Senate of Southern Ireland

The Senate of Southern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Southern Ireland, established de jure in 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The Act stipulated that there be 64 senators, but only 39 were selected and the Senate met only twice before being dissolved: on 28 June[1] and 13 July 1921[2] in the Council Room of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Dublin.

Composition

The Senate's composition was specified in the Second Schedule of the 1920 act, and the mode and time of selection in the Fourth Schedule. These were similar to those suggested for the Senate in the report of the Irish Convention of 1917–18.[3] The 64 members were as follows:

Election and boycott

The election details were given by Orders in Council on 22 April 1921, which made the Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper the electoral registrar and returning officer.[5] Elections would use single transferable vote, except that groups electing two senators used multiple non-transferable vote.[6] Only electors of a given group could stand in that group's election, except for the county council groups.[7]

Only 39 of the 64 senators were selected or elected. The Irish Republic declared by Sinn Féin in 1919 rejected the legitimacy of the 1920 act. Sinn Féin had gained control of the county councils in the 1920 local elections. Áine Ceannt as secretary of the General Council of County Councils wrote to the Dáil Ministry asking whether to participate.[8] Only W. T. Cosgrave favoured participation, on the basis that the republic's First Dáil had agreed to use the Southern Ireland Commons election to select the members of the Second Dáil.[8] Other ministers favoured a boycott, both on the principle that the selection process was undemocratic, and on the pragmatic grounds that unionists would have a majority whereas a boycott would leave it inquorate.[8] Accordingly, on 28 April 1921 Austin Stack as Minister for Home Affairs issued a proclamation ordering "that members of County Councils and other bodies who uphold the right of the Irish people to choose their own representatives and Government take no part in the partial election so proposed for the said Senate".[9] The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Labour Party supported the Republic, and the Catholic hierarchy also refused to co-operate. Of the incomplete membership, many had participated in the Irish Convention.[10]

Of the 39 selected, 27 took the Parliamentary Oath of Allegiance, of whom 19 attended one of the two meetings. Fifteen attended the first and twelve the second, of whom eight attended both. Of the peers and privy councillors, 19 (all bar Cloncurry, Meath, and Westmeath) signed a letter refusing to act as a Senate if the elected Commons were replaced by an appointed "Crown Colony" assembly.[11]

List
Membership of the Senate of Southern Ireland[12][13]
Class Name Attendance[1][2] Irish Convention[10] Free State Seanad[14] Notes
Lord Chancellor of Ireland Sir John Ross, Bt 2nd meeting Ross was too ill to attend the inaugural meeting, before which the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland read the proclamation and during which Sir Nugent Everard was temporary chairman.[1]
Lord Mayor of Dublin Laurence O'Neill Boycotted Member Independent Nationalist
Lord Mayor of Cork Donal O'Callaghan Boycotted Then incumbent (Thomas C. Butterfield) was a member Sinn Féin. Elected for Cork Borough in the 1921 election to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. Article 18(4) of the 1920 Act precluded anyone from sitting in both Houses at once; since O'Callaghan boycotted both, sitting instead in the Second Dáil, the conflict was not resolved.
Commerce Edward H. Andrews Both meetings Member Former president of Dublin Chamber of Commerce.[15]
Commerce (Retail) Sir John Arnott, Bt Did not attend Of Arnotts department store
Commerce (Farming) Sir Nugent Everard, Bt Both meetings Appointed
Commerce (Banking) Henry Guinness Both meetings Appointed
Commerce (Distilling) Andrew Jameson 1st meeting Member Appointed
Commerce or Professions H. P. Glenn Both meetings Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.[2] Some accounts misspell his surname as "Glynn."[12][16]
Commerce or Professions George O'Callaghan-Westropp 2nd meeting Landowner and local government activist.[17]
Professions (Education) Sir Andrew Beattie Both meetings Commissioner of National Education. Leading Dublin Presbyterian.
Professions (Education) J. W. R. Campbell 1st meeting Schoolmaster and Methodist minister.[18]
Professions (Law) Frederick F. Denning 1st meeting King's Counsel.[19]
Professions (Law) Charles Gamble Both meetings President of the Law Society of Ireland.[20]
Professions (Engineering) Sir John Griffith Did not attend, but took the oath of office Elected
Professions (Medicine) Sir John William Moore 2nd meeting Physician to the Meath Hospital and medical administrator.[21]
Professions (Medicine) Sir William Taylor Both meetings Former President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.[22]
Labour Three Representatives not selected Boycotted Seven members
Bishop (Roman Catholic) Four Representatives not selected Did not attend Four members (Cashel, Ross, Raphoe, and Down & Connor).
Bishop (Church of Ireland) Charles D'Arcy Did not attend Predecessor (John Crozier) was a member. Archbishop of Armagh. The see is mainly in Northern Ireland.
Bishop (Church of Ireland) John Gregg 1st meeting Predecessor (John Bernard) was a member Archbishop of Dublin
Peer Lord Cloncurry 1st meeting
Peer Lord de Freyne Did not attend
Peer Earl of Desart Did not attend Member The Irish Times wrote that he was kept from attending by business at the House of Lords in Westminster.[2]
Peer Earl of Donoughmore Did not attend The Irish Times wrote that he was kept from attending by business at the House of Lords in Westminster.[2]
Peer Earl of Dunraven Did not attend Member Appointed
Peer Lord HolmPatrick Did not attend, but took the oath of office
Peer Lord Inchiquin Did not attend, but took the oath of office
Peer Lord Kenmare Did not attend, but took the oath of office
Peer Earl of Mayo Did not attend Member Appointed
Peer Earl of Midleton Did not attend, but took the oath of office Member
Peer Lord Oranmore Did not attend, but took the oath of office Member
Peer Viscount Powerscourt Did not attend, but took the oath of office
Peer Lord Rathdonnell 1st meeting
Peer Marquess of Sligo 1st meeting
Peer Earl of Wicklow Did not attend Appointed
Peer and Privy Councillor Earl of Meath Did not attend The Earl of Meath was elected from both the peers' panel and the privy Councillors' panel.[23][24] The 1920 act and 1921 order made no explicit provision for this, whereas someone elected for multiple Westminster constituencies could only sit for one, creating vacancies in the others.
Privy Councillor Earl of Granard Did not attend Member Appointed
Privy Councillor Sir William Goulding, 1st Bt Did not attend, but took the oath of office Member
Privy Councillor Walter MacMurrough Kavanagh 2nd meeting Member Irish Parliamentary Party MP for County Carlow 1908–10. Previously a Unionist,[25] and chairman of Carlow County Council.[26]
Privy Councillor Sir Bryan Mahon Both meetings Appointed
Privy Councillor Earl of Westmeath Did not attend
Privy Councillor Sir Thomas Stafford, Bt Did not attend Member FRCSI; Medical Commissioner of the Local Government Board for Ireland; baronet.[27]
Privy Councillor Laurence Ambrose Waldron Resigned before the first meeting Waldron was nominated on 27 May without his knowledge; on 10 June he formally wrote to the Lord Lieutenant asking "to be relieved of the position".[23][28]
County councillor 14 Representatives not selected Boycotted 38 members, one per county and county borough; also several from urban district councils.

