still only nineteen years old. His work in the court ignited his interest in law and in 1941 he began a night course at University College Cork studying law. After two years in UCC he moved to Dublin to complete his studies at King's Inns. While continuing his studies he started work with the Department of Justice. In 1945 Lynch was called to the Bar and had to decide whether to remain in his Civil Service job or practice as a barrister. Lynch made the decision (literally on the toss of a coin) to move back to Cork and began a private practice on the Cork Circuit.

It was in 1943, while on holidays in Glengariff, West Cork, that Lynch met his future wife, Máirín O'Connor, the daughter of a Dublin judge. Lynch was to be her first and only boyfriend, and the couple were married three years later on 10 August 1946. Although she was apprehensive about her husband's decision to become active in politics, to become a Minister and even to become Taoiseach, she stood by him through it all and helped him make the tough decisions that would affect Lynch's life and her own. One story exists where Lynch, in spite of tremendous pressure from Seán Lemass and the entire Fianna Fáil party to stand for the leadership, only accepted the nomination after Máirín had agreed. The fact that the couple didn't have any children allowed Lynch to embark on a political career, without having to worry about his commitment to the family. However, he remained totally devoted to Máirín throughout his, and she became just as easily recognisable as her husband.

From an early age, Lynch showed an enormous interest and great accomplishment as a sportsman. Rugby union, soccer, swimming and handball were all favourite pastimes for Lynch, however it was the sports of Gaelic football and hurling where Lynch showed particular flair.

Lynch played his club hurling with the famous Glen Rovers club in the Blackpool area of Cork city. He enjoyed much success at underage levels, winning back-to-back minor county championship titles in 1933 and in 1934 as captain. That same year Lynch won his first senior county hurling championship with "the Glen." It was the first of a record-breaking eight county titles in-a-row for Glen Rovers and for Lynch, who served as captain of the side on a number of occasions. He finished off his club hurling career by winning a further three county medals in succession in 1948, 1949 and 1950.

Lynch also played club football with "the Glen’s" sister club St. Nicholas. Once again he enjoyed a successful underage career, winning back-to-back county minor titles in 1932 and 1933. Lynch won an intermediate county title in 1937, before adding a senior county football championship medal to his collection in 1938. Lynch won his second county football medal with "St. Nick’s" in 1941. While working in Dublin in the mid-1940s Lynch played club football with the Civil Service GAA team. In 1944 he won a Dublin Senior Football Championship title, alongside fellow Munster native Mick Falvey.

By the late 1930's, Lynch was a dual player with the Cork senior hurling and senior football teams. In 1939 he became the only player, in history to captain both the inter-county football and hurling teams in the same year. That year he won his first Munster hurling title, however, Kilkenny later accounted for Cork in the famous "thunder and lightning" All-Ireland final. In 1939 and 1940 Lynch guided Cork to back-to-back National Hurling League titles, however, the 1941 championship was severely hampered due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Cork only had to play two games to be crowned All-Ireland hurling champions, however, they lost the delayed Munster hurling final to Tipperary.

In 1942, Lynch was selected as Cork hurling captain once again. That year he captured his second set of Munster and All-Ireland medals. 1943 proved to be a successful year for Lynch as he won a third Munster hurling medal and a first Munster football medal. While the footballers were later defeated in the All-Ireland semi-final, Lynch’s hurling team went on to win a third All-Ireland title in-a-row. In 1944 Lynch captured his fourth Munster hurling title. Later that year Cork created a piece of sporting history by becoming the first team to win four All-Ireland hurling titles in-a-row. Lynch was one of the heroes of the team who played in all four finals.

In 1945, Cork surrendered their provincial hurling crown, however, Lynch, as a member of the Cork senior football team won his second Munster football title. Cork later defeated Cavan in the All-Ireland final, giving Lynch his first, and only, All-Ireland football medal. In 1946 the Cork hurlers returned to their winning ways and Lynch claimed a fifth provincial hurling title. A fifth All-Ireland hurling medal was later added to his collection following a defeat of old rivals Kilkenny I the final. On that September day in 1946 Lynch made Irish sporting history by becoming the first, and to date the only, player to win six consecutive senior All-Ireland medals (five in hurling and one in football).

Lynch captured a sixth Munster hurling medal in 1947 before going on to play in his seventh All-Ireland hurling final in less than a decade. The game itself against Kilkenny has often been described as the greatest All-Ireland final ever played, however, Lynch ended up on the losing side by a single point. There was some consolation at the start of 1948 as Lynch claimed another National Hurling League medal, however, Tipperary quickly became the dominant force in the Munster Championship. Lynch retired from inter-county hurling in 1950. He had retired from inter-county football several years earlier.

Even at the height of his career, Lynch had come to be regarded as one of the all-time greats of Gaelic games. His contribution to the game of hurling was first recognised when he was named as the "Hurling Captain of the Forties". In the centenary year of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1984 Lynch was named on the "Hurling Team of the Century". At the special centenary All-Ireland final in Semple Stadium he received one of the loudest cheers and rounds of applause when all the former All-Ireland winning hurling captains were introduced to the crowd. Shortly after his death in 1999 Lynch’s reputation as one of the true greats of the game was further cemented when he was named on the "Hurling Team of the Millennium".

In 1981, he won an All-Time All-Star Award since there was no All-Star Award's during his playing days.

In 1946, Lynch had his first brush with politics when he was asked by his local Fianna Fáil cumann to stand for the Dáil in a by-election. He declined on this occasion, due to his lack of political experience, but indicated that he would be interested in standing in the next general election. In 1947, Lynch refused a similar offer to stand by the new political party Clann na Poblachta. A general election was eventually called for February 1948, Lynch topped the poll for the Cork Borough constituency and became a Fianna Fáil TD in the 13th Dáil. Although Fianna Fáil lost the election and were out of power for the first time in sixteen years, Lynch became speech writer and research assistant for the party leader, Éamon de Valera.

In 1951, Fianna Fáil were back in power and Lynch was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Government, with special responsibility for Gaeltacht areas. The party was out of power again between 1954 and 1957. During this period Lynch served as Fianna Fáil spokesperson on the Gaeltacht. After the 1957 general election Fianna Fáil returned to power and de Valera headed his last government. Lynch, at 39, became the youngest member to join the government, as Minister for Education, as well as holding the Gaeltacht portfolio for a short while. Lynch introduced innovative legislation, such as raising the school leaving age; reducing school class sizes; removing a ban on married women working as teachers and allowing the Jewish skull cap to be worn but only from the age of 12.

In 1959, de Valera was elected President of Ireland and Seán Lemass became the new Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader. Lynch was promoted to Lemass' old portfolio as Minister for Industry and Commerce. Here he inherited the most dynamic department in the government, however, having replaced such a political giant, Lynch felt that his own scope for change was severely limited. Lynch was described as not being the most innovative of ministers but was particularly attentive when it came to legislation and detail. It was in this department where Lynch worked closely with Lemass and T. K. Whitaker in generating economic growth and implementing the Programme for Economic Expansion. He was also noted for his astuteness in solving several industrial disputes during his tenure at the Department.

In 1965, Lemass was once again re-elected Taoiseach. The big change was the retirement of such political heavyweights as James Ryan and Seán MacEntee, with Lynch taking over from the former as Minister for Finance. This appointment was particularly significant because Lemass was coming to the end of his premiership and wanted to prepare a successor. As a result Lynch took charge of the second most important position in the Government, gaining widespread experience in a number of affairs, and accompanying Lemass to London to sign one of the most important trade agreements between Ireland and the United Kingdom. One occasion in which Lynch's authority was seen to be undermined as Minister for Finance was when the Minister for Education, Donogh O'Malley, announced that the government would provide free secondary school education for all. This proposal had not been discussed at Cabinet level as would be required to fund such a service. It subsequently transpired that Lemass had previously agreed the decision without cabinet discussion as was required.

