Erskine Childers
4th President of Ireland
In office 25 June 1973 – 17 November 1974
Preceded by	Éamon de Valera
Succeeded by	Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh
Born	11 December 1905(1905-12-11) London, England
Died	17 November 1974 (aged 68) Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Profession	politician

Erskine Hamilton Childers (Irish: Earchta Ó Slatiascaigh; 11 December 1905 – 17 November 1974), the son of Robert Erskine Childers (author of The Riddle of the Sands), served as the fourth President of Ireland from 1973 until his death in 1974. He was a TD from 1938 until 1973. Childers served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (1951–1954, 1959–1961, and 1966–1969), Minister for Lands (1957–1959), Minister for Transport and Power (1959–1969), and Minister for Health (1969–1973). He was appointed Tánaiste of the Republic of Ireland in 1969. image of Erskine Hamilton Childers, 4th President of Ireland - from official President of Ireland website. ... -1... is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Éamon de Valera (born with the name Edward George de Valera, IPA: [1][2]) (14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century Ireland. ... Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (12 February 1911 – 21 March 1978) (pronounced karol o dawl-ie) served as fifth President of Ireland, from 1974 to 1976. ... December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the city in Ireland. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (Irish: ), commonly referred to as Fianna Fáil (IPA ; traditionally translated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though the actual meaning is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland[1]), is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Robert Erskine Childers Robert Erskine Childers DSO (25 June 1870 - 24 November 1922) was an author and Irish nationalist who was executed by the authorities of the newly independent Irish Free State during the Irish Civil War. ... -1... A Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas or National Parliament. ... The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Irish An t-Áire Puist agus Telegrafa) was a senior Irish government minister from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished. ... The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources is the senior minister at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (An Roinn Cumarsáide, Mara agus Achmhainní Nádúrtha) in the Irish Government. ... The Minister for Transport is the senior minister at the Department of Transport (An Roinn Iompair) in the Irish Government. ... The Minister for Health and Children is the senior minister at the Department of Health and Children (An Roinn Sláinte agus Leanaí) in the Irish Government and is responsible for health care in the Republic of Ireland and related services. ... The Tánaiste (IPA: ; plural Tánaistí ), or, more formally, An Tánaiste[1], is the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland. ...

Biography

Memorial to Erskine Childers in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.

Childers was born in London. He moved to Ireland after the First World War and took up residence in Wicklow, with his father Robert Erskine Childers, who was in subsequent years to emerge as one of the most prominent and outspoken Irish Republican opponents of the controversial political settlement with Britain that resulted in the establishment of the Irish Free State. The younger Childers was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and Trinity College, Cambridge, hence his striking British upper class accent. When Childers was 16, his father was executed, on politically-inspired gun-possession charges, by the Irish Free State. Before his execution, in a spirit of reconciliation, the older Childers obtained a promise from his son to seek out and shake the hand of every man who had signed his father's death warrant. ^[1] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 398 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1168 × 1760 pixel, file size: 254 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 398 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1168 × 1760 pixel, file size: 254 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... St. ... Robert Erskine Childers Robert Erskine Childers DSO (25 June 1870 - 24 November 1922) was an author and Irish nationalist who was executed by the authorities of the newly independent Irish Free State during the Irish Civil War. ... Territory of the Irish Free State Capital Dublin Language(s) Irish, English Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch  - 1922–1936 George V  - 1936–1936 George VI President of the Executive Council  - 1922–1932 W.T. Cosgrave  - 1932–1937 Eamon de Valera Legislature Oireachtas  - Upper house Seanad Éireann  - Lower house Dáil Éireann... Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school at Holt in North Norfolk, England, founded in the year 1555, a member of the HMC. // Big School, 1903, architect Sir John Simpson Greshams School was established at Holt by Sir John Gresham in 1555, during the reign of Queen... Holt is a market town in the county of Norfolk, England. ...

Childers left Ireland after the death of his father to return to London and to University in Cambridge. After finishing college he worked for a period in a tourism board in Paris, until the then Taoiseach of Ireland Éamon de Valera invited him back to Ireland to work for the Irish Press. He became a naturalised Irish citizen in 1938. A member of Fianna Fáil, he held a number of ministerial posts in the cabinets of Éamon de Valera, Seán Lemass and Jack Lynch, becoming Tánaiste in 1969. Erskine's period as a minister was controversial. One commentator described his ministerial career as "spectacularly unsuccessful". Others praised his willingness to take tough decisions. He was outspoken in his opposition to Charles Haughey in the aftermath of the Arms Crisis, when Haughey and another minister, both having been sacked, were sent for trial amid allegations of a plot to import arms for the Provisional IRA. (Haughey and the other minister, Neil Blaney, were both acquitted.) Éamon de Valera (born with the name Edward George de Valera, IPA: [1][2]) (14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century Ireland. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (Irish: ), commonly referred to as Fianna Fáil (IPA ; traditionally translated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though the actual meaning is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland[1]), is currently the largest political party in Ireland with 55,000 members. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... John (Jack) Mary Lynch (15 August 1917—20 October 1999), was the fourth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, serving two terms in office; 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. ... The Tánaiste (IPA: ; plural Tánaistí ), or, more formally, An Tánaiste[1], is the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Ireland. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Arms Crisis was a political scandal in the Republic of Ireland, in which two government ministers from the Fianna Fáil political party were accused of attempting to illegally import £100,000 worth of weapons for the Provisional Irish Republican Army. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... Neil Blaney (October 1, 1922 - November 8, 1995), was a senior Irish politician. ...

In a political upset, Childers was elected the fourth President of Ireland on 30 May 1973, defeating Tom O'Higgins by 635,867 votes to 578,771. Childers, though 67, was a vibrant, extremely hard-working president who earned universal respect and popularity, in the process making the office of President a highly visible and useful institution. However, he died suddenly of a heart attack in November 1974, while making a public speech to the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin. is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Tom OHiggins (July 23, 1916 - February 25, 2003), was an Irish Fine Gael politician, a barrister, and a judge. ... The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) was founded in 1654 and is a postgraduate medical organisation comprising Members and Fellows. ...

Inauguration of Childers as President of Ireland, 25 June 1973.

Childers's state funeral in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, was attended by world leaders including the Vice-President of the United States, Earl Mountbatten of Burma (representing Queen Elizabeth II), the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Opposition, and presidents and crowned heads of state from Europe and beyond. He was buried in the grounds of Derralossary church in Roundwood, County Wicklow. Initially it was expected that President Childers' popular widow, Rita, would be offered the office of president to continue his work, but it went instead to the former Chief Justice, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh. Image File history File links Irishpres. ... Image File history File links Irishpres. ... is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... State funerals in the Republic of Ireland and predecessor states since independence in 1921 have taken place on the following occasions: Former Taoiseach John A. Costello did not receive a state funeral, at the request of his family. ... St. ... The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the United States government, the person who is, in the words of Adlai Stevenson, a heartbeat from the presidency. ... Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (June 25, 1900 – August 27, 1979) was a British admiral and statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ... Roundwood (An tochar in Irish), is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. ... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Wicklow Code: WW Area: 2,024 km² Population (2007) 114,676 Website: www. ... Rita Childers is a former First Lady of the Republic of Ireland. ... Chief Justice John L. Murray is the current Chief Justice of Ireland. ... Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (12 February 1911 – 21 March 1978) (pronounced karol o dawl-ie) served as fifth President of Ireland, from 1974 to 1976. ...

Childers was survived by his second wife, Rita, and children from both his marriages. A son, Erskine Childers, by his first wife Ruth Ellen Dow, was a UN civil servant and Secretary General of the World Federation of United Nations Associations. A daughter by 2nd wife Rita, Nessa Childers, is a councillor for the Green Party on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Erskine Childers (1929-1996) came from a highly respected family of Irish campaigners for freedom and liberty. ... This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ... Inspired by the opening words of the United Nations Charter We the Peoples, the World Federation of United Nations Associations was created in 1946 - one year after the establishment of the United Nations. ... Nessa Childers is a councillor for the Green Party in Blackrock in south Dublin in Ireland. ... The Green Party (Irish: ; lit. ... Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is one of three local authorities in the greater Dublin Ireland area that caters for a population of approximately 192,000 persons. ...

Political career

v • d • e Presidents of Ireland Uachtaráin na hÉireann

Douglas Hyde · Seán T. O'Kelly · Éamon de Valera · Erskine H. Childers · Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh · Patrick Hillery · Mary Robinson · Mary McAleese-1... Douglas Hyde (Irish name Dubhghlas de hÍde) (17 January 1860 - 12 July 1949) was an Irish language scholar who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945. ... Sean Thomas OKelly (Irish name: Seán Tomás Ó Ceallaigh, pronounced ) (August 25, 1882 - November 23, 1966) was the second President of Ireland (1945-1959). ... Éamon de Valera (born with the name Edward George de Valera, IPA: [1][2]) (14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century Ireland. ... Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (12 February 1911 – 21 March 1978) (pronounced karol o dawl-ie) served as fifth President of Ireland, from 1974 to 1976. ... Dr. Patrick John Hillery (born May 2, 1923) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. ... For the poet, see Mary Robinson (poet). ... Mary Patricia McAleese (Irish: [1]; born 27 June 1951) is the eighth, and current, President of Ireland. ...

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Notes

Additional reading

John N. Young, Erskine H. Childers: President of Ireland

See also

• List of people on stamps of Ireland