Eugene O'Sullivan (1879 – 19 May 1942) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

politician and farmer, who was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for East Kerry in January 1910, but was unseated on petition shortly afterwards.

Sporting career

Joining the

Dr Crokes Dr Crokes is a Gaelic football and hurling club based in Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland. Notable players include Colm Cooper. Founded in 1886, the club's successes include the capture of the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championshi ...

club in the 1890s as a playing member he captained the great club team which won the 1901

Kerry Senior Football Championship The Kerry Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey’s SuperValu Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1 ...

and up to 1905 was a regular member. He played with and captained the Kerry team 1902–1904 and was also a regular member of the Killarney hurling team. In 1903 he was elected chairman of the Kerry Co. Board and under his guidance for the next five years the Co. Board was very active and the Kerry footballers broke through for national recognition. In 1904 while chairman of the county board, representative to Central and Munster council and playing with Dr. Crokes, he was opposed on the Listowel team by T.F O’Sullivan (secretary of the Co. Board and also a delegate to Central Council and Munster Council.) Eugene kept an interest in the G.A.A. right up to his death in 1942. He was vice-president and then president of the Dr. Croke club. He was chairman of the Fitzgerald Memorial committee which brought to fruition the erection of the stadium to the memory of the great Dick Fitzgerald.

Political career

O'Sullivan first stood for election to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at the 1906 general election, when he fell only 54 votes short of unseating the sitting

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nation ...

MP, John Murphy. However, at the next election, in January 1910, O'Sullivan stood as an

independent nationalist Independent Nationalist ( ga, Náisiúnach Neamhspleách) is a political title frequently used by Irish nationalists when contesting elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Ireland not as members of the Irish ...

, and won the seat with a majority 489 votes (10% of the poll). Despite being elected as an independent, O'Sullivan chose to immediately join the

, and took his seat in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

. His ten contributions to proceedings related to land issues and old-age pensions. The defeated member, Murphy, launched an election petition, alleging intimidation and irregularities at the election. The petition was heard in June 1910, at

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...

before Mr. Justices Madden and Kenny. After 7 days of hearings the judges found for Murphy, and O'Sullivan was unseated. However, the Nationalists failed to move the writ for a by-election, and the seat remained vacant until the December 1910 general election.''The Times'', 21 November 1910 At that election, O'Sullivan's cousin, Timothy O'Sullivan, held the seat for the Irish Parliamentary Party.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osullivan, Eugene 1879 births 1942 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kerry constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1910 Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Dr Crokes Gaelic footballers Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers

Sporting career

Political career

See also

References

External links