Matthew Joseph Minch (1857 – 5 June 1921) was an brewer and

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

politician from

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

who sat in the United Kingdom House of Commons as member of parliament (MP) for South Kildare from 1892 to 1903. Minch was first elected at the 1892 general election as an Anti-Parnellite

Irish National Federation The Irish National Federation (INF) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1891 by former members of the Irish National League (INL), after a split in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) on the leadership of Charles ...

candidate, unseating the sitting Parnellite MP James Leahy. He was re-elected unopposed in

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

and also in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

, on the latter occasion as an

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 nati ...

candidate, since the split in the party had been resolved earlier that year. He resigned his seat on 12 May 1903, by the procedural device of taking the post of Steward of the Manor of Northstead. Minch was also one of the first councillors elected to

Kildare County Council Kildare County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

, when it was created in 1899. Minch was married twice. With his first wife Agnes he had five sons, including: * John Minch (1890–1942) – an Irish rugby international killed in Second World War serving in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

. * Sydney Minch (1893–1970) – a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

for

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

in the 1930s. * William J. Minch (1894/95–1927) – health broken while serving in the

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Fo ...

in the First World War. With his second wife Elizabeth O'Kelly he had two sons and one daughter. He died at his residence, Rockfield House,

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 11,035 (as of the 2022 census) made it the sixth largest town in Kil ...

, in 1921.

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* 1857 births 1921 deaths Politicians from County Kildare UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kildare constituencies (1801–1922) Anti-Parnellite MPs Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Members of Kildare County Council {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub