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Matthias McDonnell Bodkin (8 October 1850 – 7 June 1933) was an
Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of ...
politician and MP. in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Gre ...
and Anti-Parnellite representative for North Roscommon, 1892–95, a noted author, journalist and newspaper editor, barrister (
King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...
(K.C.)), and County Court Judge for County Clare, 1907–24.


Early life

Bodkin was the second son of a doctor, Thomas Bodkin, MD FRCSI, of
Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...
,
County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...
(a descendant of
Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...
). His mother was Maria McDonnell of
Westport, County Mayo Westport (, historically anglicised as ''Cahernamart'') is a town in County Mayo in Ireland.Westport Before 1800 by Michael Kelly published in Cathair Na Mart 2019 It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on ...
, a cousin of
Antony MacDonnell, 1st Baron MacDonnell Lord MacDonnell Antony Patrick MacDonnell, 1st Baron MacDonnell, (7 March 1844 – 9 June 1925), known as Sir Antony MacDonnell between 1893 and 1908, was an Irish civil servant, much involved in the administration of India. He was Permanent U ...
(1844–1925). Bodkin was educated at the Christian Brothers' school, Tuam and at Tullabeg Jesuit College. He had wanted to go to the Anglican
Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
but his family objected on religious grounds and he attended the
Catholic University of Ireland The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ga, Ollscoil Chaitliceach na hÉireann) was a private Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University o ...
, which had a strong Roman Catholic ethos, instead. He was scathing about this experience:
"It is true I entered the so-called Catholic University, which had neither charter or endowment, and even obtained an exhibition on matriculation, but the business was so wholly futile that I abandoned it before six months was over, sacrificing my exhibition. A smattering of Terence was the only asset derived from that wasted six months."


Career


Early legal career

Bodkin was called to the Irish Law Bar in 1877 and entered practice as a barrister on the Connaught circuit.


Journalistic career

Bodkin's journalistic career began with reporting work for the ''
Freeman's Journal The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper. Patriot journal It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radi ...
'' while he was still a law student. He became politically active at the time of the
Coercion Act A Coercion Act was an Act of Parliament that gave a legal basis for increased state powers to suppress popular discontent and disorder. The label was applied, especially in Ireland, to acts passed from the 18th to the early 20th century by the I ...
of 1887, and defended a number of Irish Nationalists in court. He first came to political prominence at the time of the split in the
Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nation ...
over the leadership of
Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of th ...
, when Bodkin was a major protagonist on the anti-Parnellite
Irish National Federation The Irish National Federation (INF) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1891 by former members of the Irish National League (INL), after a split in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) on the leadership of Charl ...
side. As deputy to
William O'Brien William O'Brien (2 October 1852 – 25 February 1928) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of ...
, editor of the newspaper ''United Ireland'', he was in charge of the paper in O'Brien's absence in the US at the time of the split in December 1890, and brought it firmly out against Parnell. He was ousted from the editor's office by force when Parnell and his supporters reclaimed the paper. He published an alternative ''Suppressed United Ireland'' and then ''The Insuppressible'', which appeared up to 24 January 1891. Thereafter Bodkin was a leader writer on the ''Insuppressible'''s anti-Parnellite successor, the ''National Press''.


Political career

At Timothy Healy's urging, Bodkin stood for parliament against the veteran Parnellite J. J. O'Kelly at North Roscommon in 1892, winning by 3,251 votes to 3,199, a margin of only 52 votes. He later wrote an account of the election campaign (and of his legal experiences) in ''White Magic'' (1897). He stood down at the end of his first term in 1895, saying that he could not afford to continue losing earnings from the Bar: "my poverty, and not my will, refused". O'Kelly regained the seat. Thereafter Bodkin was chief leader writer on the ''Freeman's Journal''. Jointly with Thomas Sexton he founded ''The Irish Packet'' in 1903.


Later legal career

Bodkin's appointment as a County Court judge in 1907 was controversial among Nationalists who thought that offices should not be accepted from the British regime. The appointment was subjected to an unsuccessful legal challenge on the ground that Bodkin had retired from the Bar at the time; when asked in Parliament what had induced the (illiterate) complainant to lodge his affidavit against Bodkin, the then Chief Secretary for Ireland,
Augustine Birrell Augustine Birrell KC (19 January 185020 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for exten ...
, replied, apparently with complete truth: ‘A pint of porter’. Maume (1999, p. 92) says Bodkin had ‘dubious legal qualifications’, but there is no doubt that he had wide experience as a barrister and on his own account had defended some twenty people on capital charges.Bodkin (1914), p. 140 While a judge in 1921, Bodkin published accounts of abuses by the
Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...
in
County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...
, which received wide publicity.


Writings

Bodkin was a prolific author, in a wide range of genres, including history, novels (contemporary and historical), plays, and political campaigning texts. The catalogues of the British Library and National Library of Ireland list some 39 publications between them. Some books were published under the
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
Crom a Boo. Bodkin earned a place in the history of the detective novel by virtue of his invention of the first detective family. His character Paul Beck, a private detective with comfortable lodgings in Chester, was an Irish Sherlock Holmes with a very original yet logical method for detecting crime. Beck first appeared in ''Paul Beck, the rule of thumb detective'' in 1899. In the following year Bodkin's creation ''Dora Myrl, the lady detective'', made her first appearance. In ''The Capture of Paul Beck'' (1909), Bodkin had them marry each other and in 1911 their son appeared, in ''Paul Beck, a chip off the old block''. Other titles in this series were ''The Quests of Paul Beck'' (1908), ''Pigeon Blood Rubies'' (1915) and ''Paul Beck, detective'' (1929). Bodkin's historical novel ''Lord Edward Fitzgerald'' (1896) was dedicated to
William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...
with the latter's permission. It was one of three novels set at the time of the
Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
. Bodkin's autobiography ''Recollections of an Irish Judge'' is a valuable historical source, particularly on the Parnellite split, although being published when he was only 64 it does not cover the last 20 years of his life. Its title is misleading since it contains little on Bodkin's life as a judge, but a great deal on his experiences in politics and journalism.


Selected publications

*''“The Devil's Work" on the Clanricarde Estate''. London: Irish Press Agency, 1890. *''Poteen Punch: strong, hot and sweet, made and mixed by “Crom a Boo”, being a succession of Irish after-dinner stories, etc.''. Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son, 1890. *''Lord Edward Fitzgerald, An historical romance''. Dublin: Talbot Press, 1896. *''White Magic: a novel''. London: Chapman & Hall, 1897. *''In the days of Goldsmith''. London: J. Long, 1903. *''Patsey the Omadaun''. London: Chatto & Windus, 1904. *''The quests of Paul Beck''. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1908. *''The capture of Paul Beck''. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1909. *''Grattan’s Parliament, before and after''. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1912. *''Recollections of an Irish Judge: Press, Bar and Parliament''. London: Hurst & Blackett, 1914. *''Pigeon-Blood Rubies''. London: Eveleigh Nash, 1915. *''Ulster’s Opportunity: a united Ireland'', by an Irish K.C. Dublin: Duffy, 1917. *
Famous Irish Trials
'. Dublin & London: Maunsel, 1918 (reissued, Dublin: Ashfield Press, 1997). *''When Youth Meets Youth''. Dublin, Talbot Press; London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1920. *''A Judicial Report on the devastation of County Clare''. Dublin: Talbot Press, 1921. *''Blessed Bernadette''. Dublin: Irish Messenger, 1929. *''Guilty or Not Guilty?''. Dublin: Talbot Press, 1929.


Personal life

In 1885 he married Arabella, daughter of Francis Norman of Dublin. They had several children including Matthew, Jr. (b. 1896), who became a Jesuit priest and in his turn a well-known author mainly of religious works, and Thomas Bodkin, who was the Director of the
National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another o ...
and the
Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert A ...
. Two of Matthias and Arabella's daughters became nuns.


Footnotes


Sources

*''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet n ...
'', 8 June 1933 *
F. S. L. Lyons Francis Stewart Leland Lyons (11 November 1923 – 21 September 1983) was an Irish historian and academic who was Provost of Trinity College Dublin from 1974 to 1981. Biography Known as Le among his friends and family, Lyons was born in Derry, ...
, ''The Fall of Parnell 1890–91'', London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1960 *Patrick Maume, ''The Long Gestation: Irish Nationalist Life 1891–1918'', Dublin, Gill & MacMillan, 1999 *Brian M. Walker (ed.), ''Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922'', Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, 1978 *''Who Was Who, 1929–1940''


External links


Catalogue of the Bodkin papers, National Archives of Ireland
* *

at manybooks.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodkin, Matthias Mcdonnell 1850 births 1933 deaths Anti-Parnellite MPs Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Irish journalists Irish barristers Irish writers Irish newspaper editors Irish mystery writers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Roscommon constituencies (1801–1922) People educated at St Stanislaus College Place of birth missing Place of death missing Politicians from County Galway UK MPs 1892–1895 Alumni of King's Inns People from Tuam Writers from County Galway Lawyers from County Galway People educated at St Patrick's College, Tuam