Richard Lalor (1823 – 13 November 1893) was
Irish Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
Member of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...
for
Queen's County, 1880–85 and for
Queen's County (Leix), 1885–92.
He was the son of
Patrick "Patt" Lalor of Tenakill, Mountrath, Queen's County, who had himself been an M.P. for Queen's County in 1832–35. His eldest brother was
James Fintan Lalor and his younger brother was the Australian politician
Peter Lalor
Peter Fintan Lalor (; 5 February 1827 – 9 February 1889) was an Irish-Australian rebel and, later, politician who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event identified with the "birth of democracy" in Australia ...
. His mother was Anna, daughter of Patrick Dillon of Sheane. He was educated privately and became a civil engineer and tenant farmer. Like his brother James Fintan, he was a
Young Irelander. In 1852 he married Margaret, daughter of Michael Dunne of Mountrath. He became a magistrate for Queen's County.
He headed the poll as a
Parnellite Home Ruler in the election for the two Queen's County seats in 1880, ousting the former Home Rule member,
Kenelm Digby. He then won the new Queen's County (Leix) seat in 1885, defeating his Conservative opponent by more than 7 to 1. He won again in 1886, by an even bigger margin.
T. P. O'Connor described him in 1886: "Today he is a feeble and bent man with wearied eyes and a thin voice, but his spirit is exactly the same as in his hot youth. In 1848 he had his pike and his thousands of pikemen ready for action; today, as then, he is the unconquerable and irreclaimable rebel – the
Blanqui of Irish politics."
When 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 nation ...
split in December 1890 over the leadership of
Charles Stewart Parnell, Lalor supported Parnell. However failing health prevented him from campaigning in the general election of 1892, and he was ousted from his seat.
He died at his home at Tenakill, Queen's County, on Monday 13 November 1893. His grandson
John Lalor Fitzpatrick
John Lalor Fitzpatrick (1875 – 8 December 1956) was Irish Parliamentary Party MP for Queen's County Ossory from 1916 to 1918. historical list of constituencies and MPs
He was the grandson of the MP for Queen's County Leix Richard Lalor whose ...
(1875–1956) was also a nationalist member of the House of Commons for the Ossory division of Queen's County (1916–18).
[Patrick F. Meehan "The members of Parliament for Lais and Offaly 1801-1918" Leinster Express Press 1972 Portaloise p. 78]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalor, Richard
1823 births
1893 deaths
Alumni of Carlow College
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Queen's County constituencies (1801–1922)
UK MPs 1880–1885
UK MPs 1885–1886
UK MPs 1886–1892