Michael Joyce (4 September 1851 – 9 January 1941) was an Irish politician who twice served as

Mayor of Limerick The Mayor of Limerick is the head of the local government of the Limerick, City and County Limerick, County of Limerick. It is a directly elected office with a five-year term. Following the 2024 Limerick mayoral election, John Moran (Mayor of Li ...

and was the Member of Parliament for the Limerick City constituency of the

United Kingdom Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

from 1900 until 1918.

Early life

Joyce was born at Merchant's Quay in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

in 1851. His father was a

river pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots know local details s ...

on the

Shannon Estuary The Shannon Estuary in Ireland () is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick City at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to the south. Th ...

approach to the port of Limerick. He was educated by the Christian Brothers, attending three of their schools, including

CBS Sexton Street CBS Sexton Street (also referred to as Coláiste Mhichíl) is a Christian Brothers secondary school located in Limerick, Ireland. The school has approximately 340 students. The current principal is Denis O'Connor, and the current vice princip ...

. At the age of fourteen, Joyce left Limerick to serve as a seaman. During his time at sea, he survived four separate shipwrecks. Following his return to Limerick in the early 1870s, he became a pilot for Limerick Harbour Commissioners.

Political career

A supporter of

Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

for Ireland, Joyce, along with a local priest Robert Ambrose, established the local Limerick branch, the ''Sarsfield branch'', of the

Irish National League The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League ...

in 1882. In 1899, Joyce was elected to Limerick Corporation and stood for election to Parliament at the 1900 general election as a candidate for 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 nati ...

, defeating the Unionist candidate Francis Kearney by 2521 votes to 474. Joyce was also elected Mayor of Limerick in January 1905, serving two successive terms until January 1907. Michael Joyce served as an MP until 1918. Although intending to run in the 1918 general election, he eventually decided not to seek re-election and was succeeded by the

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 ...

candidate

Michael Colivet Michael Patrick Colivet (29 May 1884 – 4 May 1955) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was Commander of the Irish Volunteers in Limerick during the 1916 Easter Rising, and was elected to the First Dáil. Early life Michael Patrick Colivet ...

, who was elected unopposed. Joyce became president of the U.K. Pilots' Association in 1910 (later known as the U.K.

Maritime Pilots A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots know local details s ...

' Association). He was also a founder member of the rugby club Garryowen in 1884, and played in the first fifteen for both that club and Limerick County. He was a member of St Michael's Temperance Society where he played Gaelic football. In 1900 he became the first Captain of St Michael's Rowing Club. While travelling to London aboard the in October 1918, Joyce survived his fifth maritime disaster, when the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

References

External links

* 1851 births 1941 deaths Garryowen Football Club players Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Mayors of Limerick (city) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Limerick constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Rugby union players from Limerick (city) {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub