Arthur James Kickham O'Connor (18 May 1888 – 10 May 1950) was an Irish politician, lawyer and judge.

Early life

He was born in 1888, the second son of Arthur O'Connor of Elm Hall, Celbridge, County Kildare (1834–1907) and his second wife Elizabeth (''née'' Saul). He was educated at

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 186 ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

. He obtained the dispensation which was at that time required by Catholics in order to study engineering at the then almost exclusively Protestant

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, from which he duly graduated in 1911.

Politics

O'Connor was elected

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

MP for Kildare South at the 1918 general election. In January 1919 Sinn Féin MPs, who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918, refused to recognise the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

and instead assembled as a unicameral revolutionary parliament called Dáil Éireann. In the 1st Dáil, he was appointed Substitute Director of Agriculture during the absence of

Robert Barton Robert Childers Barton (14 March 1881 – 10 August 1975) was an Anglo-Irish politician, Irish nationalist and farmer who participated in the negotiations leading up to the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. His father was Charles William Ba ...

. In the 2nd Dáil he held the position of Minister of Agriculture from 26 August 1921 to 9 January 1922. O'Connor subsequently opposed the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

and joined the Republican side. In March 1926, O'Connor became titular President of the Republic when

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

resigned. He later resigned the presidency in 1927. He lost his Dáil seat in the 1923 general election and failed to be elected again in 1927.

Later life

He retired from politics, returned to Trinity College Dublin to study law, after graduating in law he was called to the bar, subsequently appointed as

Senior counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

, eventually being appointed Circuit Judge for

Cork city Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

. He never married and died suddenly at his family home, Elm Hall, in 1950, and is buried in Donacomper Cemetery, Celbridge. His brothers were also involved in the Irish Republican movement and his sister Fanny was a member of

Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; literally "The Women's Council" but calling themselves The Irishwomen's Council in English), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and d ...

. His brother Daniel was the State Solicitor for Kildare.

References

External links

* Piece 206-040; Arthur O'Connor (1922).pdf, page=6, alt=British Army intelligence file for Arthur O'Connor, British Army intelligence file for Arthur O'Connor {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Art 1888 births 1950 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Irish barristers UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kildare constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Kildare People educated at Blackrock College Ministers for Agriculture (Ireland) Politicians imprisoned during the Irish revolutionary period Circuit Court (Ireland) judges