Thomas Harris (1895 – 18 February 1974) 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 native of Cloncurry, he was raised in Prosperous,

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

by his aunt Elizabeth Tierney.

Revolutionary period

As a young man he joined

Conradh na Gaeilge (; 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 emer ...

in Prosperous, and subsequently joined the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

. Harris fought with the

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

contingent in 1916

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 Dublin. He was wounded by gunshot wound to right foot, arrested and interned until August 1916. He was captain of the Prosperous Company in 1917 and during the War of Independence served as Battalion Commandant of 2 Battalion (North Kildare), IRA. He took part in destruction of vacated RIC barracks and ambushes up until his arrest in November 1920. Harris was released in December 1921 during the Truce period and was promoted in early 1922 to Brigade Commandant of 7 Brigade (Kildare), 1 Eastern Division, IRA. Taking the anti Treaty side in 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 ...

, Harris was captured by National forces on 27 June 1922 (the night before the Four Courts attack) but escaped from Newbridge Camp, County Kildare in October 1922. He resumed active service but resigned from his position as Brigade Commandant in February 1923. Remaining on the run, Harris was captured in September 1923 and interned for about one month. He later applied to the Irish government for a service pension under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934 and was awarded 11 and 123/500 years service in 1936 at Grade C for his service with the Irish Volunteers and the IRA between 1 April 1916 and 30 September 1923.Irish Military Archives, Military Service (1916-1923) Pension Collection, Thomas Harris, MSP34REF16113. Available online at http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/search.aspx?formtype=advanced.

Politics

A farmer, Harris was first elected to the

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

constituency in a by-election in June 1931 caused by the death of Labour Party TD, Hugh Colohan. With just over 40% of the vote Harris defeated

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; ) was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. It was named after the original Cumann na nGaedheal organisation which merged with the Dungannon Clubs and the National Co ...

candidate John Curton and future Labour Party leader,

William Norton William Joseph Norton (2 November 1900 – 4 December 1963) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1960, Minister for Social Welfare from ...

. He served as a member of

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 ...

for the next 26 years representing the constituencies of Kildare from 1931 to 1937, Carlow–Kildare from 1937 to 1948, and Kildare again from 1948 to 1957. He lost his seat at the 1957 general election and retired from politics. Harris was related to Matthew Harris, MP for Galway East from 1885 to 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Thomas 1895 births 1974 deaths Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 6th Dáil Members of the 7th Dáil Members of the 8th Dáil Members of the 9th Dáil Members of the 10th Dáil Members of the 11th Dáil Members of the 12th Dáil Members of the 13th Dáil Members of the 14th Dáil Members of the 15th Dáil Politicians from County Kildare 20th-century Irish farmers People from Maynooth People from Prosperous, County Kildare