Michael MacDonagh (26 August 1860 – 27 February 1946) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

author and journalist. From 1894 until 1933 he wrote for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' as a member of their parliamentary and reporting staff.'Mr. M. MacDonagh', ''The Times'' (1 March 1946), p. 7.

Early life and career

He was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and educated at the Christian Brothers' School. He began writing 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 ...

'' when he was 21, and was their special correspondent for eight years. In 1887 he was appointed as sketch writer 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. ...

. He joined ''The Times'' in 1894 and reported on major events such as

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's Diamond Jubilee and the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. He also wrote campaign articles for the paper during

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. As well as his work for ''The Times'', MacDonagh contributed articles to magazines on his favourite subjects of Irish history and literature, and parliamentary procedures and traditions. He authored biographies of

James Warren Doyle James Warren Doyle, O.E.S.A. (1786–1834) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin in Ireland, who used the signature "JKL", an acronym from "James Kildare and Leighlin." Doyle was active in the Anti-Tithe movement. A campaigner for ...

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

and

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 ...

, and was a supporter of the

Irish Home Rule movement The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the ...

. Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

the leader of the

Irish Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party was a term commonly used to describe a number of parliamentary political parties and constituency organisations supportive of Home Rule for Ireland from 1874 to 1922. It was also the name of the main Irish nationalist Nat ...

John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as leader of the moderate Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) from 1 ...

, had promised MacDonagh the office of Clerk of the Irish House of Commons but subsequent events prevented his appointment. His ideal was a

united Ireland United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...

, loyal to the crown and inside the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

, and he opposed the

partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northe ...

between north and south. MacDonagh was one of the first members of the

Institute of Journalists The Chartered Institute of Journalists is a professional association for journalists and is the senior such body in the UK and the oldest in the world. History The ''Chartered Institute of Journalists'' was proposed during a meeting in Manchest ...

and he was a founder of the

Irish Literary Society The Irish Literary Society was founded in London in 1892 by William Butler Yeats, T. W. Rolleston ,and Charles Gavan Duffy. Members of the Southwark Irish Literary Club met in Clapham Reform Club and changed the name early in the year. On 13 Februa ...

, for which he later served as vice-president. In 1924 he was elected chairman of the

Press Gallery {{Short description, Parliamentary reporters The press gallery is the part of a parliament, or other legislative body, where political journalists are allowed to sit or gather to observe and then report speeches and events. This is generally one of ...

. He also wrote entries for the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''.''Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. LVII. Tom—Tyler'', ed. Sidney Lee (London: Smith, Elder & Co, 1899), p. v.

Personal life

In 1888 he married Mary Josephine (''d''. 1924) and they had one son. ''The Times'' said MacDonagh was a "staunch

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, and one of the most tolerant of men".

Works

*''Irish Graves in England: A Series of Articles'' (Dublin: Evening Telegraph Office, 1888). *''Bishop Doyle "J.K.L.": A Biographical and Historical Study'' (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1896). *''Irish Life and Character'' (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1898). *''Parliament—Its Romance, Its Comedy, Its Pathos'' (Westminster: P.S. King & Son, 1902). *''The Life of Daniel O'Connell'' (London: Cassel & Co, 1903). *''The Viceroy's Post-bag; Correspondence, Hitherto Unpublished, of The Earl of Hardwicke, First Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, After the Union'' (London: John Murray, 1904). *''The Reporters' Gallery'' (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1913). *''The Speaker of the House of Commons'' (London: Methuen, 1914). *''The Irish at the Front'' (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1916). *''The Irish on the Somme; Being the Second Series of "The Irish at the Front"'' (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1917). *''The Book of Parliament'' (London: Isbister, 1917). *''The Home Rule Movement'' (Dublin: Talbot Press; London: T. F. Unwin, 1920). *''The Pageant of Parliament'' (London: T. F. Unwin, 1921). *''The Life of William O'Brien, the Irish Nationalist: A Biographical Study of Irish Nationalism, Constitutional and Revolutionary'' (London: Ernest Benn, 1928). *''Daniel O'Connell and the Story of Catholic Emancipation'' (London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd, 1929). *''The English King: A Study of the Monarchy and the Royal Family, Historical, Constitutional and Social'' (London: Ernest Benn, 1929). *''In London during the Great War'' (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1935).

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonagh, Michael 1860 births 1946 deaths Irish journalists Writers from Limerick (city) Freeman's Journal people The Times journalists Contributors to the Dictionary of National Biography