Lemass retired in 1966 after 7 years in the position and a leadership race (the first contested race in the history of the party) threatened to tear Fianna Fáil apart. Lynch, and another favourite of Lemass's, Patrick Hillery, ruled themselves out of the leadership election from the very beginning, however, other candidates such as Charles Haughey, George Colley and Neil Blaney threw their hats into the ring immediately. None of the candidates that were being offered to the party seemed particularly appealing and Lemass' made one last attempt to coax either Hillery or Lynch to join the race as a compromise candidate. Hillery remained adamant that he did not want the leadership and eventually Lynch allowed his name to go forward. Upon hearing this Haughey and Blaney, the latter having never really entered the race in the first place, withdrew and announced their support for Lynch. Colley refused to withdraw and when it was put to a ballot Lynch comfortably defeated him by 52 votes to 19. Lynch was thus elected Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil on 10 November 1966.

The Lynch succession however, was not a smooth one. Three men had openly expressed ambitions to be Taoiseach, Haughey, Blaney and Colley. Three other cabinet ministers had also contemplated running - Brian Lenihan, Kevin Boland and Donogh O'Malley.

Because Lynch was elected as somewhat of a "compromise candidate" it appeared to many that he would only remain as an interim Taoiseach. This thought could not be further from his mind, and he outlined this intentions shortly after coming to power. Lynch took particular exception to the title "Interim Taoiseach" or "Reluctant Taoiseach". He had no intention of stepping aside after a few years in favour of one of the other candidates who had been unsuccessful against him in 1966. He was however reluctant in naming his first Cabinet. He believed that the existing members of the government owed their positions to Lemass, and so he retained the entire Cabinet, albeit with some members moving to different departments. Lynch adopted a chairman-like approach to government allowing his Ministers a free run in their respective Departments. He continued the modernising and liberal approach that Lemass had begun, albeit at a slower pace. Lynch was lucky in the timing of Lemass's resignation. The new Taoiseach now had almost a full Dáil term before the next general election.

With Fianna Fáil having been in power for eleven years by 1968, Lynch was persuaded once again to make an attempt to abolish the proportional representation method of voting in general elections in favour of a first-past-the-post system like in the United Kingdom. However, the campaign generated little enthusiasm, even within Fianna Fáil. Fine Gael and the Labour Party opposed the referendum when it transpired that Fianna Fáil could win up to 80 or 90 seats in a 144 seat Dáil if the motion was passed. Much like 1959, when the party tried to make the same referendum, the electorate believed this to be an attempt to institutionalise Fianna Fáil in power, and thus they rejected the motion put to them. This cast doubts on Lynch and his ability to win a general election, however, he proved his critics wrong in the 1969 general election when Fianna Fáil won its first overall majority since Éamon de Valera in 1957, and Lynch proved himself to be a huge electoral asset for the party.

Northern Ireland, and Lynch's attitude to the situation which was about to develop there would come to define his first tenure as Taoiseach. Lynch continued Lemass's approach in regard to relations with Northern Ireland. Better relations had been forged between the two parts of Ireland with co-operation between Ministers on several practical issues such as trade, agriculture and tourism. In December 1967 Lynch travelled to Stormont for his first meeting with the Prime Minister Terence O'Neill, in the hope of forming even more links. On 8 January 1968 they met again in Dublin. However, the situation was already beginning to deteriorate in the North with civil unrest and the resignation of O'Neill to come.

Shortly after Lynch's election victory, tensions in Northern Ireland finally spilled over and "the troubles" began. The sight of refugees from the North teeming across the border turned public opinion in the Republic. The Battle of the Bogside in Derry between the Royal Ulster Constabulary and residents in August 1969 prompted Lynch on 13 August to make what some people consider one of the most important broadcasts to the nation on Irish television, commenting on the ever-increasingly violent situation. He said:
It is clear now that the present situation cannot be allowed to continue. It is evident also that the Stormont government is no longer in control of the situation. Indeed, the present situation is the inevitable outcome of the policies pursued for decades by successive Stormont governments. It is clear also that the Irish Government can no longer stand by and see innocent people injured and perhaps worse. It is obvious that the RUC is no longer accepted as an impartial police force. Neither would the employment of British troops be acceptable nor would they be likely to restore peaceful conditions, certainly not in the long term. The Irish Government have, therefore, requested the British Government to apply immediately to the United Nations for the urgent dispatch of a Peace-Keeping Force to the Six Counties of Northern Ireland and have instructed the Permanent Representative to the United Nations to inform the Secretary General of this request. We have also asked the British Government to see to it that police attacks on the people of Derry should cease immediately.
Very many people have been injured and some of them seriously. We know that many of these do not wish to be treated in Six County hospitals. We have, therefore, directed the Irish Army authorities to have field hospitals established in County Donegal adjacent to Derry and at other points along the Border where they may be necessary.
Recognising, however, that the re-unification of the national territory can provide the only permanent solution for the problem, it is our intention to request the British Government to enter into early negotiations with the Irish Government to review the present constitutional position of the Six Counties of Northern Ireland.
Lynch's statement that the Irish Government could "no longer stand by" was interpreted by Unionists in Northern Ireland as hinting at military intervention (and was misquoted as a promise not to "stand idly by"). A minority of ministers - two, according to Desmond O'Malley - would have favoured such a course, but the Irish Army was completely unprepared for an operation of this kind. The majority of the cabinet opposed military intervention, and Lynch took no such action, though he commissioned a study named Exercise Armageddon. As the violence continued, the Minister for External Affairs, Patrick Hillery, met with the British Foreign Secretary and also went to the United Nations in a plea to send a peacekeeping force to the North and to highlight the Irish government's case. However, little else was achieved from these meetings other than media coverage of the activities in the north. The situation in Northern Ireland continued to deteriorate during Lynch's first term. Bloody Sunday (30 January 1972), saw the killing of 14 unarmed civilians by British paratroopers and a backlash of anti-British feeling in all parts of Ireland, including the burning of the British embassy in Dublin.

Lynch's attitude towards the Northern Ireland question and the application of Fianna Fáil party policy to it would eventually come to define his first period as Taoiseach, and would once again show his critics that far from being "reluctant" he was in fact a strong and decisive leader. His strong leadership skills and determination were clearly evident in 1970 when allegations (later disproved in court, though questions since have emerged challenging that verdict in one case), that the hardline republican Minister for Agriculture, Neil Blaney, and the Minister for Finance, Charles Haughey, were involved in an attempt to use £100,000 in aid money to import arms for the Provisional IRA.

Both ministers were sacked after some initial procrastination on Lynch's part, his innocent Minister for Justice, Micheál Ó Móráin, retired the day before and a fourth minister, Kevin Boland and his Parliamentary Secretary, resigned in sympathy with Haughey and Blaney. The whole affair, which became known as the Arms Crisis, allowed Lynch to stamp his control on his government, but would eventually lead to deep division in Fianna Fáil for many decades to come. It is now believed that Lynch was aware of these activities, and acted only when his hand was forced.

One of the high points of Lynch's first term as Taoiseach, and possibly one of the most important events in modern Irish history, was Ireland's entry into the European Economic Community. Lynch personally steered the application for membership and the acceptance of membership by a five to one majority in a referendum shows that the vast majority of the country was behind him. Ireland officially joined, along with its nearest neighbour, the United Kingdom and Denmark, on 1 January 1973. Patrick Hillery became Ireland's first European Commissioner. In appointing Hillery Europe was gaining one of Ireland's most experienced politicians, while on the other hand Lynch was losing one of his staunchest allies. The admittance of Ireland was the culmination of a decade of preparation which was begun by Lynch and his predecessor, Seán Lemass, who unfortunately did not live to see what would have been his greatest achievement.

Lynch's government was expected to collapse following the Arms Crisis; however, it survived until 1973. Lynch had wanted to call the general election for the end of 1972, however, events had conspired against him and the date was set for February, 1973. Lynch's government was defeated by the National Coalition of Fine Gael and the Labour Party. Liam Cosgrave was elected Taoiseach and Lynch found himself on the opposition benches for the first time in sixteen years. However, Lynch's popularity remained steadfast, so much so that during his tenure as Leader of the Opposition he was frequently referred to as "the Real Taoiseach."

Lynch had some success while out of power. He had finally gained complete control of the party, having neutralized his rivals for leadership during the Arms Crisis, and initiated Fianna Fáil's electoral comeback by securing the election of its candidate, Erskine H. Childers, as President of Ireland in 1973, defeating the odds-on favourite, the National Coalition's Tom O'Higgins.

In 1975, Lynch allowed Charles Haughey to return to his Front Bench as Spokesperson on Health. There was much media criticism of Lynch for this move. In the same year the Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Michael O'Kennedy, published a Fianna Fáil policy document calling for a withdrawal of British forces from Northern Ireland. The document was an echo of Fianna Fáil's republican origins, and although Lynch was not happy with it, he did not stop it.

Controversy continued to dog the National Coalition when the President of Ireland, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, resigned in 1976 after being called a "thundering disgrace" by the Minister for Defence, Paddy Donegan. Liam Cosgrave refused to sack his Minister and the government's popularity took a downturn. A former Fianna Fáil cabinet minister and a political ally of Lynch, Patrick Hillery, was eventually nominated (without election) as Ó Dálaigh's successor and sixth President of Ireland.

In 1977, the government, although reasonably unpopular, felt sure of an election victory and June date for the poll was fixed. The National Coalition's spirits had been buoyed up by the actions of the Minister for Local Government, James Tully. In what became known as the Tullymander (a pun on the word gerrymander) he re-drew every constituency in Ireland (as he had authority to do), apparently favouring Fine Gael and Labour Party candidates. However, when the election took place the coalition was swept out of office by Fianna Fáil which won an unprecedented twenty seat Dáil majority and over 50% of the first preference votes. Lynch himself received the biggest personal vote in the state. Although the large parliamentary majority seemed to restore Lynch as an electoral asset, the fact that the party was returned with an enormous vote allowed Lynch to be undermined by many new TDs who were not loyal to Lynch and wanted him removed.

Early on in his second term as Taoiseach, Lynch decided that he would not lead Fianna Fáil into another general election campaign. The date of January 1980 was in his mind as a retirement date, however nothing had been made definite. It was during this time, due to a combination of a large parliamentary majority and the search for a new leader, when party discipline began to break down.

In the party's election manifesto in 1977 Fianna Fáil promised a whole range of new economic measures. These measures included the abolition of car tax, rates on houses and a number of other vote-winning "sweeteners." A new Department of Economic Planning and Development was set up to kick-start Ireland's flagging economy and to implement these new measures. The government abolished domestic rates on houses and unemployment fell from 106,000 to 90,000 between 1977 and 1979, however other actions that were taken were not so productive. In 1978 the Irish economy recorded the biggest deficit for an advanced country at 17.6% deficit. The national debt increased by £2 billion in the same period, protest marches by PAYE workers, an increase in electricity charges and the oil crisis of 1979 also caused problems for the government and its economic policy.

The year 1978 saw the first open revolt in party discipline. There was an open mutiny by many backbenchers when the Minister for Finance, George Colley, attempted to impose a 2% levy on farmers. Although the levy was widely popular with the electorate, Colley was forced into a humiliating climbdown at the behest of the backbenchers and the authority of the government was shaken — particularly when the levy withdrawal was met with mass protests.

There was similar tension when a vote on the Family Planning Bill was proposed in the Dáil by the Minister for Health, Charles Haughey. The legislation proposed that only married people with a prescription could be dispensed contraception and was described as "an Irish solution to an Irish problem". Jim Gibbons, who was a devout Catholic and had a deep hatred of Haughey, failed to turn up and vote for this important legislation. It was the only time when a TD, let alone a cabinet minister, was allowed flout the party whip in Fianna Fáil and damaged Lynch's authority when he failed to expel the minister from the government and parliamentary party. As well as this, a group of backbench TDs began to lobby other TDs in support of Charles Haughey, should a leadership election arise. This group, known as the "gang of five," consisted of Jackie Fahey, Tom McEllistrim, Seán Doherty, Mark Killilea and Albert Reynolds.

1979 proved to be the year in which Lynch finally realised that his grip on power had slipped. The first direct elections to the European Parliament took place in June saw the electorate severely punish the ruling Fianna Fáil party. A five-month postal strike also led to deep anger amongst people all over the country. On 27 August 1979, the Provisional IRA assassinated Earl Mountbatten of Burma in County Sligo. On the same day the IRA killed 18 British soldiers at Warrenpoint in County Down. A radical security review and greater cross-border co-operation were discussed with the new British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. These discussions led Síle de Valera, a backbench TD, to directly challenge the leadership in a speech at the Liam Lynch commemoration at Fermoy on the 9th of September. Although Lynch quickly tried to impose party discipline, attempting to discipline her for opposing party policy at a parliamentary party meeting held at the 28th of September, de Valera correctly pointed out that she had not opposed the party policy regarding the North which called for the declaration of the British intent to withdraw from the north. The result was embarrassing for Lynch.

The visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in September proved to be a welcome break for Lynch from the day-to-day running of the country. In November, just before Lynch departed on a visit to the United States he decided that he would resign at the end of the year. This would allow him to complete his term as President of the European Community. The defining event which made up his mind was the news that Fianna Fáil had lost two by-elections in his native Cork (Cork City and Cork North–East, both on 7 November). In addition during the trip Lynch claimed in an interview with the Washington Post that a five-kilometre air corridor between the border was agreed upon during the meeting with Thatcher to enhance security co-operation This was something highly unsavoury to many in Fianna Fáil. When Lynch returned he was confronted openly by Síle de Valera, Dr Bill Loughnane, a noted hardline Republican backbencher, along with Tom McEllistrim, a member of Haughey's gang of five, at a parliamentary party meeting. Lynch stated that the British did not have permission to overfly the border. Afterwards Loughnane went public with the details of the meeting and accused Lynch of deliberately misleading the party. An attempt to remove the whip from Loughnane failed. At this stage Lynch's position had become untenable, with supporters of Haughey caucusing opinion within the party. George Colley, the man who Lynch saw as his successor, went to him and encouraged him to resign sooner. Colley was convinced that he had enough support to defeat the other likely candidate, Charles Haughey, and that Lynch should resign early to catch his opponents on the hop. Lynch agreed to this and resigned as leader of Fianna Fáil on 5 December 1979, assured that Colley had the votes necessary to win. However, Haughey and his supporters had been preparing for months to take over the leadership and Lynch's resignation came as no surprise. He narrowly defeated Colley in the leadership contest and succeeded Lynch as Taoiseach.

Lynch remained on in Dáil Éireann as a TD until his retirement from politics at the 1981 general election.

Following Lynch's retirement from politics the offers from various companies flooded in. He became a director on the boards of a number of companies, including Irish Distillers, Smurfit and Hibernian Insurance. He also embarked on a good deal of foreign travel. He was conferred with the freedom of his own native Cork city. He continued to speak on political issues, particularly in favour of Desmond O'Malley at the time of his expulsion from Fianna Fáil. Lynch also declined to accept nominations to become President of Ireland, a position he had little interest in. In 1992, he suffered a severe health set-back, and in 1993, suffered a stroke in which he nearly lost his sight. Following this he withdrew from public life, preferring to remain at his home with his wife Máirín where he continued to be dogged by ill-health.

He continued to be honoured by, among others, the Gaelic Athletic Association and various other organisations. In 1999 the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the river Lee was named by Cork Corporation in his honour. A plaque was also erected at his birthplace in Shandon. Lynch died in the Royal Hospital, Donnybrook, Dublin on 20 October 1999 at the age of 82. He was honoured with a state funeral which was attended by the President of Ireland Mary McAleese, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, former Taoisigh John Bruton, Albert Reynolds and Charles Haughey, and various political persons from all parties. The coffin was then flown from Dublin to Cork where a procession through the streets of the city drew some of the biggest crowds in the city's history. Lynch's friend and political ally, Desmond O'Malley, delivered the graveside oration, paying tribute to Lynch's sense of decency. He is buried in St Finbarr's Cemetery in Cork city.

Jack Lynch has been described as "the most popular Irish politician since Daniel O'Connell." This praise did not come from Lynch's allies or even his own party, but from the former leader of Fine Gael, Liam Cosgrave. As a sportsman, Lynch earned a reputation for decency and fair play, characteristics he brought to political life. It was for this that the man known as "the Real Taoiseach" or "the Reluctant Taoiseach", with his ever-present pipe and the soft Cork lilt in his voice will be remembered.

