Pierce McCan or McCann (2 August 1882 – 6 March 1919) was an Irish

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 ...

politician.

Career

McCan was born at Prospect Lodge, Ballyanne Desmesne,

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

,Anthony McCan
"The McCan family"
accessed 22 August 2010. the son of Francis McCan, a land agent, and Jane Power. He was nephew of Patrick Joseph Power, MP for East Waterford from 1885 to 1913.Irish Times, 10 March 1919, p. 7 He attended

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

and

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

. He resided at Ballyowen House, Dualla,

Cashel, County Tipperary Cashel (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,422 in the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of ''Cashel''. Additionally, the ''cathedra'' of the Roman Cathol ...

, was an "extensive farmer" and was a member of the Tipperary Hunt. He was a founder member of Sinn Féin in 1905. He joined the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

in 1909 and was a member 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 ...

from 1914 onward. After more than 2,000 German and Austrian prisoners were imprisoned at Richmond Barracks,

Templemore Templemore () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the historical Barony (Ireland), barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the Ecclesiastical parish, parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea i ...

following the first battles of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, he plotted to engineer a mass escape but was thwarted when the prisoners were removed to Leigh,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

in 1915. He was interned in 1916 after 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 ...

for several months in

Richmond Barracks Richmond Barracks was a British Army barracks in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a cultural centre. History The barracks, which were named after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, were completed in 1810 and first occupied by the Brit ...

, Dublin, and

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England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

.Notes from Adam's "Independence" auction catalogue
, accessed 22 August 2010. In May 1918, he was arrested under the German Plot and detained in Gloucester Gaol. McCan was president of the East Tipperary executive of

. While incarcerated, he elected as a

MP for the Tipperary East constituency at the 1918 general election. In January 1919, Sinn Féin MPs refused to recognise the

Parliament of the United Kingdom 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 ...

and instead assembled in the

Mansion House, Dublin The Mansion House () is a house on Dawson Street, Dublin, which has been the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715, and was also the meeting place of the Dáil Éireann from 1919 until 1922. History The first dedicated mayor ...

as a revolutionary parliament called

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 ...

. McCan never sat in Dáil Éireann, dying in prison in 1919 during the

Spanish flu pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest document ...

. On 9 March 1919, McCan was buried in Dualla,

Vacancy

No by-election was called to replace him in the UK constituency. After 1 April 1922, the

Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 The Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 ( 12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 4) was an act of the British Parliament passed on 31 March 1922. It gave the force of law to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which was scheduled to the Act. Main provisions Section 1(1) of ...

prohibited any by-election, and the constituency was abolished when parliament was dissolved on 26 October 1922 for the general election on 15 November. The First Dáil also considered how to fill the vacancy; a select committee in April recommended that the local Sinn Féin organisation which nominated him should nominate his replacement; a June proposal to postpone action, either for six months or until a Westminster by-election was held, was referred to another committee, which recommended that "in view of the circumstances which occasioned the vacancy, it was due to the memory of the late Pierce McCann that his place should not be filled at present".

Tribute on death

On 10 April 1919,

Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (; born Charles William St John Burgess; 18 July 1874 – 7 July 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first presid ...

told the

First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

: "Before I formally move the motion, as I have mentioned the name of Pierce McCan, I would ask the Members of the Dáil to stand up as a mark of our respect to the first man of our body to die for Ireland, and of our sympathy with his relatives. We are sure that their sorrow is lightened by the fact that his death was for the cause for which he would have lived, and that his memory will ever be cherished in the hearts of the comrades who knew him, and will be honoured by succeeding generations of his countrymen with that of the other martyrs of our holy cause." The McCan Barracks in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, is named after him.

Family

In the general election of January 1933, McCan's brother, Joseph, a member of the National Farmers' and Ratepayers' Association, stood unsuccessfully for the National Centre Party in the Tipperary constituency.Joseph McCann
Elections Ireland, accessed 22 August 2008.

References

Sources

* ''Allegiance'', Robert Brennan, (1950) * ''Memoirs of Senator Joseph Connolly: A Founder of Modern Ireland'', J. Anthony Gaughan (ed), (1996)

External links

McCan family census return, 1901

McCan's census return, 1911
* Anthony McCan
"The McCan family"
accessed 22 August 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:McCan, Pierce 1882 births 1919 deaths Irish people who died in prison custody Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 1st Dáil People educated at Clongowes Wood College Politicians from County Wexford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Tipperary constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1918–1922 Infectious disease deaths in England People of the Easter Rising Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in England Politicians imprisoned during the Irish revolutionary period Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention