James FitzGerald-Kenney
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James FitzGerald-Kenney (1 January 1878 – 21 October 1956) was an Irish
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 ...
politician and barrister who served as
Minister for Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
from 1927 to 1932. He served 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 the Mayo South constituency from 1927 to 1944.


Biography

He was born at his mother's family home in Clogher, near
Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. As of the 2017, it was the fastest growing town in the county, having seen a 31% increase in population between 2006 and ...
,
County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
. He was the second son of James Fitzgerald-Kenney of
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
and Helena Crean-Lynch. He was educated at
Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...
and
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 ...
, where he took his degree in 1898. He was called to the
Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...
in 1899 and built up a large practice on the Western Circuit. He was called to the Inner Bar in 1925. In politics, he was until 1918 a supporter of
John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as leader ...
; 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 ...
in 1914 and became an inspecting officer for South Mayo. After the split within the Volunteers in late 1914 over whether to serve with the British Army in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
or not, FitzGerald-Kenney aligned with the Redmondite
National Volunteers The National Volunteers were the majority faction of the Irish Volunteers that sided with Irish Parliamentary Party leader John Redmond after the movement split over the question of the Volunteers' Ireland and World War I, role in World War I. O ...
who opted in favour of doing so.


Political career

In June 1927, he was elected as a Cumann na nGaedheal TD for Mayo South and became parliamentary secretary to acting Minister for Justice
W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish politician who served as the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, Leader of the Opposition from 1932 to 1944, Leader of Fine Gael ...
. Following the assassination of
Kevin O’Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins (; 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 Affairs from June 1927 to July 1927 and ...
, he was appointed Minister for Justice on October 11, 1927, a position he held until 1932. His appointment as a minister after only a few months in parliament caused a surprise, and as the least experienced cabinet member, he often became the focus of opposition criticism and struggled with parliamentary duties. Unlike O'Higgins, he allowed
Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier, police commissioner, politician and fascist. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a promin ...
complete discretion as to how he ran the police force. He occasionally invited ridicule in his willingness to defend O'Duffy: his claim that a victim of Garda brutality had been knocked down by a cow led to a brief fashion for referring to Gardaí as "Fitzgerald-Kenney's cows". When 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 ...
, which had been badly damaged during 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 ...
, reopened in 1931, he firmly vetoed the proposal by the
Chief Justice of Ireland The chief justice of Ireland () is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and the most senior judge in the Republic of Ireland. The role includes several constitutional and administrativ ...
Hugh Kennedy to hold a formal ceremony to mark the occasion, on the ground that it would virtually amount to an invitation to extremists to attack the building again.MacCormaick, Ruadhán, ''The Supreme Court'', Penguin Random House 2016 pp.34-35 Following the merger of Cumann na nGaedheal with the National Centre Party and the
Army Comrades Association 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 ...
(better known as the Blueshirts) to form Fine Gael in September 1933, he lost his front bench seat. He was involved with the Blueshirts and led its youth section. After losing in the 1944 general election, he declined a nomination to Seanad Éireann by the bar council and chose to retire from politics to focus on his legal career and spent his remaining years farming at Clogher which he inherited from his mother.


Personal life

A dedicated supporter of the Irish language, Fitzgerald-Kenney was a pioneering member 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 eme ...
in Mayo, where he established and chaired the local branch. He also had a passion for shooting and golf. In addition to his political and legal careers, he managed the large estate at Clogher House, Mayo, which he inherited from his mother in 1903. FitzGerald-Kenney died on 21 October 1956, in a Dublin nursing home, leaving an estate valued at £3,713. He never married, and his papers are preserved in the James Hardiman Library at the National University of Ireland, Galway.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald-Kenney, James 1878 births 1956 deaths Alumni of King's Inns Alumni of University College Dublin Cumann na nGaedheal TDs Fine Gael TDs Irish barristers Members of the 10th Dáil Members of the 11th Dáil Members of the 5th Dáil Members of the 6th Dáil Members of the 7th Dáil Members of the 8th Dáil Members of the 9th Dáil Members of the Blueshirts Ministers for justice of Ireland Parliamentary secretaries of the 5th Dáil People educated at Clongowes Wood College