Alexis James Oliver FitzGerald (4 September 1916 – 16 June 1985) was a

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and 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 � ...

politician, economist and solicitor. He was one of the founding partners of the Irish law firm McCann FitzGerald.

Early life

He born on 4 September 1916 in

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, the fourth child of Alexis FitzGerald and his wife, Elizabeth O'Halloran. He was educated at

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...

, and studied legal and political science at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. He later studied law, and in 1941 qualified as a solicitor. He married to Grace Costello in 1946, daughter of Ida Mary Costello and

John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Opposition (Ireland), Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1 ...

leader and

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the offi ...

; and they had six children. Grace Costello died in 1972, and in 1974 FitzGerald married Barbara Sweetman.

Politics

He was elected in 1969 to the 12th Seanad Éireann on the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The In ...

, and re-elected in 1973 and 1977. He retired from politics at the 1981 Seanad election, and his nephew

Alexis FitzGerald Jnr Alexis J. G. FitzGerald (7 May 1945 – 15 July 2015) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a TD and Senator in the 1980s. FitzGerald stood unsuccessfully for Dáil Éireann at the 1973 general election in Dublin Central, at the ...

was elected to the

15th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 15th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1981, after the 1981 general election and served until the close of poll for ...

, again by the Industrial and Commercial Panel. He lectured in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

, and from 1981 to 1982, he was a special adviser to

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, a ...

(no relation). Alexis FitzGerald died on 16 June 1985 and is buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

McCann FitzGerald

In 1947 FitzGerald was one of the founding partners of the Dublin solicitors' firm, ''McCann White & FitzGerald'', now known as ''McCann FitzGerald'',McCann FitzGerald website
; Retrieved 17 July 2015. one of Ireland's largest law firms. He was the practice's senior partner until his death in 1985.

References

External links

History of McCann FitzGerald Solicitors

Bibliography

*Lynch, Patrick and James Meenan (editors) (1987). Essays in Memory of Alexis FitzGerald, Dublin: The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Alexis Snr 1916 births 1985 deaths Fine Gael senators Members of the 12th Seanad Members of the 13th Seanad Members of the 14th Seanad Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Politicians from Dublin (city) 20th-century Irish lawyers Lawyers from Dublin (city) Alumni of University College Dublin Politicians from Waterford (city) Lawyers from County Waterford Industrial and Commercial Panel senators