Members of the Thirteenth Dáil - John Tully

John Tully (15 November 1904 – 31 October 1977) was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician. An insurance agent by profession, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Clann na Poblachta Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cavan constituency at the 1948 general election. He was re-elected at the 1951, 1954 and 1957 general elections. He lost his seat at the 1961 general election but was re-elected at the 1965 general election.

After the 1965 election, while Seán MacBride was leader of Clann na Poblachta, Tully became the leader and sole member of the parliamentary party. The party was formally wound up that year. He stood as an independent candidate at the 1969 general election but was not elected.

Members of the Thirteenth Dáil - Thomas Walsh

Thomas Walsh (18 December 1901 – 14 July 1956) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He first stood for election at the 1943 general election for the Kilkenny constituency but was not successful. He was subsequently elected to Seanad Éireann on the Agricultural Panel and served until 1944. He was unsuccessful candidate again at the 1944 general election but was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1948 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency. In 195,1 he joined the Cabinet of Éamon de Valera as Minister for Agriculture, serving in government on one occasion. Walsh died suddenly in 1956 while still a member of the Dáil. The subsequent by-election was won by Fianna Fáil candidate Martin Medlar.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Members of the Thirteenth Dáil - Joseph Hughes

Joseph Hughes (18 September 1905 – 20 January 1960) was an Irish Fine Gael party politician.

A farmer before entering politics, he was elected at the 1948 general election as Teachta Dála (TD) for Carlow–Kilkenny, and held the seat until his death in 1960, aged 54. The resulting by-election for his seat was held on 23 June 1960 won by the Fianna Fáil candidate Patrick Teehan.

Members of the Thirteenth Dáil - Patrick Crotty

Patrick J. Crotty (23 November 1902 – 26 November 1970) was an Irish Fine Gael party politician who served for twenty-one years as Teachta Dála (TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency.
He was first elected to the 13th Dáil at the 1948 general election, and re-elected five times, at the 1951, 1954, 1957, 1961 and 1965 general elections.

Crotty did not contest the 1969 general election, but his son Kieran Crotty was elected for the same constituency at that election.

Mother and Child Scheme

The Mother and Child Scheme was a healthcare programme in Ireland that would later become remembered as a major political crisis involving primarily the Irish Government and Roman Catholic Church in the early 1950s.

The scheme was referred to as the Mother and Child Service in legislation. A brochure, "What the new service means to every family", was prepared. It explained the new service but was not issued to the public. The scheme was engulfed in crisis before this could happen.

Since the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 responsibility in the government for healthcare had lain with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health. No significant reform of healthcare occurred in this time and the Catholic Church still retained effective control through the ownership of hospitals and schools, whilst family doctors still largely practiced in isolation of other medical professionals.

Seán MacEntee started the process of reform as Minister for Local Government & Public Health in 1943. After the Second World War there was renewed optimism after the depression of the preceding decades. Once the Emergency, as it was called in the Irish state, was over the political agenda started to shift from Irish Civil War politics, which had dominated Irish politics, to the domestic agenda and social issues. In particular issues like employment, health and housing came to the fore and this manifested itself in a move away from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Regarding healthcare, the National Health Service of the United Kingdom was noticed by the Irish political system, as well as other international trends of the era. The Minister for Health was created as a separate Minister of the Government by the 1946 Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act; this act also created the Minister for Social Welfare. Problems, such as a high infant mortality, increased concerns and the Fianna Fáil government published a much delayed White Paper in 1947.

This paper was followed by the 1947 Health Act, in which the scheme was provided for in Part III of the act. However the 1948 general election resulted in the surprise fall of Fianna Fáil from government and instead the First Inter-Party Government would be left with the responsibility of implementing the scheme.

Noël Browne became Minister for Health in 1948; however he did not immediately introduce the scheme, but rather concentrated on other aspects of reform of healthcare. Even before the introduction of the scheme, there was some disquiet among the Catholic Church and medical profession. Whilst in opposition, Fianna Fáil pushed for the introduction of the scheme.

In 1950, Browne proposed introducing a scheme which would provide maternity care for all mothers and healthcare for children up to the age of sixteen, funded by the taxpayer. It met with ferocious opposition from conservative elements in the Catholic hierarchy and the medical profession. The Catholic Church leadership was divided between those like Archbishop of Dublin John Charles McQuaid who believed that it was the exclusive right of all parents to provide healthcare for their child, and younger moderates like William Philbin who saw some merit in state assistance to families. Browne received supportive advice from Francis Cremin, a Maynooth professor of theology and canon law. Some bishops, like McQuaid, also feared that it could pave the way for abortion and birth control. Though some Catholic Church leaders may have been privately sympathetic to Browne and wished to reach an accommodation, what was viewed as Browne's tactless handling of the Catholic Church forced the moderates into silence, allowing the anti-Mother and Child Scheme members of the hierarchy under McQuaid to set the agenda.

Many in the Protestant Church of Ireland community also disagreed with the scheme, the Church of Ireland Gazette saw it as ‘communist’ interference in the family.

Many doctors disapproved of the scheme, some on principle, others because they feared a loss of income and a fear of becoming a kind of civil servant, referring to the plan as "socialised medicine". Browne refused to back down on the issue but received little support even from his Cabinet colleagues, most of whom he had alienated on other matters, notably his failure to attend many cabinet meetings and the lack of support he had shown them in other crises. Isolated in cabinet as a 'loner' who did not consult with his more experienced cabinet colleagues, he also faced the hostility of his own party leader, Sean MacBride, with whom Browne had also fallen out, as he had with most members of the Clann na Poblachta Parliamentary Party, who resented his appointment to cabinet over the heads of more senior colleagues, and who were also offended by his treatment of them.

In April 1951, MacBride demanded Browne's resignation as a Clann na Poblachta minister. Browne duly submitted his resignation to the Taoiseach John A. Costello for submission to President O'Kelly.

The resignation took effect from 11 April 1951.

In his resignation statement, Browne told the House:
I had been led to believe that my insistence on the exclusion of a means test had the full support of my colleagues in the Government. I now know that it had not. Furthermore, the Hierarchy has informed the Government that they must regard the mother and child scheme proposed by me as opposed to Catholic social teaching. This decision I, as a Catholic, immediately accepted without hesitation.
In the subsequent Dáil debate on the resignation, Tánaiste and Labour Party leader William Norton claimed:
...if this matter had been handled with tact, with understanding and with forbearance by the Minister responsible, I believe we would not have had the situation which has been brought about to-day.
Dr. Browne explained his approach to the Dáil by saying:
I might say that my question to their Lordships was: Is this contrary to Catholic moral teaching? The reply, as you all know, was that it is contrary to Catholic social teaching. I was not aware — the Taoiseach can verify this — until I had asked each member of the Cabinet separately what he proposed to do, what he had been given to understand by Dr. McQuaid when that decision was taken. He then told us that that morning he had been informed by Dr. McQuaid that Catholic social teaching and Catholic moral teaching were one and the same thing.
The following month a general election was called and in June 1951 a new government was formed, as a result of the election.

A derivative of the scheme was implemented subsequently by the Fianna Fáil government which returned to power as a result of the general election. This achieved legislative effect in the 1953 Health Act; this and later legislation that created the Voluntary Health Insurance Board in 1957 removed the compulsory attempts of government to reform healthcare. Thus what became called the two-tier system was born, the private and public systems existing side-by-side, later reinforced by the 1970 Health Act, which was the next significant legislative reform.

The Polical Parties of Ireland - Clann na Poblachta

Clann na Poblachta ([kˠɫan̪ˠ n̪ˠə pʷɔbʷɫəxt̪ˠə] – English: Family of the Republic) was an Irish republican and social democratic political party founded by former Irish Republican Army Chief of Staff Seán MacBride in 1946.

In 1946, MacBride founded a new political party called Clann na Poblachta. The party was launched officially on 6 July 1946 in Barry's Hotel in Dublin. It held its first Ard Fheis in November 1947 in the Balalaika Ballroom.

The party appealed to disillusioned young urban voters, and republicans. Many had become alienated from Éamon de Valera's Fianna Fáil, the main republican party in Ireland but which in the view of more militant republicans had betrayed their principles during World War II by executing IRA prisoners. Clann na Poblachta also drew support from people who were tired of the old civil war politics and wanted more concern for social issues. In post-war Europe many people blamed the social evils of unemployment, poor housing, poverty and disease for the rise of fascism and communism. This new mood influenced people in Ireland also. Some people saw Clann na Poblachta as a replacement for Fianna Fáil. Others a replacement for the marginalised Sinn Féin, more a break from the traditional pro- and anti-treaty Irish Civil War division. The new party grew rapidly during 1947.

The party was influenced by social democratic policies such as United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, Clement Attlee's welfare state, elements of European Christian Democracy as well as Republicanism. It attracted a diverse range of people from traditional Republicans such as Noel Hartnett and social democrats such as Dr. Noel Browne, who had been attracted to the party due to its commitment to fight Tuberculosis and Peadar Cowan, a former Labour Party executive member who had resigned in disgust due to the infighting within the Labour Party at the time.

Clann were formed at a time during a period of turmoil in Irish politics - Fianna Fáil (FF) and Fine Gael - the two major parties of the state - were weak. Fine Gael were in disarray because of their rival's seemingly hegemonic dominance and because of a perceived failure to be able offer anything to disillusioned FF supporters. FF were visibly losing support because of the failure of the party's republican programme to end mass unemployment, poverty and emigration. The Labour Party had bitterly split in 1944 over personal differences between William X. O'Brien and James Larkin while Clann na Talmhan was perceived as being too specialist and too focused on the needs of farmers.

In October 1947, Clann na Poblachta won two by-elections (in Dublin County and Tipperary). The Taoiseach, de Valera, saw the threat posed by the new party and in February 1948 he called a snap general election to try and catch Clann na Poblachta off guard. At the time Clann had, not entirely unrealistic, hopes of both replacing Fianna Fáil as the majority republican party and as the leading party of the state. de Valera's tactic was successful; Clann na Poblachta only won ten seats - far fewer than was expected. De Valera may have saved his party's dominance, but the election did produce enough seats among the opposition groups for them to be able to form a non-Fianna Fáil government, the first time in sixteen years. That First Inter-Party Government was made up of Fine Gael, Labour, National Labour, Clann na Talmhan, Clann na Poblachta, and some independents.

Clann had stood on the platform of "get them out" and so clearly a coalition with Fianna Fáil was not an option - even if the larger party would consider it. But the republicans in Clann were unwilling to serve under Fine Gael and in particular under Fine Gael's leader Richard Mulcahy who was a Free State general during the Civil War. At the suggestion of William Norton, the Labour leader, it was agreed that no party leader would be Taoiseach. Former Cumann na nGaedhael Attorney-General John A. Costello became Fine Gael's choice for Taoiseach. Labour's William Norton became Tánaiste while MacBride of Clann na Poblachta became Minister for External Affairs. Clann was an uneasy coalition of socialists and republicans and to placate the left wing, MacBride appointed Noel Browne as Minister for Health. However many of the party's republicans remained unreconciled to serving with Fine Gael and the very act of joining the government weakened the party.

As Minister for External Affairs, and a strong republican, MacBride was seen as instrumental in the repeal of the External Relations Act 1936, under which King George VI, proclaimed King of Ireland in December 1936, fulfilled the diplomatic functions of a head of state. In September 1948 Costello made the formal announcement in Canada that the government was about to declare Ireland a Republic. At Easter 1949 the Republic of Ireland came into existence, with the King's remaining functions granted instead to the President of Ireland.

MacBride regarded Ireland as a republic in any case (in much the same way as de Valera did) and saw the repeal of the Act as merely removing the last vestiges of the British connection. He was, though, deeply angry that Costello had stolen his idea and refused to attend the official ceremony marking the inauguration of the Republic of Ireland.

The Government and opposition jointly mounted what it called the Anti-Partition Campaign, arguing the opinion that partition was the only obstacle preventing a united Ireland. At foreign conferences Irish delegates stated their cause for the ending of partition. This campaign had no effect whatsoever on the unionist government in Northern Ireland.

MacBride was Minister of External Affairs when the Council of Europe was drafting the European Convention on Human Rights. He served as President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from 1949 to 1950 and is credited with being a key force in securing the acceptance of this convention, which was finally signed in Rome on 4 November 1950. In 1950, he was president of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Council of Europe, and he was vice-president of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation in 1948–51. He was responsible for Ireland not joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

As Minister for External Affairs, MacBride declined the offer of Ireland joining NATO to resist Soviet aggression. He refused because it would mean that the Republic recognised Northern Ireland. He did however state that Ireland was strongly opposed to Communism. In 1950, he offered a bi-lateral alliance to the United States but this was rejected. Ireland remained outside the military alliance. In 1949 Ireland joined the Organisation For European Economic Co-Operation and the Council of Europe as founder-members.

MacBride also argued for the "return of sterling assets" to Ireland-essentially a decoupling of the Irish pound from Pound sterling by selling British gilts and investing the money in domestic enterprise. Officials in the Irish Finance department, who had an excellent relationship with the British Treasury and thought a decoupling would isolate Ireland and discourage investment, resisted. The matter came to a head at the time of the 1949 devaluation of sterling. Despite two government meetings to discuss decoupling, it was decided to retain the sterling link - which remained until 1979.

Clann na Poblachta TD and Health Minister Browne, proved highly controversial. A medical doctor, he became famous for two policies. He spearheaded a successful anti-tuberculosis (TB) campaign. Free mass X-rays were introduced to identify TB sufferers. Sufferers were given free hospital treatment. New drugs were also introduced to fight the disease. Though Browne made a significant contribution to the campaign, it had actually originated with a Parliamentary Secretary (junior minister) in de Valera's government, Conn Ward; it was Ward's preparatory work and Browne's practical implementation that produced the acclaimed scheme that practically wiped out TB in Ireland.

Browne's second initiative was much more controversial. In 1950 Browne tried to put the parts of the Fianna Fáil Health Act into effect. This Act would give free health care to all mothers and children up to the age of sixteen regardless of income. However, the Mother and Child Scheme, as it became known, faced stiff opposition from Irish doctors and the Catholic Bishops of Ireland. Doctors opposed the deal because they feared a reduction in their incomes and they were worried about state interference between patient and doctor. The Catholic Bishops opposed the Act because it seemed a dangerously communistic idea to them. They feared it might lead to the supply of birth control and abortion. Browne met with the Bishops and thought that he had satisfied them. However his handling of the affair alienated possible supporters in the hierarchy, notably Bishop William J. Philbin, and those elements of the medical profession privately supportive of the Mother and Child Scheme. In addition his poor attendance at cabinet meetings and strained relationships with cabinet colleagues meant that they too failed to support him. On 11 April 1951 MacBride as party leader demanded Browne's resignation and he withdrew from the Cabinet. Several other Clann na Poblachta TDs followed him out of the coalition and so destroyed the fragile internal unity of the party.

In 1951 the coalition faced increasing pressure to remain afloat and so an election was called. Clann na Poblachta was reduced to just two seats. Noel Browne and Jack McQuillan, both of whom were elected as independents, supported de Valera's minority government. In 1954 another general election was called and the Second Inter-Party Government took office, again under Costello as Taoiseach. Although Clann na Poblachta agreed to give external confidence and support to the government, it did not join it.

In keeping with the republican views of many of its key supporters, Clann had throughout maintained close links with republicans in Northern Ireland who espoused similar views, accepting the 1937 Constitution and the government operating under it as legitimate in the twenty-six counties (differing from Sinn Féin on this issue) but keeping open the option of armed struggle in Northern Ireland. The most prominent link of this kind was between the Clann and Liam Kelly and his Fianna Uladh organisation, even though Kelly and the Fianna Uladh's armed wing (Saor Uladh) were engaged in a military campaign in Northern Ireland. In 1954 the Clann made Kelly's election to Seanad Éireann (courtesy of Fine Gael councillors' votes) a condition for supporting the Second Inter-Party Government. Kelly had been imprisoned at the time for making a seditious speech.

The Government's increasing firm action against the IRA, who had just launched the Border Campaign, was one of the main reasons why the Clann withdrew its support at the beginning of 1957, along with a sharp deterioration in the economy.

