Patrick John Little (17 June 1884 – 16 May 1963) 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. A founder-member of the party, he served in a number of cabinet positions, most notably as the country's longest-serving

Minister for Posts and Telegraphs The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs () was the holder of a position in the Government of Ireland (and, earlier, in the Executive Council of the Irish Free State). From 1924 until 1984 – when it was abolished – the minister headed the Dep ...

Early life

Born in Dundrum,

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 ...

, Little was the son of Philip Francis Little and Mary Jane Holdright. Both his parents were Canadian natives, while his father had served as the first Premier of Newfoundland before settling in Ireland. Here he became involved in the

Irish Home Rule Movement The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, 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 ...

. Little was educated at Clongowes Wood College, before later attending

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. Here he studied law and qualified as a solicitor in 1914.

Revolutionary years

Little was engaged in the independence struggle from an early stage. Following the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

in 1916, he formed, together with Stephen O'Mara, the Irish Nation League, who while being opposed to 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 ...

and supportive of abstentionism, were wary of the militarism of 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 1918 the Volunteers, the Irish Nation League, and the Liberty Clubs, followers of George Noble Plunkett, agreed to merge under 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 ...

banner with

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 ...

as President to fight the 1918 general election on an abstentionist platform. Little contested the constituency of Dublin Rathmines but lost to Unionist Maurice Dockrell, the only Unionist elected in the area that would become

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

outside of Dublin University. He remained in the background of Sinn Féin for the next number of years. In 1921 he was sent to South Africa to represent the government of the

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...

. 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 ...

and fought with the Four Courts Garrison 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 became the first editor of ''

An Phoblacht ''An Phoblacht'' (Irish pronunciation: ; ) is a Sinn Féin-affiliated online Irish republicanism, Irish republican news platform which also publishes a quarterly print magazine format. Editorially the paper takes a Left-wing politics, left-wing ...

'' in 1925. He also edited other republican newspapers including '' New Ireland'', ''Éire'' and ''Sinn Féin''.

Political career

Little joined

shortly after its foundation in 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 ...

as a TD for the

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

constituency at the June 1927 general election. He represented the constituency until 1954. Little was appointed Government Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for External Affairs in 1933. Little was appointed

in 1939 and remained in this office until 1948, when Fianna Fáil failed to form a government. He was not reappointed to the cabinet when Fianna Fáil returned to office in 1951. In 1952, following the death of Bridget Redmond, Fianna Fáil won the resulting by-election and held three out of four seats in the constituency. This would have been unsustainable at the next general election so Little did not contest the 1954 general election.

Retirement

He was the first chairman of the Arts Council from 1951 until 1956. He was responsible for the development of the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra. In 1957 he was appointed to the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

by Seán T. O'Kelly. He was re-appointed to the Council by

in 1959. Little died in May 1963. He is a grand-uncle of

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

MEP

Ciarán Cuffe Ciarán Cuffe (born 3 April 1963) is an Irish politician who has been co-chair of the European Green Party (EGP) since December 2024. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency from July 2019 ...

References

Early life

Revolutionary years

Political career

Retirement

See also

References