Patrick Joseph Ruttledge (1 January 1892 – 8 May 1952) 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 who served as Minister for Local Government and Public Health from 1939 to 1941, Minister for Justice from 1933 to 1939, Minister for Lands and Fisheries from 1932 to 1933 and Vice President of Sinn Féin from 1923 to 1926. He served 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) from 1921 to 1951. Born in Ballina,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

, in 1892. He was educated at St Muredach's College and later at St. Enda's School, Rathfarnham,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, run by Patrick Pearse. After studying at

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 ...

, he qualified as a solicitor in 1918 and built up a practice in his home town."Obituary: Mr P. J. Ruttledge, T. D.", ''The Irish Times'', 9 May 1952. During the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

he was active in 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 ...

. He was a close friend of Seán Mac Diarmada, with whom he lived for some time. He also took part in local politics, becoming chair of Ballina Urban Council from 1919 to 1932 and chair of Mayo County Council from 1922 to 1926. 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 ...

in 1921 as a

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 ...

TD for Mayo North and West. He opposed the

Anglo-Irish Treaty 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 ...

of 1921 and joined the Republican forces and was seriously injured during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. He was re-elected to the Dáil again in 1923 for Mayo North and in a further ten elections until 1951. In 1926, Ruttledge was a founder-member of

. In the Dail (in 1928) Ruttledge put forth a proposal for a committee to review the many long prison sentences under which many Republicans were still being held. He stated that the long sentences "reflected a partisan spirit in keeping with the vendetta by prominent political leaders at the time."

Cabinet positions

He joined the cabinet of

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

in 1932, serving as Minister for Lands and Fisheries, Minister for Justice and Minister for Local Government and Public Health, resigning in 1941 for the officially stated reason of "ill health". However, it is speculated by some historians that his actual motivation for the resignation was that he morally objected to the execution of IRA members by the Fianna Fáil government. Ruttledge continued to work as TD for over a decade after his resignation despite his "ill health".

Minister of Justice

During Ruttledge's tenure as Minister for Justice, three IRA men were executed for IRA activities but eight others had their death sentences commuted. Ruttledge worked to suppress a movement he considered to be fascist (the

Blueshirts The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, known by the nickname the Blueshirts (), was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded in 1932.New Irish Army Arises, Ne ...

). In February 1933 he had their leader

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier, police commissioner, politician and fascist. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a promin ...

removed from his position as the Commissioner of the Irish national police force - the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

. In 1934 Ruttledge introduced anti-fascist legislation that would prevent the Blueshirts from wearing their uniforms in public (also known as the Blueshirts Bill). In 1937 Ruttledge banned the annual IRA Easter Rising commemoration in Castlebar,

. Violence ensued with police baton charging marchers with numerous injuries and 13 arrests for Civil Disobedience (including future hunger striker Jack McNeela). Ruttledge died in 1952 while still a member of the Dáil. He was described by ''The Irish Times'' as 'a gentle, kind and upright man'. He married Helena Roddy in 1928, and they had one son who died young and three daughters. A horse breeder, he was a member of the Turf Club and won the Irish Derby with Mondragon in 1939.

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