Louis Joseph Walsh (1880 – 26 December 1942) was an

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

activist and author. Born in

Maghera Maghera ( ; ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,235 in the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Formerly in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Loughinsholin within the historic County ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

, Walsh was educated at

St Columb's College St Columb's College is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. Since 2008, it has been a specialist school in mathematics. It is named after Saint Columba, the missionary monk from County Donegal who founded a monast ...

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 joined 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 ...

. His sister was

Helena Concannon Helena Concannon (; 28 October 1878 – 27 February 1952) was an Irish historian, writer, language scholar and Fianna Fáil politician. Born in Maghera, County Londonderry, she attended secondary school in Dublin in Loreto North Great Georges S ...

. He was a contemporary of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

, who caricatured him as Hughes in ''

Stephen Hero ''Stephen Hero'' is a posthumously published autobiographical novel by Irish author James Joyce. It is the early version of '' A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.'' Its published form reflects only a portion of the manuscript: the first 5 ...

''. Walsh qualified as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

, initially practising in Maghera, before moving to

Ballycastle, County Antrim Ballycastle () is a small seaside town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is on the north-easternmost coastal tip of Ireland, in the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Ballycastle lies at roughly the midpoint of the ...

. He wrote three plays in this period, ''The Pope in Killybuck'', ''The Guileless Saxon'' and ''The Next Time: a story of Forty-eight''. Walsh did not participate in the

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 ...

, but the events radicalised him, and 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 ...

, standing unsuccessfully for the party in South Londonderry at the 1918 general election. In 1920, troops raided his office, planning to intern him, but he had already fled. After spending time on the run in the

Glens of Antrim The Glens of Antrim ( Irish: ''Glinnte Aontroma''), known locally as simply The Glens, is a region of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It comprises nine glens, that radiate from the Antrim Plateau to the coast. The Glens are an area of outstand ...

, he was eventually captured back in Maghera. Although conditions were generally tough, he was able to direct a performance of ''The Pope in Killybuck'', performed by other internees. He stood unsuccessfully in Antrim at the 1921 Stormont election, and was released around the time of the election. On release, Walsh moved to

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, where he was the first district judge appointed by the Dáil. He wrote short stories and some non-fiction works, and also contributed columns to newspapers in support of traditional

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

values.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Louis Joseph 1880 births 1942 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin Irish solicitors People educated at St Columb's College People from Maghera District Court (Ireland) judges Sinn Féin parliamentary candidates Lawyers from County Londonderry