Supersession

In 1922, both the Irish Republic and Southern Ireland were superseded by the Irish Free State. Some of the Southern Ireland senators were subsequently senators in the Free State Seanad (upper house), either appointed by W. T. Cosgrave, President of the Executive Council, or elected by the members of the Dáil (lower house).[14]

See also

References
  • Report of the Proceedings of the Irish Convention. Command papers. Vol. Cd.9019. Dublin: HMSO. 1918. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  • "Government of Ireland Act, 1920 [as enacted]". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  • "Election of Senators (Southern Ireland) Order, 1921". The London Gazette (32307): 3384–3387. 29 April 1921. Retrieved 11 September 2020.

Citations
  1. "The Southern Irish Parliament; Formal Opening Ceremony". The Irish Times. 29 June 1921. p. 5.
  2. "Meeting of Southern Parliament". The Irish Times. 14 July 1921. p. 4.
  3. Cd.9019 p.13
  4. O'Flanagan, J. Roderick (1870). The Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland, from the earliest times to the reign of Queen Victoria. Vol. v.1. London: Longmans, Green. p. 14 – via Internet Archive.
  5. Election of Senators (Southern Ireland) Order 1921, ss. 2, 6, 19
  6. Election of Senators (Southern Ireland) Order 1921, s.14; "Irish Senates (Proportional Representation) Order, 1921". The London Gazette (32307): 3400–3407. 29 April 1921. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  7. Election of Senators (Southern Ireland) Order, 1921 s.8(1)
  8. "Elections to Southern Senate". Digital Repository of Ireland. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. "Order prohibiting elections to Southern Senate". Digital Repository of Ireland. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. Cd.9019 pp.52–53
  11. Dunraven, [4th] Earl of (1922). Past Times and Pastimes. Vol. II. London: Hodder and Stoughton. p. 73.
  12. Whyte, Nicholas (17 February 2002). "The Senate of Southern Ireland, 1921". Northern Ireland elections. Access Research Knowledge. Retrieved 8 March 2004.
  13. "Senate of Southern Ireland". Debrett's House of Commons. London: Dean. 1922. p. 278.
  14. "1922 Seanad Members". Members Database. Oireachtas. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  15. "Past Presidents". Dublin Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  16. O'Day, Alan; Fleming, Neil (11 June 2014). Longman Handbook of Modern Irish History Since 1800. Routledge. ISBN 9781317897118 – via Google Books.
  17. "Papers of George O'Callaghan-Westropp (1864–1944)". UCD. pp. IE UCDA P38. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  18. The Christian advocate. Vol. 95. Hunt & Eaton. 1920. p. 993.
  19. "Remembrance Day". The Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal. 71: 323. 1937.
  20. "The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland". The Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal. 55: 124. 1921.
  21. B., J. W.; T. G. Moorehead (23 October 1937). "Obituary: Sir John William Moore". British Medical Journal. 2 (4007): 831–834. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4007.831. PMC 2087590.
  22. Crawley, Frank C.; H. C. Drury; William Pearson; W. Boxwell (February 1933). "In memoriam. Sir William Taylor (1871–1933)". Irish Journal of Medical Science. 8 (2): 86–90. doi:10.1007/BF02954546. ISSN 1863-4362. S2CID 71882024.
  23. "The Southern Irish Parliament; Election of Senators". The Irish Times. 28 May 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  24. "Parliament of Southern Ireland; Election of Senators". The Irish Times. 8 June 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  25. Maume, Patrick (1999). The long gestation: Irish nationalist life 1891–1918. Gill & Macmillan. p. 101.
  26. "Irish point of view on new tillage rules; Rt. Hon. Walter McMurrough Kavanagh Expresses Opinion With Regard to Compulsory Tillage Regulations in Ireland Farmer's Comments How Regulations Appear to an Irish Landowner". Christian Science Monitor. Boston. 28 March 1917. p. 3.
  27. "Obituary: Sir Thomas Stafford, Bt., F.R.C.S.I". British Medical Journal. 1 (3881): 1102. 25 May 1935. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.3881.1102. PMC 2460354. PMID 20779108.
  28. Waldron, Laurence A. (11 June 1921). "Letters to the Editor: The Southern Senate". The Irish Times. p. 6. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
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