Eamon Kissane (13 January 1899 – 20 May 1979) was an Irish
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 ...
politician who served as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach and
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence from 1943 to 1948, and
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands from February 1943 to July 1943. He served as a
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
from 1951 to 1965 and 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) from 1932 to 1951.
A member of a prosperous farming family in Newtownsandes (now
Moyvane) in north
County Kerry
County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
, he joined 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 was elected to
Kerry County Council at the age of 21. He fought in the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
and on the
Anti-Treaty side in the
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
. He was imprisoned by
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
authorities from 1922 to 1923.
Deeply interested in Irish culture, Kissane was a member of
Conradh na Gaeilge and worked as a teacher of the
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 ...
until his election to the Dáil.
Parliamentary career
Kissane was elected to
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 ...
as a Fianna Fáil TD for the
Kerry constituency at the
1932 general election which began sixteen years of unbroken rule for
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 ...
's Fianna Fáil. In the last months of the
10th Dáil, Kissane got his first promotion, as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands, from February to June 1943. After Fianna Fáil's victory at the
1944 general election, Kissane was appointed as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach (Government
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
I ...
) and as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence. He served in that position until when Fianna Fáil was defeated at the
1948 general election, when the
First Inter-Party Government took office.
Fianna Fáil won the
1951 general election, but Kissane lost his Dáil seat in
Kerry North. By now living in
New Ross
New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...
,
County Wexford
County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
, Kissane was unexpectedly defeated by
John Lynch of
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 ...
. He stood again in Kerry North at the
1954 general election, but was not successful.
After his defeat in 1951, Kissane was
nominated by the Taoiseach to the
7th Seanad, and in 1954, he was elected by the
Cultural and Educational Panel
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these gr ...
to the
8th Seanad. The panel returned him to the next two Seanads, but he did not contest the 1965 election to the
11th Seanad, and retired from politics.
In September 1935 he married Anne Kehoe at the church of
St Andrew, Westland Row.
He took a law degree late in life, and was
called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1938.
[
Kissane was a talented fiddle and flute player and was a founder of Comhaltas Ceoltóirà Éireann.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kissane, Eamon
1899 births
1979 deaths
Fianna Fáil TDs
Members of the 7th Dáil
Members of the 8th Dáil
Members of the 9th Dáil
Members of the 10th Dáil
Members of the 11th Dáil
Members of the 12th Dáil
Members of the 13th Dáil
Members of the 7th Seanad
Members of the 8th Seanad
Members of the 9th Seanad
Members of the 10th Seanad
Parliamentary secretaries of the 12th Dáil
Parliamentary secretaries of the 11th Dáil
Parliamentary secretaries of the 10th Dáil
Nominated members of Seanad Éireann
Fianna Fáil senators
Government Chief Whip (Ireland)
Cultural and Educational Panel senators