Neal Blaney (5 November 1889 – 30 October 1948) was an Irish

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 ...

politician, and long-serving member of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

Early life and revolutionary period

Neal Blaney was born in Rosnakill,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, the fifth of six children of William Blaney, a small farmer, and Anna Blaney (née Sweeney). In 1913 Blaney joined the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

in Rosnakill and in 1914 was appointed company captain. He was the first president of the Rosnakill branch of

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 ...

(founded 1916), and was active in

Joseph O'Doherty Joseph O'Doherty (24 December 1891 – 10 August 1979) was an Irish teacher, barrister, revolutionary, politician, county manager, member of the First Dáil and of the Seanad Éireann (Irish Free State), Irish Free State Seanad. Family Joseph ...

's 1918 general election campaign. In 1920 he was appointed officer in charge of the

Fanad Fanad (official name: Fánaid) is a peninsula that lies between Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. The origin of the name Fanad derives from the Irish language word Fána for "sloping ground". It is als ...

Battalion, 1st Northern Division of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

. Arrested on 18 March 1921, Blaney was sentenced to seven years penal servitude and imprisoned at Durham Prison, England until his release in January 1922 following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. During the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, Blaney was second-in-command of

Anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

Donegal no. 2 Brigade before being captured by Free State forces in December 1922. His death sentence for possession of a firearm was commuted after the ceasefire order, and he was released in June 1924. Blaney applied to the Irish government for a service pension under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934 and was awarded 7 and 23/24 years service in 1937 at Grade C for his service with the Irish Volunteers and the IRA between 1 April 1917 and 30 September 1923. Irish Military Archives, Military Service (1916-1923) Pension Collection, Neil Blaney, MSP34REF32265. Available online at http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/search.aspx?formtype=advanced.

Politics

He was first elected 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) to the 5th Dáil for the Donegal constituency at the June 1927 general election. He retained his seat at subsequent general elections until it was abolished in boundary changes for the 1937 general election when he was returned for the new Donegal East constituency. He lost his seat at the 1938 general election, and was elected to the

3rd Seanad The 3rd Seanad was in office from 1938 to 1943. An election to Seanad Éireann, the Senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1938 general election to the 10th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 4th Sean ...

on the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 ...

, serving until 1943. He returned to

11th Dáil The 11th Dáil was elected at the 1943 general election on 23 June 1943 and met on 1 July 1943. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat with the 4th Seana ...

at the 1943 general election, and was re-elected at the 1944 general election. In early October 1948 he was diagnosed as suffering from cancer, and died on 30 October 1948, after being returned to the

13th Dáil The 13th Dáil was elected at the 1948 general election on 4 February 1948 and first met on 18 February 1948. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. It sat with ...

at the 1948 general election. In the resulting by-election on 7 December 1948, his son Neil Blaney was elected as the new TD for Donegal East. Blaney was a director of the Milford Bakery Company, and also of the Donegal Bacon Company, Letterkenny, which he was instrumental in founding. Another son, Harry Blaney, and Harry's son Niall Blaney, were later elected as TDs for the Donegal North-East constituency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaney, Neal 1889 births 1948 deaths Neal Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 5th Dáil Members of the 6th Dáil Members of the 7th Dáil Members of the 8th Dáil Members of the 9th Dáil Members of the 3rd Seanad Members of the 11th Dáil Members of the 12th Dáil Members of the 13th Dáil Fianna Fáil senators Agricultural Panel senators

Early life and revolutionary period

Politics

See also

References