Pierce Charles de Lacy O'Mahony
Encyclopedia
Pierce Charles de Lacy O'Mahony (9 June 1850 – 31 October 1930), known up to 1901 as Pierce Mahony, and from 1912 also as The O'Mahony of Kerry, was an Irish
Protestant nationalist
politician and philanthropist
, who practised as a barrister from 1898 to 1900. He was remarkable in having had successively three names, two wives and three faiths, and for being honoured by the Kings of two opposing countries in World War I
.
He should not be confused with his grandfather Pierce Mahony (1792–1853), a close associate of Daniel O’Connell, who was elected as MP for Kinsale
in 1837 but unseated on petition; or with his son Pierce Gun Mahony (1878–1914).
family, Mahony was the only surviving son of Peirce Kenifeck Mahony of Kilmorna, Duagh
, Co. Kerry
, and of Jane, daughter of Robert Gun Cuninghame, D.L., of Mount Kennedy, Co. Wicklow
. His father died shortly after he was born. When he was six his mother married Col. William Henry Vicars, and the family moved to Leamington
, Warwickshire
. Mahony was educated at Rugby School
and at Magdalen College, Oxford
, where he did not take a degree, but established an Irish Home Rule club and formed a friendship with his later Parliamentary colleague J. G. Swift MacNeill
. Mahony went on to the Royal Agricultural College
, Cirencester
, where he won the Haygarth Gold Medal in 1875. In 1877 he married Helen Louise, only daughter of Maurice Collis, a member of the Royal Irish Academy
. She died in 1899 and in 1901 he married a first cousin, Alice Johnstone, who died in her turn in 1906. An ancient stone cross taken (with permission) from the Bulgarian monastery at Banska stands over Alice's grave in the church cemetery at Ballinure in West Wicklow, Ireland.
In 1913, his son Dermot O’Mahony married Grace Hill.
Mahony was an Assistant Land Commissioner 1881-84, a magistrate in Co. Kerry and Co. Limerick
, Poor Law Guardian at Listowel, a member of the Roads and Piers Commission under the Relief of Distress Act 1886, and a member of the Royal Commission on Market Rights and Tolls.
(MP) for North Meath
in the July 1886 general election
, taking his seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
. When the Irish Parliamentary Party split over Parnell’s leadership in 1890, Mahony was one of the four Protestant MPs
who supported Parnell. He remained close to Parnell, entertaining him in Kerry shortly before he died. At the general election of 1892
, he was defeated in North Meath by the prominent land campaigner Michael Davitt
, who had taken a particularly strong and clericalist line against Parnell from early in the crisis, by 54% to 46%. This general election was characterised by ferocious hostility to the Parnellites on the part of the Catholic Church. Mahony successfully petitioned the courts to set aside the result on the basis of clerical intimidation of the voters. In the re-run election in February 1893, Davitt did not stand, having been elected unopposed to a vacancy at Cork North East. However clerical Anti-Parnellite
influence continued to be strong. The Times reported that ‘the priests…swarmed at all the polling stations, and kept the voters constantly in view’. Mahony again lost, by the fractionally smaller margin of 53% to 47%.
Mahony remained active in the Nationalist movement, and made three further unsuccessful attempts to return to Parliament. He stood as Parnellite candidate for Dublin St Stephen’s Green
at a by-election in September 1895 but failed to unseat the Liberal Unionist
member, William Kenny
. He contested another by-election, for Dublin Harbour
, in 1915 but came well short of election with 24% of the vote. In the general election of 1918
he fought West Wicklow for the Irish Parliamentary Party but lost to the Sinn Féin
candidate Robert Barton
by the particularly wide margin of more than four to one.
, and subsequently practised as a barrister. In 1900 he inherited an estate from an uncle and thereafter did not need paid work, instead devoting himself to philanthropy. In 1903 O’Mahony travelled to Bulgaria
to undertake relief work among orphans who had fled from Turkish massacres, and in 1904 opened St Patrick’s Orphanage in Sofia
. On the outbreak of World War I
in 1914, he unsuccessfully tried to prevent Bulgaria entering alliance with Germany, and after the war argued for Bulgaria to be exempted from war reparations. On Jan 20, 1915, he was awarded the Order of Civil Merit by Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.