In the 1957 election, MacBride lost his Dáil seat and his failure to secure a seat in two subsequent by-elections ended his political career. The party contested the 1961 general election but only one candidate was elected to Dáil Éireann. John Tully for Cavan was the only Clann na Poblachta TD elected in the 1965 general election.

The party entered talks with the Labour Party about a possible merger, however these ended in failure as they could not agree on the focus of the party and whether Sinn Féin or the National Progressive Democrats could be included. At the party Ard Fheis on 10 July 1965 the party voted to dissolve itself.

The Thirteenth Dáil

This is a list of the members who were elected to the 13th Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These TDs (Members of Parliament) were elected at the 1948 general election on 4 February 1948 and met on 18 February 1948. The 13th Dáil was dissolved by President Seán T. O'Kelly, at the request of the Taoiseach John A. Costello on 7 May 1951. The 13th Dáil lasted 1,211 days.

As of 2012, Liam Cosgrave and William J. Murphy are the only surviving members of the 13th Dáil.

The list of the 147 TDs elected, is given in alphabetical order by constituency.
Members of the 13th Dáil
Constituency Name Party
Carlow–Kilkenny Patrick Crotty
Fine Gael
Joseph Hughes
Fine Gael
Thomas Derrig
Fianna Fáil
James Pattison
National Labour Party
Thomas Walsh
Fianna Fáil
Cavan Patrick O'Reilly
Independent
Michael Sheridan
Fianna Fáil
Paddy Smith
Fianna Fáil
John Tully
Clann na Poblachta
Clare Thomas Burke
Independent
Éamon de Valera
Fianna Fáil
Patrick Hogan
Labour Party
Seán O'Grady
Fianna Fáil
Cork Borough James Hickey
National Labour Party
Jack Lynch
Fianna Fáil
Patrick McGrath
Fianna Fáil
Thomas F. O'Higgins
Fine Gael
Michael Sheehan
Independent
Cork East Martin Corry
Fianna Fáil
Seán Keane
Labour Party
Patrick O'Gorman
Fine Gael
Cork North Patrick Halliden
Clann na Talmhan
Patrick McAuliffe
Labour Party
Seán Moylan
Fianna Fáil
Cork South Seán Buckley
Fianna Fáil
Dan Desmond
Labour Party
Patrick Lehane
Clann na Talmhan
Cork West Seán Collins
Fine Gael
Timothy J. Murphy
Labour Party
Timothy O'Sullivan
Fianna Fáil
Donegal East Neal Blaney
Fianna Fáil
John Friel
Fianna Fáil
Daniel McMenamin
Fine Gael
William Sheldon
Independent
Donegal West Brian Brady
Fianna Fáil
Cormac Breslin
Fianna Fáil
Michael Óg McFadden
Fine Gael
Dublin County Patrick Burke
Fianna Fáil
Seán Dunne
Labour Party
Éamon Rooney
Fine Gael
Dublin North–Central Vivion de Valera
Fianna Fáil
Patrick McGilligan
Fine Gael
Martin O'Sullivan
Labour Party
Dublin North–East Jack Belton
Fine Gael
Alfred Byrne
Independent
Harry Colley
Fianna Fáil
Peadar Cowan
Clann na Poblachta
Oscar Traynor
Fianna Fáil
Dublin North–West Cormac Breathnach
Fianna Fáil
Alfred P. Byrne
Independent
Mick Fitzpatrick
Clann na Poblachta
Dublin South–Central Maurice E. Dockrell
Fine Gael
James Larkin, Jnr
Labour Party
Con Lehane
Clann na Poblachta
Seán Lemass
Fianna Fáil
John McCann
Fianna Fáil
Dublin South–East Noël Browne
Clann na Poblachta
John A. Costello
Fine Gael
Seán MacEntee
Fianna Fáil
Dublin South–West Robert Briscoe
Fianna Fáil
Bernard Butler
Fianna Fáil
Peadar Doyle
Fine Gael
Seán MacBride
Clann na Poblachta
Michael O'Higgins
Fine Gael
Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown Seán Brady
Fianna Fáil
Joseph Brennan
Clann na Poblachta
Liam Cosgrave
Fine Gael
Galway North Michael Donnellan
Clann na Talmhan
Mark Killilea, Snr
Fianna Fáil
Michael F. Kitt
Fianna Fáil
Galway South Patrick Beegan
Fianna Fáil
Frank Fahy
Ceann Comhairle
Robert Lahiffe
Fianna Fáil
Galway West Gerald Bartley
Fianna Fáil
Michael Lydon
Fianna Fáil
Joseph Mongan
Fine Gael
Kerry North Patrick Finucane
Clann na Talmhan
Eamonn Kissane
Fianna Fáil
Tom McEllistrim
Fianna Fáil
Dan Spring
National Labour Party
Kerry South Honor Crowley
Fianna Fáil
John Flynn
Independent
Patrick Palmer
Fine Gael
Kildare Thomas Harris
Fianna Fáil
William Norton
Labour Party
Gerard Sweetman
Fine Gael
Leix–Offaly Patrick Boland
Fianna Fáil
William Davin
Labour Party
Oliver J. Flanagan
Independent
Patrick Gorry
Fianna Fáil
Tom O'Higgins
Fine Gael
Limerick East Daniel Bourke
Fianna Fáil
Michael Keyes
Labour Party
James Reidy
Fine Gael
Robert Ryan
Fianna Fáil
Limerick West James Collins
Fianna Fáil
David Madden
Fine Gael
Donnchadh Ó Briain
Fianna Fáil
Longford–Westmeath Thomas Carter
Fianna Fáil
Erskine H. Childers
Fianna Fáil
Charles Fagan
Independent
Michael Kennedy
Fianna Fáil
Seán Mac Eoin
Fine Gael
Louth Frank Aiken
Fianna Fáil
James Coburn
Fine Gael
Roddy Connolly
Labour Party
Mayo North Patrick Browne
Fine Gael
James Kilroy
Fianna Fáil
P. J. Ruttledge
Fianna Fáil
Mayo South Joseph Blowick
Clann na Talmhan
Bernard Commons
Clann na Talmhan
Micheál Ó Móráin
Fianna Fáil
Richard Walsh
Fianna Fáil
Meath Patrick Giles
Fine Gael
Michael Hilliard
Fianna Fáil
Matthew O'Reilly
Fianna Fáil
Monaghan James Dillon
Independent
Patrick Maguire
Fianna Fáil
Bridget Rice
Fianna Fáil
Roscommon John Beirne, Jnr
Clann na Talmhan
Gerald Boland
Fianna Fáil
Jack McQuillan
Clann na Poblachta
Daniel O'Rourke
Fianna Fáil
Sligo–Leitrim Stephen Flynn
Fianna Fáil
Eugene Gilbride
Fianna Fáil
Bernard Maguire
Independent
Mary Reynolds
Fine Gael
Joseph Roddy
Fine Gael
Tipperary North Patrick Kinane
Clann na Poblachta
Daniel Morrissey
Fine Gael
Mary Ryan
Fianna Fáil
Tipperary South Dan Breen
Fianna Fáil
Michael Davern
Fianna Fáil
Richard Mulcahy
Fine Gael
John Timoney
Clann na Poblachta
Waterford Thomas Kyne
Labour Party
Patrick Little
Fianna Fáil
John Ormonde
Fianna Fáil
Bridget Redmond
Fine Gael
Wexford Denis Allen
Fianna Fáil
Brendan Corish
Labour Party
John Esmonde
Fine Gael
John O'Leary
National Labour Party
James Ryan
Fianna Fáil
Wicklow Thomas Brennan
Fianna Fáil
Patrick Cogan
Independent
James Everett
National Labour Party

Changes

Date Constituency
Gain
Loss Note
7 December 1948 Donegal East
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil Neil Blaney (FF) holds the seat vacated by the death of his father Neal Blaney (FF)
15 June 1949 Cork West
Labour Party
Labour Party William J. Murphy (Lab) holds the seat vacated by the death of Timothy J. Murphy (Lab)
16 November 1949 Donegal West
Fine Gael
Fianna Fáil Patrick O'Donnell (FG) wins the seat vacated by the death of Brian Brady (FF)

Northern Ireland Housing Trust (NIHT)

According to an abstract from Cain Abstracts, the NIHT was established in 1945 with a remit to build public sector housing 'for workers' in co-ordination with local authorities. The Trust was established to try to boast house building but ran into deliberate obstruction by a number of Unionist controlled local authorities. These authorities were worried about the impact of new housing, and thus new voters, in marginal constituencies. There is evidence that the NIHT favoured 'careful' tenants who were in employment a combination which left the Trust open to some accusations of discrimination against Catholics. The responsibilities of the NIHT were taken over by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in October 1971.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

12 July 2012

According to Boston.com,

BELFAST, Northern Ireland—Irish Catholic militants attacked riot police Thursday in a divided corner of Belfast as the most polarizing day on Northern Ireland's calendar reached a typically ugly end -- and yet managed, amid the smoke and chaos, to take a few tentative steps toward compromise.

Many hours of violence in the hardline Catholic Ardoyne district marked the fourth straight year that the area has descended into anarchy following the annual passage of Protestant marchers from the Orange Order brotherhood.

Massive Orange parades across Northern Ireland each July 12 -- an official holiday that commemorates the Protestant side's victory in 17th-century religious warfare -- often stoke conflict with Catholics, who despise the annual marches as a Protestant show of superiority.

But in recent years, as British authorities have restricted the Protestants' march routes, a drab stretch of road that passes a row of Ardoyne shops has become the focal point for province-wide animosity. There, the decades-old battle for supremacy between the British Protestant majority and Irish Catholic minority wages a yearly test of wills, with heavily armored police stuck in the middle.

A British government-appointed Parades Commission sought to defuse the Ardoyne conflict this year by ordering the Orangemen to march along Crumlin Road by 4 p.m. local time, three hours sooner than normal. Protestant leaders grudgingly accepted the deadline rather than mount a later standoff, and all sides agreed this gesture kept a bad situation from turning even worse.

The Parades Commission and police also permitted Ardoyne residents for the first time to stage their own march on the road a few hours later in a bid to balance competing rights. Protracted violence by masked Ardoyne youths followed that second gesture.

As the rioting headed toward midnight, police said nine officers had been wounded and two rioters arrested. They said rioters had hijacked and burned three cars and were tossing occasional Molotov cocktails at police lines. Officers responded by firing a half-dozen plastic bullets, blunt-nosed cylinders designed to knock down the target without penetrating the skin.

The sectarian showdown on Crumlin Road demonstrated how, despite a two-decade peace process and five years of a joint Catholic-Protestant government, Northern Ireland at grass-roots level still faces a long, uncertain journey to achieve reconciliation.

Indeed, Protestant officials of the unity government took part in the Orange parade, while some of their Catholic counterparts stood with the Ardoyne protesters. And yet both sides' leaders said the dispute would do nothing to derail their continued cooperation the rest of the year.

Orangemen, unable to reach Ardoyne on foot by the Parades Commission's 4 p.m. deadline, considered standing their ground with police in a bid to force their march through in the evening. Their leaders insisted they had to defend their right to freedom of assembly, fearing that once banned from a particular stretch of road they would never be permitted to return.

But aware that a standoff would inevitably end in violent clashes between Protestants and police, Orange leaders decided to observe the deadline and compromise -- while still maintaining a symbolic claim to the road.

They sent a token group of two dozen members by bus to march along that short stretch of road past the Ardoyne shops. Police girded in flame-retardant boiler suits, helmets, shatter-proof visors and shields flanked the tiny Orange procession as several hundred Protestants, many waving Union Jacks, cheered the scene from one side of the thoroughfare.

On the other side, masked Catholic youths were already stockpiling makeshift weapons for the night's fight ahead. Denied a decent Orange provocation, the Irish side appeared hell-bent on confronting the police regardless.

Several youths smashed their way into a parked silver BMW, pushed it toward police lines and set it on fire. A police armored car rammed the vehicle into a sidewalk, then a mobile water cannon doused the flames and turned its jets on the growing crowd of rioters.

Soon the Ardoyne crowd, fueled by militants from other hardline Catholic parts of Belfast, swelled to more than 1,000 on two narrow side streets.

In a bid to defuse the tensions, police permitted the Catholic Ardoyne residents to stage their own march on Crumlin Road -- even though the unruly procession passed dangerously close to an angry crowd of a few hundred Protestants. The Catholics bore a banner at the front that read "Ardoyne residents have rights too."

Both sides traded vulgar verbal abuse. Masked, hooded youths within the much larger Catholic group tossed bottles and stones at the Protestants, who retaliated in kind. Soon salvos of bricks, golf balls and even planks of wood were flying back and forth over the helmeted heads of the police, who saturated the area to ensure that the two sides could not get within punching distance of the other.

Before the confrontation, Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party, said the crux of the problem was the Orangemen's longstanding refusal to negotiate directly with anti-Orange groups from Catholic districts.

"The Orange (Order) should have their day, but the people in the host community have a right to be talked to," Adams said.

Commentators agree that the Orange Order's boycott on direct contact with the enemy appears anachronistic given that Northern Ireland's government is led chiefly by Orangemen and Sinn Fein, who do talk and work together.

But the Ardoyne conflict also defies easy resolution because of the tight confines of Belfast geography.

The starting point and final destination for the local Orangemen marching Thursday was their lodge, and Crumlin Road is the only direct link between it and the day's main Orange parade. That means any Orange march in the area must pass the Ardoyne shops.



Members of the Twelfth Dáil - John Ormonde

John Ormonde (15 September 1905 – 25 June 1981) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at a by-election in 1947 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for Waterford. In 1957, he joined the cabinet of Éamon de Valera as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.

He served in government until 1959 and retired from the Dáil in 1965 when he lost his seat in the general election. He was elected to the Labour Panel at the 1965 election to the 11th Seanad.

Members of the Twelfth Dáil - Patrick Kinane

Patrick Kinane (3 July 1892 – 15 July 1957) was an Irish politician of the Clann na Poblachta party, who was twice elected to Dáil Éireann.

Originally a farmer, he was first elected to the 12th Dáil at a by-election on 29 October 1947 in the Tipperary constituency, following the death of the sitting Clann na Talmhan Teachta Dála (TD), William O'Donnell. Clann na Poblachta party leader Sean MacBride, who was elected on the same day in a by-election in the Dublin County constituency.

Kinane was re-elected in the 1948 general election for the new Tipperary North constituency, but lost his seat in the 1951 general election.

Members of the Twelfth Dáil - Seán MacBride

Seán MacBride

Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish government minister and prominent international politician as well as a Chief of Staff of the IRA.

Rising from a domestic Irish political career, he founded or participated in many international as well as non-governmental organizations of the early 20th century, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and Amnesty International. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974, the Lenin Peace Prize for 1975–76, and the UNESCO Silver Medal for Service in 1980.

MacBride was born in Paris in 1904, the son of Major John MacBride and Maud Gonne. His first language was French and he remained in Paris until after his father's execution after the Easter Rising of 1916. He was sent to school at Mount St. Benedict's, Gorey, County Wexford in Ireland. He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1919 when aged 15, and was an active member during the Irish War of Independence. He opposed the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty and was imprisoned by the Irish Free State during the Civil War.

He was imprisoned several times. On his release in 1924, he studied law at University College Dublin and resumed his IRA activities. He worked for Éamon de Valera for a short time as his personal secretary; early in 1925 they travelled to Rome together to meet various dignitaries.

On MacBride's twenty-first birthday, in January 1925, he married Kid Bulfin, a stylish woman four years older, who shared his political views. He worked as a journalist in Paris and London before returning to Dublin in 1927, when he became Director of Intelligence of the IRA. In 1927, Kevin O'Higgins was assassinated near his home in Booterstown, County Dublin. There was a huge round-up of IRA members, including MacBride, who was charged with the murder. However, he could prove that he was on his way back to Ireland at the time; he was able to call Bryan Cooper, whom he met on the boat, as a witness. However, he was still charged with being a subversive and interned in Mountjoy Prison.

Towards the end of the 1920s, some members of the IRA started pushing for a left-wing agenda, after most supporters had left to join Fianna Fáil. After the IRA Army Council voted down the idea, MacBride launched a new movement, Saor Éire ("An Organisation of Workers and Working Farmers") in Dublin in 1931. Although it was a non-military organisation, Saor Éire was declared unlawful, along with the IRA, Cumann na mBan and nine other bodies, while MacBride became public enemy number one of the State security services.

In 1936, the Chief of staff of the IRA, Moss Twomey was sent to prison for three years, and MacBride became chief of staff, at a time when the movement was in a state of disarray, with several factions and personalities conflicting. Tom Barry was appointed chief of staff to head up a military operation against the British, which MacBride did not agree with. He was called to the bar in 1937.

He resigned from the IRA when the Constitution of Ireland was enacted later that year. As a barrister, he frequently defended IRA political prisoners. He was unsuccessful in stopping the 1944 execution of Charlie Kerins who was convicted of killing Garda Detective Dennis O'Brien in 1942. In 1946, during the inquest into the death of Seán McCaughey, MacBride embarrassed the authorities by forcing them to admit that the conditions in Portlaoise prison were inhumane.

In 1946, MacBride founded the republican/socialist party Clann na Poblachta. He hoped it would replace Fianna Fáil as Ireland's major political party. In October 1947, he won a seat in Dáil Éireann at a by-election in the Dublin County constituency. On the same day, Patrick Kinane also won the Tipperary by-election for Clann na Poblachta.

However, at the 1948 general election, Clann na Poblachta won only ten seats. The party joined with Fine Gael, Labour Party, National Labour Party, Clann na Talmhan and independents to form the First Inter-Party Government with Fine Gael TD John A. Costello as Taoiseach. Richard Mulcahy was the leader of Fine Gael, but MacBride and many other Irish Republicans had never forgiven Mulcahy for his role in carrying out 77 executions under the government of the Irish Free State in the 1920s during the Irish Civil War. In order to gain the support of Clann na Poblachta, Mulcahy stepped aside in favour of Costello. Two Clann na Poblachta TDs joined the cabinet; MacBride became Minister for External Affairs, while Noel Browne became Minister for Health.

MacBride was Minister of External Affairs when the Council of Europe was drafting the European Convention on Human Rights. He served as President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from 1949 to 1950 and is credited with being a key force in securing the acceptance of this convention, which was finally signed in Rome on 4 November 1950. In 1950, he was president of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Council of Europe, and he was vice-president of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation in 1948–51. He was responsible for Ireland not joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

He was instrumental in the implementation of the Repeal of the External Relations Act and the Declaration of the Republic of Ireland in 1949. On Easter Monday, 18 April 1949, the state left the Commonwealth of Nations and became known as the Republic of Ireland.

In 1951, MacBride controversially ordered Noel Browne to resign as a minister over the Mother and Child Scheme after it was attacked by the Irish Catholic hierarchy and the Irish medical establishment. Whatever the merits of the scheme, or of Dr. Browne, MacBride concluded in a Cabinet memorandum:
"Even if, as Catholics, we were prepared to take the responsibility of disregarding [the Hierarchy's] views, which I do not think we can do, it would be politically impossible to do so . . . We are dealing with the considered views of the leaders of the Catholic Church to which the vast majority of our people belong; these views cannot be ignored."
In 1951, Clann na Poblachta was reduced to two seats after the general election. MacBride kept his seat and was re-elected again in 1954. Opposing the internment of IRA suspects during the Border Campaign (1956–62), he contested both the 1957 and 1961 general elections but failed to be elected both times. He then retired from politics and continued practising as a barrister. He expressed an interest in running as an independent candidate for the 1983 Irish presidential election, but he did not receive sufficient backing and ultimately did not contest.

MacBride was a founding member of Amnesty International and served as its International Chairman. He was Secretary-General of the International Committee of Jurists from 1963 to 1971.

Following this, he was also elected Chair (1968–1974) and later President (1974–1985) of the International Peace Bureau in Geneva. He was Vice-President of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC, later OECD) and President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

He drafted the constitution of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU); and also the first constitution of Ghana (the first UK African colony to achieve independence) which lasted for nine years until the coup of 1966.

Some of MacBride's appointments to the United Nations System included:
  • Assistant Secretary-General
  • President of the General Assembly
  • High Commissioner for Refugees
  • High Commissioner for Human Rights
  • High Commissioner for Namibia
  • President of UNESCO's International Commission for the Study of Communications Problems, which produced the controversial 1980 MacBride Report.
 Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, MacBride worked tirelessly for human rights worldwide. He took an Irish case to the European Court of Human Rights after hundreds of suspected IRA members were interned without trial in the Republic of Ireland in 1958. He was among a group of lawyers who founded JUSTICE – the UK-based human rights and law reform organisation – initially to monitor the show trials after the 1956 Budapest uprising, but which later became the UK section of the International Commission of Jurists. He was active in a number of international organisations concerned with human rights, among them the Prisoners of Conscience Appeal Fund (trustee).

In 1973, he was elected by the General Assembly to the post of High Commissioner for Namibia, with the rank of Assistant Secretary-General. The actions of his father John MacBride in leading the Irish Transvaal Brigade (known as MacBride's Brigade) for the Boers against the British Army, in the Boer War, gave Seán MacBride a unique access to South Africa's apartheid government. In 1977, he was appointed president of the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, set up by UNESCO. In 1980, he was appointed Chairman of UNESCO.

MacBride's work was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1974) as a man who "mobilised the conscience of the world in the fight against injustice". He later received the Lenin Peace Prize (1975–76) and the UNESCO Silver Medal for Service (1980).

During the 1980s, he initiated the Appeal by Lawyers against Nuclear War which was jointly sponsored by the International Peace Bureau and the International Progress Organization. In close cooperation with Francis Boyle and Hans Köchler of the International Progress Organization, he lobbied the General Assembly for a resolution demanding an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of nuclear arms. The Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons was eventually handed down by the ICJ in 1996.

In 1982, MacBride was chairman of the International Commission to enquire into reported violations of International Law by Israel during its invasion of the Lebanon. The other members were Richard Falk, Kader Asmal, Brian Bercusson, Géraud de la Pradelle, and Stefan Wild. The commission's report, which concluded that "the government of Israel has committed acts of aggression contrary to international law", was published under the title Israel in Lebanon.

He proposed a plan in 1984, known as the MacBride Principles, which he argued would eliminate discrimination against Roman Catholics by employers in Northern Ireland and received widespread support for it in the United States and from Sinn Féin. However, the MacBride Principles were criticised by the Irish and British Governments and most Northern Ireland parties, including the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), as unworkable and counterproductive.
He was also a keen pan-Celticist.

In his later years, MacBride lived in his mother's home, Roebuck House, that served as a meeting place for many years for Irish nationalists, as well as in the Parisian arrondissement where he grew up with his mother, and enjoyed strolling along boyhood paths. He maintained a soft-spoken, unassuming demeanor despite his fame. While strolling through the Centre Pompidou Museum in 1979, and happening upon an exhibit for Amnesty International, he whispered to a colleague "Amnesty, you know, was one of my children."

Seán MacBride died in Dublin on 15 January 1988, at the age of 83 (11 days before his 84th birthday). MacBride is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery among Irish patriots in a simple grave with his mother, wife, and son.

Career Summarized:
  • 1946–1965 Leader of Clann na Poblachta
  • 1947–1958 Member of Dáil Éireann
  • 1948–1951 Minister for External Affairs of Ireland in Inter-Party Government
  • 1948–1951 Vice-President of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)
  • 1950 President, Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe
  • 1954 Offered but declined, Ministerial office in Irish Government
  • 1963–1971 Secretary-General, International Commission of Jurists
  • 1966 Consultant to the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace
  • 1961–1975 Chairman Amnesty International Executive
  • 1968–1974 Chairman of the Executive International Peace Bureau
  • 1975–1985 President of the Executive International Peace Bureau
  • 1968–1974 Chairman Special Committee of International NGOs on Human Rights (Geneva)
  • 1973 Vice-Chairman, Congress of World Peace Forces (Moscow, October 1973)
  • 1973 Vice-President, World Federation of United Nations Associations
  • 1973–1977 Elected by the General Assembly of the United Nations to the post of United Nations Commissioner for Namibia with rank of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • 1977–1980 Chairman, Commission on International Communication for UNESCO
  • 1982 Chairman of the International Commission to enquire into reported violations of International Law by Israel during its invasion of the Lebanon