Timothy Michael Healy

Timothy Michael Healy, KC (May 17, 1855–March 26, 1931) was one of the most brilliant and most controversial of Irish politicians, with a career that spanned the period from Charles Stewart Parnell's leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party in the 1880s to the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922. Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Queens Counsel (postnominal QC), during the reign of a male Sovereign known as Kings Counsel (KC), are barristers or, in Scotland, advocates appointed by Letters patent to be one of Her Majestys Counsel learned in the law. They do not constitute a separate order or degree of... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... A politician is an individual involved in politics. ... Charles Stewart Parnell (June 27, 1846 – October 6, 1891) was an Irish political leader and one of the most important figures in 19th century Ireland and the United Kingdom; William Ewart Gladstone thought him the most remarkable person he had ever met. ... In 1882 Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, formed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), replacing the Home Rule League, as a parliamentary party with strict rules. ... // Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Born in Bantry, County Cork, Healy worked as a parliamentary correspondent for The Nation newspaper before becoming Member of Parliament for Wexford in 1880. Bantry (Beanntraí in Irish) is a town on the coast of County Cork, Ireland, located on the N71 at the head of Bantry Bay. ... County Cork (Contae Chorcaí in Irish) is the most southwesterly and the largest of the modern counties of Ireland. ... The Nation was an Irish nationalist newspaper, published in the 19th century, co-founded by Thomas Davis and Charles Gavan Duffy, its first editor. ... Wexford (Irish: Loch Garman) is the county town of County Wexford in the Republic of Ireland. ...

Nationalist Split

Initially a passionate supporter of Parnell, he became disenchanted with his leader. During the O'Shea divorce controversy, when it was revealed that the party leader had been having a lengthy relationship with the wife of a fellow MP, whom he later married, and was the father of three of her children, Healy became his sternest and most sharp-spoken critic. When Parnell asked his colleagues at one party meeting "Who is the master of the party?", Healy famously retorted with another question "Aye, but who is the mistress of the party?" - a comment which almost led him to come to blows with Parnell. The rift prompted a nine-year old Dublin schoolboy, James Joyce, to pen an essay called "Et Tu, Healy?". Katherine Parnell, variously known as Katie OShea or Kitty OShea (1845/1846–1921) was an English woman whose affair with Charles Stewart Parnell eventually caused his political downfall. ... Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region. ... James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (February 2, 1882 – January 13, 1941) was an expatriate Irish writer and poet, widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. ...

Healy became an outspoken member of the anti-Parnell majority in the party. In following decades, he became estranged from the movement, setting up his own personal organisation as MP for North Louth since 1892. By the 1910s, it looked as though Healy was a maverick on the fringes of Irish nationalism. However he came into notoriety again when returned in the January 1910 general election in alliance with William O'Brien's All-for Ireland League, be it that their coelescence based largely on their common opposition to the Irish party. He lost his seat in the following December 1910 election, but rejoined the O'Brienites taking the 1911 North-East Cork by-election. His reputation was not enhanced by his representing of William Martin Murphy, the Catholic industrialist who sparked the 1913 Dublin Lockout. William OBrien (2 October 1852–25 February 1928) was an Irish journalist, writer and politician, particularly associated with campaigns for land reform in Ireland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Statue of James Larkin on OConnell Street (Oisín Kelly 1977) The Dublin Lockout of 1913 was the most severe industrial dispute in the history of Ireland, a general lockout of workers in Dublin, meant to contain the expansion of trade unions. ...

Governor-General

However he came back to prominence when, on the urging of the Provisional Government of W.T. Cosgrave, the British government recommended to King George V that Healy be appointed the first 'Governor-General of the Irish Free State', a new office of representative of the Crown created in the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) and introduced by a combination of the Irish Free State Constitution and Letters Patent from the King. William Thomas Cosgrave, (June 6, 1880 - November 16, 1965) served as the first President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932. ... George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert Windsor, formerly Wettin until 1917) (3 June 1865–20 January 1936) was the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changing the name to the House of Windsor in 1917. ... The Governor-General (Irish: Seanascal) was the representative of the King in the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. ... Signature page of the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called the Articles of association between Ireland and the British Empire, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and representatives of the (extra-judicial) Irish Republic which concluded the Anglo-Irish War. ...

Initially the Irish government under W. T. Cosgrave wished for Healy to reside in a new small residence, but when facing death threats from the IRA, as a temporary measure he was moved into the Viceregal Lodge, the former 'out of season' residence of the Lord Lieutenant, the former representative of the Crown before 1922. The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... Áras an Uachtaráin is the official residence of the President of Ireland, located in the Phoenix Park on the Northside of Dublin1. ...

Healy proved an able Governor-General, possessing a degree of political skill and contacts in Britain that the new Irish government, through made up of brilliant men, initially lacked. He joked once that the government didn't advise him, he advised the government: a comment at a dinner for the Duke of York, Prince Albert (the future King George VI) that led to public criticism. However the waspish Healy still could not help courting further controversy, most notably in a public attack on the new Fianna Fáil and its leader, Eamon de Valera, which led to calls for his resignation. George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor) (14 December 1895–6 February 1952) was the third British monarch of the House of Windsor, reigning from 11 December 1936 until his death. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; English translation: Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in Ireland. ... Éamon de Valera (born Edward George de Valera, sometimes Gaelicised Éamonn de Bhailéara; October 14, 1882 – August 29, 1975), was an Irish politician, best known as a leader of Irelands struggle for independence from the United Kingdom in the early 20th Century, and the Republican anti-Treaty opposition...

Unlike his successors, Healy possessed a three-fold role as Governor-General. He was simultaneously

• representative of the King;
• representative of the British Government;
• native head of the Irish executive.

As a result, much of the contact between His Majesty's governments in London and Dublin went through him. He had access to all sensitive state papers, and received instructions from the British Government on the use of his powers to grant, withhold or refuse the Royal Assent to legislation enacted by the Oireachtas. However no Bills that he would have been required by these secret instructions to block, were introduced during his time as governor-general. That role of being the United Kingdom government's representative, and acting on its advice, was abandoned throughout the Commonwealth in the mid 1920s as a result of a Commonwealth Conference decision, leaving him and his successors exclusively as the King's representative and nominal head of the Irish executive. The Oireachtas is the National Parliament of the Republic of Ireland1. ...

Though Healy seemed to believe that he had been awarded the governor-generalship for life, the Executive Council of the Irish Free State decided in 1927 that the term of office of governors-general would be five years. As a result he retired from the office and public life in December 1927. He died in March, 1931, aged 75. The Executive Council (Irish: Ard-Chomhairle) was the cabinet and de facto executive branch of government of the 1922-1937 Irish Free State. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Governor-General of the Irish Free State
Timothy Michael Healy (1922-27) | James McNeill (1928-1932) | Domhnall Ua Buachalla (1933-1936) The Governor-General (Irish: Seanascal) was the representative of the King in the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. ... James McNeill (March 27, 1869 - December 12, 1938) was an Irish politician, who served as second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. ... The Governor-General (Irish: Seanascal) was the representative of the King in the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. ... Áras an Uachtaráin - Irish presidential palace. ... James McNeill (March 27, 1869 - December 12, 1938) was an Irish politician, who served as second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. ... Domhnall Ua Buachalla (pronounced Donal ou-a Bu-calla) or Donal Buckley (February 3, 1866 - October 30, 1963) was an Irish politician, who served as third and final Governor-General of the Irish Free State. ...
See also: Anglo-Irish Treaty | Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act, 1936 | Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 | Governor of Northern Ireland | Irish Free State | King of Ireland | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | President of Ireland | President of the Irish Republic | Viceregal Lodge Signature page of the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called the Articles of association between Ireland and the British Empire, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and representatives of the (extra-judicial) Irish Republic which concluded the Anglo-Irish War. ... The Constitution (Amendment No. ... The Executive Powers (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 was an Act of the Oireachtas which retrospectively completed the abolition of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State. ... The Governor of Northern Ireland was the Crown representative in Northern Ireland. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British... Henry VIII, became King of Ireland in 1542. ... Official standard of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (also known as the Viceroy or in the Middle Ages as the Lord Deputy) was the head of the Kingdom of Englands (before the Act of Union 1707) or Kingdom of Great Britains (after 1707... The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ... This article is about the president of the 1919-1922 Irish Republic Republic of Ireland see: President of Ireland. ... Áras an Uachtaráin is the official residence of the President of Ireland, located in the Phoenix Park on the Northside of Dublin1. ...

Additional Reading

Frank Callanan, T. M Healy (Cork University Press, 1996) (ISBN 1859181724)

External links

• Governor-General Tim Healy's first Speech to the Dáil (12th December 1922)
• Governor-General Tim Healy's second Speech to the Dáil (3rd October 1923)