Daniel Morrissey (28 November 1895 – 4 November 1981) was an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician who served as Minister for Justice from March 1951 to June 1951, Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1948 to 1951 and

Leas-Cheann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairman, chairperson (or speaker (politics), speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members ...

of Dáil Éireann from 1928 to 1932. He served as 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 1922 to 1951.

Early life

Morrissey was born in

Nenagh Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

, the son of William Morrissey, a small carter-contractor, and his wife Bridget (née Gleeson). He was educated locally and, although he left school against his mother's wishes at the age of 12, he continued his own reading and studies.

Trade unionism

Morrissey's interest in trade unionism began when he was working as a labourer with Great Southern Railways. He left after a dispute with his foreman in 1915 and joined the staff of a national insurance society. Almost at once he began organising trades union in South Tipperary. Rapidly advancing in the trade union movement, he was soon on the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin in January 1909 as a general union. Initially drawing its mem ...

executive, a delegate to the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little im ...

(ITUC) and fraternal delegate to the

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists. The STUC is a separate organisation from the English and Welsh T ...

. Morrissey opposed the ITUC decision not to contest the 1918 general election.

Political career

Morrissey was a successful candidate for the Labour Party at the 1920 local elections. At the 1922 general election, the first national election contested by Labour, he won a seat the Tipperary Mid, North and South constituency. Ernie O'Malley had threatened to shoot Morrissey unless he withdrew his candidacy, but backed down when

Dan Breen Daniel Breen (11 August 1894 – 27 December 1969) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In later years he was a Fianna Fáil politician. Background Breen was born in Grang ...

threatened to shoot him in turn. As a result of the outbreak of the

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 ...

the new Dáil did not meet for several months. Though Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin TDs abstained, Morrissey and his 16 Labour Party colleagues attended and became the official opposition. In 1923, he became Labour Party Chief Whip and served as

of Dáil Éireann between 1928 and 1932. In 1931, Morrissey defied the Labour whip and supported the Constitution (Amendment No. 17) Bill, a measure proposed by the government of W. T. Cosgrave against the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

. The Executive Council sought to establish military courts that were empowered to impose sentences – including capital punishment, without appeal – in response to IRA violence. Motivated by two recent murders in his constituency, Morrissey broke ranks with Labour, who thought the measures too authoritarian and voted for the bill, resulting in him being expelled from the party alongside Richard Anthony. He was re-elected as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

at the 1932 general election, before joining

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; "Society of the Gaels") was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. In 1933 it merged with smaller groups to form the Fine Gael party. Origins In 1922 the pro-Treaty ...

(which became

in 1933 after a merger). Following the 1948 general election, Fine Gael leader

Richard Mulcahy Richard James Mulcahy (10 May 1886 – 16 December 1971) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and army general who served as Minister for Education from 1948 to 1951 and 1954 to 1957, Minister for the Gaeltacht from June 1956 to October 1956, ...

proposed the idea of forming a coalition government and ousting

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 Christia ...

after 16 years in government. Morrissey was instrumental in securing the support of his former colleagues in the Labour Party and the breakaway National Labour Party. After successful negotiations Morrissey became the first Minister to be appointed in the First Inter-Party Government, as Minister for Industry and Commerce. He proved to be an active Minister, establishing Córas Tráchtála and the

Industrial Development Authority Industrial Development Agency (IDA Ireland) ( ga, An Ghníomhaireacht Forbartha Tionscail) is the agency responsible for the attraction and retention of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) into Ireland. The agency was founded in 1949 as the I ...

as well as nationalising

CIÉ Córas Iompair Éireann (''Irish Transport Company''), or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the republic and jointly with its Northern Ireland counter ...

. Morrissey was also a member of the negotiating team which concluded the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1948. He was appointed Minister for Justice in a cabinet reshuffle in 1951 and held the position until the collapse of the government later that year. Following the 1954 general election, Morrissey was a member of the negotiating team which created the

Second Inter-Party Government The second (symbol: s) is the unit of Time in physics, time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally t ...

. He declined a cabinet position due to his age. Morrissey retired from the Dáil on health grounds at the 1957 general election.

Later life

In retirement from politics, Morrissey returned to his auctioneering business where he worked until 1965. He died at his home in Stillorgan,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, on 4 November 1981.

Appraisal

In Professor Tom Garvin's review of the 1950s ''News from a New Republic'', Morrissey comes in for praise as a moderniser and the instigator of the Industrial Development Authority. Garvin places him with a cross party group including

Gerard Sweetman Hugh Gerard Sweetman (20 June 1908 – 28 January 1970) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Finance from 1954 to 1957. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare constituency from 1948 to 1970. He was a Senator fo ...

of Fine Gael and William Norton of the Labour Party as well as

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

of Fianna Fáil who were pushing a modernising agenda.

References