Alexander McCabe ( 5 June 1886 – 31 May 1972) was an Irish

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

(later

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; ) was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. It was named after the original Cumann na nGaedheal organisation which merged with the Dungannon Clubs and the National Co ...

) politician.

Early life

He was born in Keash,

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

in 1886. He was educated at

Summerhill College Summerhill College (aka The College of the Immaculate Conception) is a Roman Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys located in the town of Sligo in north-west Ireland. History The school was founded in 1857 by then-bishop of Elphin, Laur ...

, Sligo. He won a scholarship to

St Patrick's College of Education St Patrick's College (), often known as St Pat's, was a third level institution in Ireland, the leading function of which was as the country's largest primary teacher training college, which had at one time up to 2,000 students. Founded in Drum ...

Drumcondra, Dublin Drumcondra () is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council. The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area. History Th ...

, and later obtained a diploma from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. He was appointed headmaster of Drumnagranchy national school, County Sligo in 1907. He joined the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

in 1913.

Politics

He was elected as a

MP for the constituency of Sligo South at the 1918 general election. In January 1919, Sinn Féin MPs refused to recognise the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

and instead assembled at the Mansion House in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

as a revolutionary parliament called

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

, though McCabe did not attend as he was in prison in Lincoln Gaol. At the

1921 Irish elections The 1921 Irish elections took place in Ireland on 24 May 1921 to elect members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. These legislatures had been established by the Government of Ireland Act 19 ...

, he was re-elected for Sligo–Mayo East. He supported the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

and voted in favour of it. He was again re-elected for Sligo–Mayo East at the 1922 general election, this time as pro-Treaty Sinn Féin

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 ...

(TD). During the Treaty debate he asserted that the counties of Ulster which comprised "Northern Ireland" could never be incorporated into an Irish Republic while the British Empire was what it was. At the 1923 general election, he was elected as a

TD for Leitrim–Sligo. He resigned from Cumann na nGaedheal in 1924 because of dissatisfaction with government attitude to certain army officers and joined the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

led by Joseph McGrath. He resigned his Dáil seat on 30 October 1924 along with several other TDs, and the resulting by-election on 11 March 1925 was won by the Cumann na nGaedheal candidate

Martin Roddy Martin Roddy (9 December 1883 – 8 January 1948) was an Irish politician, newspaper editor and company director. Early and personal life Roddy was born on 9 December 1883 at Kilmacowen, County Sligo, the eldest son among at least four sons and ...

. He did not stand for public office again and returned to his post as a schoolteacher. In the 1930s he was involved with the short-lived but widely followed

Irish Christian Front The Irish Christian Front (ICF) was a Catholic organisation that existed from August 1936 to October 1937. The organisation was founded with the intention of showing support and raising funds for the Nationalist faction of the Spanish Civil War ...

, serving as the organisation's secretary and announcing its creation to the public on 22 August 1936. He was also a member of the

Blueshirts The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, known by the nickname the Blueshirts (), was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded in 1932.New Irish Army Arises, Ne ...

during this period and later the Irish Friends of Germany (later known as the 'National Club') during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a would-be Nazi collaborator group in the event that Germany invaded Ireland. McCabe chaired their meetings, denied the group was a

fifth column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...

and expressed the belief that a German victory would lead to a

United Ireland United Ireland (), also referred to as Irish reunification or a ''New Ireland'', is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically: the sovereign state of Ireland (legally ...

. He was interned in 1940–1941 due to his pro-German sympathies, which he claimed resulted from the desire to ''‘see the very life-blood squeezed out of England’''.

After politics

In 1935 he co-founded the

Educational Building Society EBS d.a.c. is a small financial institution in Ireland registered as a designated activity company. History EBS Building Society was founded in 1935 by Alexander McCabe, Thomas J. O'Connell and other teachers to provide affordable housing fi ...

(EBS) with Thomas J. O'Connell. He retired from teaching in the 1940s and became the full-time managing director of the EBS.

Sources

* Todd Andrews (1979), ''Dublin Made Me''. * Robert Fisk (1983), ''In Time of War''.

References

Gallery

File:Alec McCabe.jpg, McCabe in 1918 File:Piece 207-142; Alexander McCabe (1922).pdf, page=4, alt=British Army military intelligence file for Alexander McCabe, British Army military intelligence file for Alexander McCabe {{DEFAULTSORT:McCabe, Alexander 1886 births 1972 deaths Cumann na nGaedheal TDs Early Sinn Féin TDs Irish far-right politicians Irish fascists Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil Members of the 4th Dáil Members of the Blueshirts Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Sligo constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians imprisoned during the Irish revolutionary period UK MPs 1918–1922 Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin People educated at Summerhill College People detained under the Emergency Powers Act