David Sheehy
Encyclopedia
David Sheehy was an Irish
nationalist
politician. He was a Member of Parliament
(MP) from 1885 to 1900 and from 1903 to 1918, taking his seat as a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party
in the House of Commons
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
.
and was active in the Land League. He was imprisoned on six occasions for various anti-government activities.
At the 1885 general election
he was elected unopposed as MP for South Galway
and held that seat until the 1900 general election
. His re-election in Galway was unopposed in 1886
and 1895
. However, at the 1892 general election
, when the Irish Party split over the leadership of Charles Stewart Parnell
and Sheehy joined the anti-Parnellite
majority, he was opposed by a Parnellite candidate, who he defeated with a majority of nearly two-to-one. In the same election he also stood in Waterford City
, but failed to unseat the Parnellite John Redmond
.
The two factions of the Irish Parliamentary Party
reunited for the general election in 1900
, but Sheehy did not stand again and was out of Parliament for the next three years. However, after the death in August 1903 of James Laurence Carew
, the Independent Nationalist
MP for South Meath
, Sheehy was selected as the Irish Parliamentary Party MP candidate in the resulting by-election in October 1903
. Carew had apparently been elected in 1900 as a result of a series of errors in nominations, and his predecessor John Howard Parnell
stood again, this time as an Independent Nationalist. Sheehy won the contest with a majority of more than two-to-one, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1918 general election
.
. Another, Hanna
(born 1877), married the writer Francis Skeffington
. Kathleen married Frank O'Brien and was the mother of Conor Cruise O'Brien
. Margaret (born 1879), an amateur playwright, married Frank Culhane with whom she had four children and after being widowed married her godson, the poet Michael Casey. Sheehy's two sons were Richard and Eugene.
The writer James Joyce
often visited the family home in Belvedere Square, where musical evenings and theatricals took place every Sunday evening. Joyce entertained the family with Italian songs. In 1900 Margaret wrote a play in which the Sheehy's and their friends, including Joyce, took part. Joyce took a particular liking to Eugene and had a long-lasting but unrequited crush on Mary. Joyce's novel 'Ulysses' wittily describes an encounter between Bessie Sheehy and a Father John Conmee, S.J.
When David Sheehy died in Dublin aged 88 it was reported that he was the oldest surviving member of the Irish Parliamentary Party.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
politician. He was a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) from 1885 to 1900 and from 1903 to 1918, taking his seat as a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
.
Political career
Born in Limerick, he had been a student for the Catholic priesthood at the Irish College in Paris but had left it and made a runaway match with a convent schoolgirl, Bessie McCoy, who eloped with him. He had also been a member of the IRBIrish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
and was active in the Land League. He was imprisoned on six occasions for various anti-government activities.
At the 1885 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
he was elected unopposed as MP for South Galway
South Galway (UK Parliament constituency)
South Galway was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1922.Prior to the 1885 general election the area was part of the Galway County constituency...
and held that seat until the 1900 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1900
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
. His re-election in Galway was unopposed in 1886
United Kingdom general election, 1886
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
and 1895
United Kingdom general election, 1895
The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...
. However, at the 1892 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
, when the Irish Party split over the leadership of Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
and Sheehy joined the anti-Parnellite
Irish National Federation
The Irish National Federation was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in March 1891 by former members of the Irish National League who had left the Irish Parliamentary Party in protest when Charles Stewart Parnell refused to resign the party leadership as a result of his...
majority, he was opposed by a Parnellite candidate, who he defeated with a majority of nearly two-to-one. In the same election he also stood in Waterford City
Waterford City (UK Parliament constituency)
Waterford City was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland.-Boundaries and boundary changes:This constituency was the Parliamentary borough of Waterford in County Waterford.It returned one MP 1801–1832, two MPs 1832–1885 and one 1885–1922...
, but failed to unseat the Parnellite John Redmond
John Redmond
John Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918...
.
The two factions of the Irish Parliamentary Party
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
reunited for the general election in 1900
United Kingdom general election, 1900
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
, but Sheehy did not stand again and was out of Parliament for the next three years. However, after the death in August 1903 of James Laurence Carew
James Laurence Carew
James Laurence Carew was an Irish nationalist politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom...
, the Independent Nationalist
Independent Nationalist
Independent Nationalist was a political title frequently used by Irish nationalists when contesting elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland not as members of the Irish Parliamentary Party, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.In the...
MP for South Meath
South Meath (UK Parliament constituency)
South Meath was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1922.Prior to the 1885 general election the area was part of the Meath . From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament....
, Sheehy was selected as the Irish Parliamentary Party MP candidate in the resulting by-election in October 1903
South Meath by-election, 1903
The South Meath by-election, 1903 was a by-election held on 9 October 1903 for the British House of Commons constituency of South Meath.The by-election was triggered by the death of the Independent Nationalist Member of Parliament James Laurence Carew....
. Carew had apparently been elected in 1900 as a result of a series of errors in nominations, and his predecessor John Howard Parnell
John Howard Parnell
John Howard Parnell was an older brother of the Irish Nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and after his brother’s death was himself a Parnellite Nationalist Member of Parliament, for South Meath from 1895 to 1900...
stood again, this time as an Independent Nationalist. Sheehy won the contest with a majority of more than two-to-one, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1918 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
.
Personal and family life
He and his wife Bessie had seven children, of whom six survived to adulthood. One of his daughters, Mary (born 1884), married the MP Thomas KettleThomas Kettle
Thomas Michael "Tom" Kettle was an Irish journalist, barrister, writer, poet, soldier, economist and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament for East Tyrone from 1906 to 1910 at Westminster...
. Another, Hanna
Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington
Johanna Mary Sheehy-Skeffington, was a suffragette and Irish nationalist. Along with her husband and Margaret Cousins and James Cousins she founded the Irish Women's Franchise League in 1908 with the aim of obtaining women's voting rights...
(born 1877), married the writer Francis Skeffington
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Francis Skeffington from Bailieborough, County Cavan, was an Irish suffragist, pacifist and writer. He was a friend and schoolmate of James Joyce, Oliver St John Gogarty, Tom Kettle, and Conor Cruise O'Brien's father, Frank O'Brien...
. Kathleen married Frank O'Brien and was the mother of Conor Cruise O'Brien
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Conor Cruise O'Brien often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish politician, writer, historian and academic. Although his opinion on the role of Britain in Northern Ireland changed over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, he always acknowledge values of, as he saw, the two irreconcilable traditions...
. Margaret (born 1879), an amateur playwright, married Frank Culhane with whom she had four children and after being widowed married her godson, the poet Michael Casey. Sheehy's two sons were Richard and Eugene.
The writer James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
often visited the family home in Belvedere Square, where musical evenings and theatricals took place every Sunday evening. Joyce entertained the family with Italian songs. In 1900 Margaret wrote a play in which the Sheehy's and their friends, including Joyce, took part. Joyce took a particular liking to Eugene and had a long-lasting but unrequited crush on Mary. Joyce's novel 'Ulysses' wittily describes an encounter between Bessie Sheehy and a Father John Conmee, S.J.
When David Sheehy died in Dublin aged 88 it was reported that he was the oldest surviving member of the Irish Parliamentary Party.