Michael Richard Heffernan (3 April 1885 – 21 November 1970) was an Irish politician, sportsperson and soldier.

Early life

While working as a bank clerk in

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. Located ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Heffernan played rugby for

Cork Constitution The Cork Constitution (CC) is a rugby union club based in Cork, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. It was founded by staff of the '' Cork Constitution'' newspaper. Since the paper did not publish on Sundays, the staff were lo ...

in the 1900s and by 1911 had risen to the level of playing for the

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champio ...

, earning 4 caps including one against England and one against France. He had also played for

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby () is one of the professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union, ...

. In 1911 Heffernan emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, continuing his career as a bank clerk there. In 1914 he enlisted with the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

and fought 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 ...

. Following the war he returned to Ireland and began farming on the family holding at Kilmurray Lodge, Ballyneally, near Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary in 1920.

Political career

Heffernan was county secretary of the South Tipperary Farmers Association. He was first 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 the 1923 general election as a Farmers' Party

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 Tipperary. In 1927 he became the final leader of the Farmers' Party. He led the party into coalition with

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; ) was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. It was named after the original Cumann na nGaedheal organisation which merged with the Dungannon Clubs and the National Co ...

and for this he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs

Ernest Blythe Ernest William Blythe (; 13 April 1889 – 23 February 1975) was an Irish journalist, politician and managing director of the Abbey Theatre. He served as Minister for Local Government from 1922 to 1923, Minister for Finance from 1923 to 1932 ...

from 1927 to 1932. By 1932 the Farmer's Party had lost its voter base of farmers to Cumann na nGaedheal, who were able to secure the backing of large farmers, and to Fianna Fáil, who were able to secure the backing of the farmers with smallholdings. In the face of this, the Farmer's Party dissolved, with both their supporters and their members going in three directions: Cumann na nGaedheal, Fianna Fáil, and a final holdout cohort who created the short-lived National Centre Party. Heffernan himself joined Cumann na nGaedheal, standing as one of their candidates at the 1932 general election. He was not successful however and ended up losing his seat. Following his defeat he retired from politics.

Later life

He was manager of the

Arklow Pottery Arklow Pottery was an Irish pottery company which operated from 1934 to 1998. The company produced many decorative earthenware goods and general table crockery. History Arklow Pottery was founded in 1934 and formally opened by Seán Lemass (Min ...

plant in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

from 1934 until his retirement. He died at his home in

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is a village in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown county southeast of Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became a port in the Middle Ages. According to chronicler John Clyn (c.1286–c.1349), it was one of the port ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

on 21 November 1970, aged 85 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heffernan, Michael 1885 births 1970 deaths Farmers' Party (Ireland) TDs Members of the 4th Dáil Members of the 5th Dáil Members of the 6th Dáil 20th-century Irish farmers Politicians from County Tipperary Parliamentary secretaries of the 6th Dáil Cumann na nGaedheal candidates in Dáil elections Irish rugby union players Rugby union players from County Tipperary Ireland international rugby union players Munster Rugby players Cork Constitution players