Matthew Henry McCloskey Jr. (February 26, 1893 – April 26, 1973) was a

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

businessman and Democratic fundraiser who served as

United States Ambassador to Ireland The United States ambassador to Ireland is the ambassador, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is considered a highly prestigious position within the United States F ...

from 1962 to 1964.

Biography

McCloskey was born in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, and moved to

with his family when he was two years old. At the age of 15 he left school and started working in construction; after a few years he started his own company. Buildings by the McCloskey Construction Company include the

Rayburn House Office Building The Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB) is a congressional office building for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., between South Capitol Street and First Street. Rayburn is named after fo ...

Philadelphia Convention Hall, the Philadelphia Sheraton Hotel, and District of Columbia Stadium (now RFK Stadium). "Matt: A Biography of Matthew H. McCloskey" by Robert J Ehlinger details McCloskey's life story. From 1943 to 1948, to help with the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

efforts, McCloskey & Company built ships at the McCloskey & Company Shipyard in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

Democratic Party

McCloskey was an active

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in 1936, 1940, 1944 and 1948. In 1955, he became Treasurer of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

, a role he held until 1962. He is credited with inventing $100-a-plate fundraising dinners.

Ambassador to Ireland

In 1962, McCloskey was appointed ambassador to Ireland by

President Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. After confirmation by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, he presented his credentials to Irish leaders on July 19, 1962, and had the official title of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Resignation

In early 1964, it was reported that McCloskey would resign his Ireland post in order to assist with fundraising for that year's

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

. Shortly thereafter, his construction firm was named in a lawsuit alleging defective work during construction of a hospital in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and in an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

investigation into the awarding of contracts for District of Columbia Stadium work. His resignation as ambassador became official on June 7, 1964.

Personal life

McCloskey and his wife had six children, including

Thomas McCloskey Thomas D. McCloskey (May 27, 1924 – October 31, 2004) was a Philadelphia construction magnate. He became the president of McCloskey & Company, Builders, in 1961 when his father, former Democratic National Treasurer Matthew H. McCloskey, was appo ...

who succeeded his father in running the construction company. McCloskey died in Philadelphia in April 1973.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCloskey, Matthew Henry 1893 births 1973 deaths Businesspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia Ambassadors of the United States to Ireland 20th-century American businesspeople Democratic National Committee treasurers