Domhnall Ua Buachalla
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Domhnall Ua Buachalla (; ; 3 February 1866 – 30 October 1963) was an Irish politician and member of the
First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
who served as third and final
governor-general of the Irish Free State The governor-general of the Irish Free State () was the official representative of the sovereign of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. By convention, the office was largely ceremonial. Nonetheless, it was controversial, as many Irish Nat ...
from 1932 to 1936, and later served as a member of the
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
from 1959 until his death.


Early life

Ua Buachalla was born in
Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...
in
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 ...
on 3 February 1866. His birth was registered as Daniel, the son of Cornelius Buckley, a shopkeeper, and Sarah Buckley, née Jacob. He married Sinéad Walsh in Dolphin's Barn,
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 ...
, on 3 June 1897. After his marriage, he and his family lived in Maynooth, where he ran a combined grocery, bicycle shop and pub in the town. He was an
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
activist and member of
Conradh na Gaeilge (; 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 ...
. In 1907, he was arrested and had his groceries seized when he refused to pay a fine for having his grocery wagon painted with ''Domhnall Ua Buachalla'' (his name in the Irish language), as British law required grocery wagons to be registered only in the English language.


1916–1932

He was a member of the
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...
and on the outbreak of the 1916
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
, he cycled the 26 kilometres to Dublin, found the Rising was on and returned to Maynooth, where he gathered his men, marched them to Dublin and fought in the GPO and as a sniper in outposts in the Exchange Hotel in Parliament Street and Arnott's of Henry Street; he was a crack shot. On the retreat from the GPO he was sent on a sortie and made it to the William and Woods factory, but found it full of looters, and left. He made it to the Broadstone railway station but was held there by British soldiers and sent to Richmond Barracks and from there to Knutsford Prison and then
Frongoch internment camp Frongoch is a village located in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies close to the market town of Bala, on the A4212 road. It was the home of the Frongoch internment camp, used to hold German prisoners-of-war during First World War, and then Irish ...
in Wales. He was released a few days before Christmas 1916, and describes the prisoners getting a "royal welcome" on their return. Like many Rising survivors, he joined
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 ...
, a small separatist party that was wrongly blamed by the British government for the Easter Rising. In the aftermath of the Rising, survivors led by
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
took over the party in the struggle for the establishment of an Irish republic. Ua Buachalla was elected as a Sinn Féin MP for Kildare North at the 1918 general election. He served in the
First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
(1918–1921), and was re-elected to the
Second Dáil The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...
in 1921 as 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 ...
(TD) for Kildare–Wicklow. He sided with de Valera and opposed 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 ...
. He fought in the
Four Courts The Four Courts () is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...
in the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Imprisoned in
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
jail, he was released by the Anti-Treaty troops in August 1922. He lost his seat at the 1922 general election, and was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1923 general election.


Irish governor-general

He joined
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
on its foundation in 1926 and was elected as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Kildare constituency at the June 1927 general election, only to lose that seat in the 1932 general election, which Fianna Fáil won. He was chosen by Éamon de Valera to become
Governor-General of the Irish Free State The governor-general of the Irish Free State () was the official representative of the sovereign of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. By convention, the office was largely ceremonial. Nonetheless, it was controversial, as many Irish Nat ...
following
James McNeill James McNeill (27 March 1869 – 12 December 1938) was an Ireland, Irish colonial administrator, politician, and diplomat, who served as the first High Commissioner to London and second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. Early life One ...
's resignation in November 1932.


Instruction to keep a low profile

De Valera explicitly instructed Ua Buachalla as Governor-General to keep a low public profile, and not to fulfil public engagements, which was part of de Valera's policy to make the office an irrelevance by reducing it to invisibility. While he continued to give
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
to legislation, summon and dissolve
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 ...
and fulfil the other formal duties of the office, he declined all public invitations and kept himself invisible, as advised by his Government. In fact in his period in office he performed only one public function: the receipt of the credentials of the French Ambassador to Ireland in the Council Chamber, Government Buildings, 1933, on behalf of King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...
. However, de Valera subsequently had that duty moved from the Governor-General to his own post of President of the Executive Council; instead of presenting his credentials to Ua Buachalla, the US Legation Minister, William Wallace McDowell, presented himself to de Valera.Seanascal Domnhall
''
TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', April 9, 1934
One of the few other occasions that Ua Buachalla was mentioned at all in public was when, in the aftermath of the death of King George V in January 1936, he had to reply to messages of condolence sent to the Irish people by United States President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
and the
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevel ...
. On de Valera's instruction, Ua Buachalla did not reside in the official residence of the Governor-General, the Viceregal Lodge (now called
Áras an Uachtaráin (; "Residence of the President"), formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the List of official residences, official residence and principal workplace of the President of Ireland. It is located off Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, ...
, the residence of the
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
). Instead, a house was rented for his use in Monkstown, outside of Dublin. The official English title "Governor-General" was largely replaced by the official Irish title "Seanascal" or its direct translation, "
Seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...
"; however, "Governor-General" remained the legal form used in official English-language documents and proclamations. Ua Buachalla refused all but £2,000 of the £10,000 salary of the Governor-General.


Falling out with de Valera

Ua Buachalla fell out with de Valera over the manner of his exit from office, in December 1936. De Valera sought to use the
abdication crisis In early December 1936, a constitutional crisis in the British Empire arose when King Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who was divorced from her first husband and was in the process of divorcing her second. T ...
surrounding King
Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
to amend the Irish Free State's Constitution to abolish both the
Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
and the office of governor-general. Having done so, he faced a threat of a court case from Ua Buachalla, who had been left personally liable for the remaining one year's expensive private lease on his residence, following the sudden abolition of his office. In practice, between 1933 and December 1936, the Irish government had paid Ua Buachalla expenses, from which he paid the rent on the expensive residence which was picked for him. However, from December 1936, the government insisted that it had no responsibility for paying for the residence. Ua Buachalla had, in 1932, on de Valera's explicit advice, leased the residence for a full five years, which was his expected term of office. There remained one year's outstanding lease, for a residence he could not now afford and for which he had no need now as he was no longer governor-general. Eventually, de Valera was forced to grant Ua Buachalla a large pension and to pay his outstanding rent and expenses to stop a potentially embarrassing court case going ahead. Ua Buachalla attended the inauguration of the first President of Ireland,
Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...
, in
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...
in June 1938.


Appointment to Council of State and later life

Ua Buachalla and de Valera reunited as political partners, and in a symbolic act of apology, de Valera, when elected
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
in 1959 appointed Ua Buachalla to his advisory
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
. However, he returned to Maynooth to continue running his family business, the hardware store which had been founded in 1853. Domhnall Ua Buachalla died on 30 October 1963, aged 97, in a nursing home in Dublin. He was given a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
and buried in Laraghbryan Cemetery in
Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...
, with the graveside oration delivered by President de Valera. The Ua Buachalla hardware store closed in October 2005. The road beside this store is named after him (although translated to English as "Buckley's Lane"). The building has been demolished, but some of the frontage has been preserved, with the building bearing the name "Buckley House".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ua Buachalla, Domhnall 1866 births 1963 deaths Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 5th Dáil Members of the 6th Dáil Early Sinn Féin TDs Fianna Fáil TDs Politicians from County Kildare Irish language activists UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kildare constituencies (1801–1922) Governors-general of the Irish Free State People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) People of the Easter Rising Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) People from Maynooth Burials in Laraghbryan Cemetery