Timothy Daniel Sullivan (29 May 1827 – 31 March 1914) was an Irish

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 ...

, journalist, politician and poet who wrote the Irish national hymn " God Save Ireland", in 1867. He served as

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

from 1886 to 1888 and a

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) from 1880 to 1900.

Politician

Sullivan was a member of the

Home Rule League The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until it was replaced by the Irish Parliam ...

, supporting

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of t ...

in the 1880 general election, being "convinced that without self-government there could never be peace, prosperity or contentment in Ireland". He joined the

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 ...

when it was established in 1882. When the party split in 1891, he became an Anti-Parnellite until the Nationalist factions were reunited in 1900. Sullivan represented a number of constituencies in 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 ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

. He was elected as an MP for

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

in 1880 and served until 1885. In 1885, he was elected to the newly created constituency of Dublin College Green. He joined the 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 S ...

in 1891, and was defeated by a

Parnellite The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League h ...

in the 1892 general election. Four days later he was returned unopposed for West Donegal which he represented until he retired in 1900. He was

in 1886 and 1887.

Publicist

He owned and edited a number of publications ( ''The Nation'', ''Dublin Weekly News'' and ''Young Ireland''). In December 1887, he published reports of meetings by the

Irish National League The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League ...

. As a result, he was convicted and imprisoned for two months under the

Crimes Act {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Crimes Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of th ...

. As well as writing the Irish national hymn " God Save Ireland", he wrote the adopted anthem of the

All-for-Ireland League The All-for-Ireland League (AFIL) was an Irish, Munster-based political party (1909–1918). Founded by William O'Brien MP, it generated a new national movement to achieve agreement between the different parties concerned on the historically d ...

: " ''All for Ireland! One for all!'' and popular pieces such as "Song from the Backwoods" and "Michael Dwyer".

Family

He was married to Catherine (Kate) Healy who was the sister of Tim Healy, first Governor General of the Irish Free State in 1922. A number of his descendants were people of outstanding distinction. His son Timothy was

Chief Justice of Ireland The Chief Justice of Ireland ( ga, Príomh-Bhreitheamh na hÉireann) is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and most senior judge in Ireland. The role includes constitutional and admini ...

from 1936 to 1946. His daughter Frances was an Irish-language activist in , the Keating branch of the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

(Conradh na Gaelige) and a lecturer in Irish. His daughter Anne (who had sixteen children) was the mother of politician

Kevin O'Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins ( ga, Caoimhghín Críostóir Ó hUigín; 7 June 1892 – 10 July 1927) was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice from 1922 to 1927, Minister for External ...

, one of the dominant political figures of the 1920s. Sullivan's great-grandson

Tom O'Higgins Thomas Francis O'Higgins (23 July 1916 – 25 February 2003) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, barrister and judge who served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 1974 to 1985, a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 1985 to 1991, a Judge of ...

served as

from 1974 to 1985. His brother,

Alexander Martin Sullivan Alexander Martin Sullivan (1829 – 17 October 1884) was an Irish Nationalist politician, lawyer and journalist from Bantry, County Cork. Biography Alexander Martin Sullivan, the second son of Daniel Sullivan of Dublin, was born in 1829 (A po ...

, author of ''New Ireland'' and a fervent constitutional and cultural nationalist, was owner and editor of ''The Nation'' after Gavan Duffy, and prior to Timothy Daniel Sullivan.

Notes

References

Sullivan, T.D. (1905)
Recollections of Troubled Times in Irish Politics
'. Dublin: Sealy, Bryers & Walker; M.H. Gills & Son, Ltd. Retrieved on 30 March 2011.

External links