In 1913, O’Mahony supported the workers led by James Larkin
in the Dublin Lockout
.
During the First World War he served as a member of the Irish Recruiting Council for Irish regiments, and in September 1915 visited the Leinster Regiment with some members of the Irish League
who were visiting the front, where he made a long speech on Ireland and on having such a fine battalion. For his recruiting work he was awarded a C.B.E.
in 1920, but declined it. Later in the year and resigned as Deputy Lieutenant of County Wicklow and as a magistrate in protest against British policy in the Irish War of Independence
then in progress.
While in Bulgaria, O’Mahony had joined the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
, but he remained also a member of the Church of Ireland
until 1927 when a new Rector forced him to choose between the religions. He then became a Catholic, in 1929, the year before his death.
In commemoration of his relationship with the Bulgarian Orthodox church, in 1909, Pierce commissioned a fresco by Iliev Gannin, depicting Saints Methodius, Cyril and Patrick. This unique juxtaposition of important Christian saints can be found in the chapel at the monastery of St Nicholas near the town of Maglizh in Bulgaria. Some say St Patrick looks quite like Pierce O'Mahony.
His son Dermot O'Mahony
(1881–1960) was a Cumann na nGaedheal member of the Dáil
of the Irish Free State
for County Wicklow in 1927-38.
A street in Sofia is named Pierce O'Mahony Street in his honour. Asenovgrad
-born Bulgarian theatre director Atanas O'Mahony (b. 1979) bears the name of the Irish philantropist. Atanas' grand-grandfather Ivan was among the Bulgarian orphans adopted by Pierce O'Mahony and given his own family name.
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...
Protestant nationalist
Protestant Nationalist
Irish nationalism has been chiefly associated with Roman Catholics. However, historically this is not an entirely accurate picture. Protestant nationalists were also influential supporters of the political independence the island of Ireland from the island of Great Britain and leaders of national...
politician and philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
, who practised as a barrister from 1898 to 1900. He was remarkable in having had successively three names, two wives and three faiths, and for being honoured by the Kings of two opposing countries in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
He should not be confused with his grandfather Pierce Mahony (1792–1853), a close associate of Daniel O’Connell, who was elected as MP for Kinsale
Kinsale (UK Parliament constituency)
Kinsale was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.-Boundaries:...
in 1837 but unseated on petition; or with his son Pierce Gun Mahony (1878–1914).
Early life
Born in Dublin to a Church of IrelandChurch of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
family, Mahony was the only surviving son of Peirce Kenifeck Mahony of Kilmorna, Duagh
Duagh
Duagh is a small village in County Kerry, Ireland, located approximately 9 km southeast of Listowel and 7 km northwest of Abbeyfeale on the R555 regional road....
, Co. Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, and of Jane, daughter of Robert Gun Cuninghame, D.L., of Mount Kennedy, Co. Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
. His father died shortly after he was born. When he was six his mother married Col. William Henry Vicars, and the family moved to Leamington
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. Mahony was educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, where he did not take a degree, but established an Irish Home Rule club and formed a friendship with his later Parliamentary colleague J. G. Swift MacNeill
J. G. Swift MacNeill
John Gordon Swift MacNeill was an Irish Protestant nationalist politician and MP, in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for South Donegal from 1887 until 1918, Professor of Constitutional and Criminal Law at the King's Inns, Dublin, 1882–88, and Professor of...
. Mahony went on to the Royal Agricultural College
Royal Agricultural College
The Royal Agricultural College is a higher education institution located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English speaking world...
, Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, where he won the Haygarth Gold Medal in 1875. In 1877 he married Helen Louise, only daughter of Maurice Collis, a member of the Royal Irish Academy
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
. She died in 1899 and in 1901 he married a first cousin, Alice Johnstone, who died in her turn in 1906. An ancient stone cross taken (with permission) from the Bulgarian monastery at Banska stands over Alice's grave in the church cemetery at Ballinure in West Wicklow, Ireland.
In 1913, his son Dermot O’Mahony married Grace Hill.
Mahony was an Assistant Land Commissioner 1881-84, a magistrate in Co. Kerry and Co. Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
, Poor Law Guardian at Listowel, a member of the Roads and Piers Commission under the Relief of Distress Act 1886, and a member of the Royal Commission on Market Rights and Tolls.
Irish nationalism
He was elected unopposed as Member of ParliamentMember 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) for North Meath
North Meath (UK Parliament constituency)
North Meath was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament 1885–1922.Prior to the United Kingdom general election, 1885 the area was part of the Meath constituency. From 1922 it was not represented in the UK Parliament....
in the July 1886 general election
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**...
, taking his seat in the House of Commons 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....
. When the Irish Parliamentary Party split over Parnell’s leadership in 1890, Mahony was one of the four Protestant MPs
Protestant Nationalist
Irish nationalism has been chiefly associated with Roman Catholics. However, historically this is not an entirely accurate picture. Protestant nationalists were also influential supporters of the political independence the island of Ireland from the island of Great Britain and leaders of national...
who supported Parnell. He remained close to Parnell, entertaining him in Kerry shortly before he died. At the general election of 1892
United Kingdom general election, 1892
The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...
, he was defeated in North Meath by the prominent land campaigner Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt was an Irish republican and nationalist agrarian agitator, a social campaigner, labour leader, journalist, Home Rule constitutional politician and Member of Parliament , who founded the Irish National Land League.- Early years :Michael Davitt was born in Straide, County Mayo,...
, who had taken a particularly strong and clericalist line against Parnell from early in the crisis, by 54% to 46%. This general election was characterised by ferocious hostility to the Parnellites on the part of the Catholic Church. Mahony successfully petitioned the courts to set aside the result on the basis of clerical intimidation of the voters. In the re-run election in February 1893, Davitt did not stand, having been elected unopposed to a vacancy at Cork North East. However clerical 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...
influence continued to be strong. The Times reported that ‘the priests…swarmed at all the polling stations, and kept the voters constantly in view’. Mahony again lost, by the fractionally smaller margin of 53% to 47%.
Mahony remained active in the Nationalist movement, and made three further unsuccessful attempts to return to Parliament. He stood as Parnellite candidate for Dublin St Stephen’s Green
Dublin St Stephen's Green (UK Parliament constituency)
St Stephen's Green, a division of Dublin, was a UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the British House of Commons 1885–1922....
at a by-election in September 1895 but failed to unseat the Liberal Unionist
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
member, William Kenny
William Kenny (Irish politician)
William Kenny PC QC , was an Irish judge and Liberal Unionist politician.He was born in Dublin, the only son of Edward Kenny, solicitor, of Kilrush, County Clare, and his wife, Catherine . Before he was called to the bar in 1868, he had graduated with a B.A...
. He contested another by-election, for Dublin Harbour
Dublin Harbour (UK Parliament constituency)
Dublin Harbour, a division of Dublin, was a UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1922....
, in 1915 but came well short of election with 24% of the vote. In the general election of 1918
Irish (UK) general election, 1918
The Irish general election of 1918 was that part of the 1918 United Kingdom general election that took place in Ireland. It is seen as a key moment in modern Irish history...
he fought West Wicklow for the Irish Parliamentary Party but lost to the Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
candidate Robert Barton
Robert Barton
Robert Childers Barton was an Irish lawyer, soldier, statesman and farmer who participated in the negotiations leading up to the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. His father was Charles William Barton and his mother was Agnes Childers. His wife was Rachel Warren of Boston, daughter of Fiske...
by the particularly wide margin of more than four to one.
Later career
In 1898 Mahony was called to the Irish barKing's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns , is the institution which controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland...
, and subsequently practised as a barrister. In 1900 he inherited an estate from an uncle and thereafter did not need paid work, instead devoting himself to philanthropy. In 1903 O’Mahony travelled to Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
to undertake relief work among orphans who had fled from Turkish massacres, and in 1904 opened St Patrick’s Orphanage in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. On the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914, he unsuccessfully tried to prevent Bulgaria entering alliance with Germany, and after the war argued for Bulgaria to be exempted from war reparations. On Jan 20, 1915, he was awarded the Order of Civil Merit by Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.
In 1913, O’Mahony supported the workers led by James Larkin
James Larkin
James Larkin was an Irish trade union leader and socialist activist, born to Irish parents in Liverpool, England. He and his family later moved to a small cottage in Burren, southern County Down. Growing up in poverty, he received little formal education and began working in a variety of jobs...
in the Dublin Lockout
Dublin Lockout
The Dublin Lock-out was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers which took place in Ireland's capital city of Dublin. The dispute lasted from 26 August 1913 to 18 January 1914, and is often viewed as the most severe and significant industrial dispute in...
.
During the First World War he served as a member of the Irish Recruiting Council for Irish regiments, and in September 1915 visited the Leinster Regiment with some members of the Irish League
United Irish League
The United Irish League was a nationalist political party in Ireland, launched 23 January 1898 with the motto "The Land for the People" . Its objective to be achieved through agrarian agitation and land reform, compelling larger grazier farmers to surrender their lands for redistribution amongst...
who were visiting the front, where he made a long speech on Ireland and on having such a fine battalion. For his recruiting work he was awarded a C.B.E.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1920, but declined it. Later in the year and resigned as Deputy Lieutenant of County Wicklow and as a magistrate in protest against British policy in the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
then in progress.
While in Bulgaria, O’Mahony had joined the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
, but he remained also a member of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
until 1927 when a new Rector forced him to choose between the religions. He then became a Catholic, in 1929, the year before his death.
In commemoration of his relationship with the Bulgarian Orthodox church, in 1909, Pierce commissioned a fresco by Iliev Gannin, depicting Saints Methodius, Cyril and Patrick. This unique juxtaposition of important Christian saints can be found in the chapel at the monastery of St Nicholas near the town of Maglizh in Bulgaria. Some say St Patrick looks quite like Pierce O'Mahony.
His son Dermot O'Mahony
Dermot O'Mahony
Dermot O'Mahony was an Irish politician and farmer. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency at the June 1927 general election. He was re-elected at the September 1927, 1932 and 1933 general elections. He was re-elected at the 1937...
(1881–1960) was a Cumann na nGaedheal member of the Dáil
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
for County Wicklow in 1927-38.
A street in Sofia is named Pierce O'Mahony Street in his honour. Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad is a town in central southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province.-History:Asenovgrad was founded by the Thracians as Stenímachos around 300–400 BC. In 72 BC the city was captured by the troops of the Roman Empire as part of the Roman expansion towards the Black Sea. After a long period...
-born Bulgarian theatre director Atanas O'Mahony (b. 1979) bears the name of the Irish philantropist. Atanas' grand-grandfather Ivan was among the Bulgarian orphans adopted by Pierce O'Mahony and given his own family name.
Publications
- Pierce Mahony and J. J. ClancyJ. J. Clancy (MP)John Joseph Clancy , usually known as J. J. Clancy, was an Irish nationalist politician and Member of Parliament for North County Dublin from 1885 to 1918, one of the leaders of the later Irish Home Rule movement and promoter of the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1908, known as the Clancy Act...
, The Irish Land Crisis, The Irish Question No.4, London, Irish Press Agency, 1886 - Pierce Mahony, The Truth about Glenbeigh, The Irish Question No.15, London, Irish Press Agency, 1887
- Pierce O’Mahony, Bulgaria and the Powers: Being a Series of Letters on the Balkans written from Sofia, Dublin, Sealy, 1915
- Seamus Shortall and Maria Spassova Sofia, 2000: Pierce O'Mahony, an Irishman in Bulgaria
Sources
- Irish Independent, 1 November 1930
- F. S. L. LyonsF. S. L. LyonsFrancis Stewart Leland Lyons was one of Ireland's premier historians.-Biography:Lyons was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1923, but soon moved to Boyle in County Roscommon where his father was a bank official...
, Charles Stewart Parnell, London, William Collins, 1977 - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, O’Mahony [formerly Mahony], Pierce Charles de Lacy (1850–1930), politician and philanthropist, by Alan O’Day, October 2005
- The Times, 5 July and 16–24 December 1892, 23 February 1893, 2 November 1898
- Brian M. Walker (ed.), Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, 1978
- Who Was Who 1929-1940