Maurice Edward Dockrell (6 October 1908 – 9 December 1986) 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 who 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 ...

at ten successive general elections, serving 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 thirty-four years. He has been described as "a Protestant with a Unionist pedigree". The second son of

Henry Morgan Dockrell Henry Morgan Dockrell (17 April 1880 – 26 October 1955) was an Irish Cumann na nGaedheal and Fine Gael politician who was elected to both Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. Early life Dockrell was born on 17 April 1880 at the family home, 1 ...

, he was born on 6 October 1908 at 1 Herbert Park, Dublin. He was educated at

St Andrew's College, Dublin St Andrew's College Dublin () is a co-educational, inter-denominational, international private day school, founded in 1894 by members of the Presbyterian community, and now located in Booterstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The schoo ...

; and

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bac ...

in 1930. In the same year he became a director of Thomas Dockrell, Sons & Co. On his father's death in 1955 he assumed the position of chairman and managing director.

Political career

He was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD for the Dublin South constituency at the 1943 general election, and re-elected at the 1944 general election. After constituency boundaries were redrawn in 1947, Dockrell was returned at the 1948 general election for the Dublin South-Central constituency, which re-elected him on five further elections. He was then elected twice as a TD for

Dublin Central Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin i ...

, at the

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

general elections. He stood for Dublin South-Central at the 1977 general election but lost his seat in the

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 ...

landslide of that year. From 1960 to 1961, he was the

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

. During his term of office he raised the hackles of some Protestants when, in a gesture of ecumenism, he kissed the ring of the papal legate to the Patrician celebrations in June 1961. Always keen to build bridges between Ireland and Britain, he paid an official visit to London in June 1961, when he laid a wreath at

The Cenotaph The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the dead of Britain and the British Empire of the First World War, was rededica ...

, a gesture later described in his Times obituary as 'an act of piety that involved some political risk'. His father, Henry Morgan Dockrell, and his brother, H. Percy Dockrell were also

TDs. His grandfather, Sir Maurice Dockrell, had been a Unionist MP before independence. His son Henry Morgan Dockrell was elected to

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

in 1967. His grandson Maurice Dockrell was co-opted onto

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council () is the local authority of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that succeeded the former Dublin County Council on its abolition on 1 January 1994 a ...

in 2020, making him the fifth generation of the family to serve either at national or local level. During a 1975 debate on reform of the country's conservative laws against contraceptives, he is alleged to have said "I'm for it, but I'm past it".

References

Political career

See also

References