The Rt. Hon. Walter MacMurrough Kavanagh, PC (14 January 1856 – 18 July 1922), was a Member of Parliament (MP) who represented

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

from 1908 to 1910. He was the son of Mary Frances () and

Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh (25 March 1831 – 25 December 1889) was an Irish politician. His middle name is spelt MacMorrough in some contemporaneous sources. Biography Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh was born on 25 March 1831 at Borris House in C ...

who also served as MP for Carlow. His paternal grandmother Lady Harriet Kavanagh is thought to be the first Irish woman to travel in Egypt and insisted on his father, who was born with vestigial limbs, being raised to have the same opportunities as any other child. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He went on to hold a commission in the 5th Battalion of the

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an light infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal ...

before leaving the Army to concentrate on the management of his estate at

Borris House Borris House is an Irish Estate (land)#Country house estate, country house near Borris, County Carlow. It is the ancestral home of the Caomhánach, McMorrough-Kavanagh family. History Borris House was constructed in Tudor architecture, Tudor s ...

. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Carlow The High Sheriff of Carlow was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Carlow, Ireland from the 14th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Carlow County Sheriff. The sh ...

in 1884 and

High Sheriff of Wexford The High Sheriff of Wexford was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Wexford, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Wexford County Sheriff ...

in 1893. His candidature for the by-election, caused by the death of John Hammond, was endorsed by Dr

Patrick Foley Patrick Foley (8 March 1858 – 24 July 1926) was a Roman Catholic professor, priest and Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. Biography Foley was born in 1858 at Mensal Lodge, Old Leighlin, County Carlow, the fourth son of Patrick Foley and Mary ...

, Lord Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin (and former President of Carlow College), due to Kavanagh's support for a

Catholic University of Ireland The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ) was a private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its assoc ...

. He served as Chairman of Carlow County Council (1907–1918) but was replaced as chairman because of his support for Irish conscription. Kavanagh had been a member of the Reform Association who advocated a limited devolution for Ireland. He supported the more independent Nationalist Party and Home Rule. He married Helen Louisa Howard, daughter of Colonel John Stanley Howard, on 1 February 1887 and had two sons, including Arthur, born 12 January 1888, and Dermot, born 9 January 1890, the latter an officer in the British Army. He died on 18 July 1922 aged 66 and is buried in Ballicopagan Cemetery.

References

Members and Messengers - Carlow's 20th century parliamentarians by John O'Donovan

External links

* 1856 births 1922 deaths High sheriffs of Carlow High sheriffs of Wexford UK MPs 1906–1910 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Carlow constituencies (1801–1922) Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Senate of Southern Ireland People educated at Eton College Irish chiefs of the name Politicians from County Carlow {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub