Augustine Mary Moore Stack (7 December 1879 – 27 April 1929) was an Irish republican and politician who served as
Minister for Home Affairs
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...
from 1921 to 1922. He was a
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TD) from 1918 to 1927.
Early life
Stack was born in Ballymullen,
Tralee
Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...
,
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
, to William Stack, an attorney's clerk, and Nanette O'Neill. He was educated at the
Christian Brothers School in Tralee.
At the age of fourteen, he left school and became a clerk in a solicitor's office. A gifted
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
er, he captained the
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...
team to
All-Ireland
All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...
victory in 1904. He also served as President of the Kerry
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
County Board.
Activism
He became politically active in 1908 when he joined the
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...
. In 1916, as commandant of the Kerry Brigade of the
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respons ...
, he made preparations for the landing of arms by
Roger Casement
Roger David Casement ( ga, Ruairí Dáithí Mac Easmainn; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during Worl ...
. He was made aware that Casement was arrested on Easter Saturday and was being held in Tralee. He made no attempt to rescue him from
Ballymullen Barracks
Ballymullen Barracks () is an Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish military installation at Tralee, County Kerry in Ireland.
History
The barracks were built for local militia units between 1810 and 1815. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on ...
.
Stack was arrested and sentenced to death for his involvement in the Rising; however, this was later commuted to
penal servitude for life. He was released under general amnesty in June 1917 and was elected as an abstentionist
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 Gri ...
MP for
Kerry West at the
1918 Westminster election, becoming a
member of the 1st Dáil. He was elected unopposed as an abstentionist member of the
House of Commons of Southern Ireland
The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,"Order in Cou ...
and a
member of the 2nd Dáil as a Sinn Féin
TD for
Kerry–Limerick West at the
1921 elections.
Stack, as part of his role as
Minister for Home Affairs
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...
, is widely credited with the creation and administration of the
Dáil Courts
The Dáil Courts (also known as Republican Courts) were the judicial branch of government of the Irish Republic, which had unilaterally declared independence in 1919. They were formally established by a decree of the First Dáil on 29 June 1920 ...
. These were courts run by IRA in parallel and opposition to the judicial system being run by the British government. The IRA and Sinn Féin was highly successful in both getting the civilian population of Ireland to use the courts and accept their rulings. The success of this initiative gave Sinn Féin a large boost in legitimacy and supported their goals in creating a "counter-state" within Ireland as part of their overarching goals in the War of Independence.
He 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 ...
of 1921, and took part in the subsequent
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. He was captured in 1923 and went on
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
for forty-one days before being released in July 1924.
Dáil
He was elected to the
Third Dáil
The Third Dáil was elected at the general election held on 16 June 1922. This election was required to be held under the Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921. It first met on 9 September and until 6 December 1922, it was the Provision ...
at the
1922 general election and subsequent elections as an
Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin TD for the
Kerry constituency. 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 governm ...
founded
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
in 1926, Stack remained with Sinn Féin being re-elected to the Dáil at the
June 1927 general election. He did not contest the
September 1927 general election.
Personal Life
In 1925, he married Winifred (Una) Gordon, née Cassidy (died 1950), the widow of a
Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
district inspector, Patrick Gordon (1870–1912).
Stack's health never recovered after his
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
and he died in a
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
hospital on 27 April 1929, aged 49.
Honours
Austin Stack Park
Austin Stack Park is a GAA stadium in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is one of the stadiums used by Kerry GAA's Gaelic football team and the stadium of the hurling team.
The ground was named after Austin Stack, an Irish revolutionary a ...
in his home town of Tralee, one of the Gaelic Athletic Association's stadiums, is named in his honour, as is the
Austin Stacks GAA
Austin Stacks is a hurling and Gaelic football club based in Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland. Founded in 1917, the club has more All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals and GAA All-Stars than any other Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...
Hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
and
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
club.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stack, Austin
1879 births
1929 deaths
All-Ireland-winning captains (football)
Early Sinn Féin TDs
Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members
Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members
Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers
Members of the 1st Dáil
Members of the 2nd Dáil
Members of the 3rd Dáil
Members of the 4th Dáil
Members of the 5th Dáil
Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kerry constituencies (1801–1922)
Ministers for Justice (Ireland)
People from Tralee
People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side)
Politicians from County Kerry
UK MPs 1918–1922
Politicians imprisoned during the Irish revolutionary period