Eleanor Whitton (1879 – 28 March 1956) was an Irish animal welfare campaigner, being a founding member of the South County Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Irish branch of the International League for the Protection of Horses.

Biography

Eleanor Whitton was born as Eleanor Constance Beatty in 1879 in

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...

. She was the daughter of Church of Ireland minister, Rev. Alexander Beatty. She married Henry M. Whitton, registrar of the court of appeal in 1902. The couple had a son and two daughters. In 1954 their son, Cuthbert Henry Whitton, was appointed prime judge in the supreme court of Singapore. As a skilled horse rider, Whitton was one of the founding members of the South County Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in 1905, serving as the honorary secretary until 1954. She led a campaign against the export of horses for slaughter in 1928 by being an establishing member of the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) in Ireland, and being the honorary director for the rest of her life. ILPH was described as "almost a one-woman show", Whitton conducted investigations into the shipping conditions of horses, and launched a campaign for the ban of the live export of horses. She is believed to have bought between 4000 and 9000 horses personally to rescue them, aiding in the purchase of "rest fields" for them in

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

, the first type of sanctuary of its kind in Ireland. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Ireland began exporting large numbers of horses for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

for horse meat, with Whitton sending a large portion of time watching the loading of live animals. She would ensure that the conditions on the ships were good, and that the horse were fit to travel. On one occasion she hired a vet to travel on a ship bound for France. She travelled across Ireland inspecting horses in her capacities in both the SPCA and ILPH. The work of Whitton and these groups came to public attention in 1952 when SPCA, ILPH, Our Dumb Friends' League and the Dublin Animals' Protection Association organised a protest march through central Dublin of 1000 people on 28 March 1952. They also held a well-attended meeting on 28 April 1952 at the

Mansion House, Dublin The Mansion House ( ga, Teach an Ard-Mhéara) is a house on Dawson Street, Dublin, which has been the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715, and was also the meeting place of the Dáil Éireann from 1919 until 1922. History ...

. The common policy of the three groups was called the "five Ps", namely parades, posters, protest meetings, publicity and politics. Whitton did not live to see the ban on live horse exports from Ireland, but the campaigns resulted in legislation being passed to that effect in 1961, 1963 and 1964. Her work also secured the support of a number of TDs including Patrick O'Donnell, Alfred Patrick Byrne,

William Norton William Joseph Norton (2 November 1900 – 4 December 1963) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1960, Minister for Social Welfare from ...

, Patrick Cogan,

Henry Morgan Dockrell Henry Morgan Dockrell (17 April 1880 – 26 October 1955) was an Irish Cumann na nGaedheal and Fine Gael politician who was elected to both Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. Early life Dockrell was born on 17 April 1880 at the family home, 1 ...

, Michael Ffrench-O'Carroll,

William Davin William Davin (19 February 1890 – 1 March 1956) was an Irish Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for over thirty years. He was also a Train station, station-master. His first candidacy for public ...

and taoiseach

John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959, and Attorney General of ...

. Whitton's work has been viewed as bringing animal welfare into Irish public policy. She died at her home at 10 Laburnum Road,

Clonskeagh Clonskeagh or Clonskea (, meaning "meadow of the Crataegus monogyna, Whitethorn"; pronounced ), is a small southern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder. Location and access Clonskeagh is a t ...

, Dublin on 28 March 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitton, Eleanor 1879 births 1956 deaths Animal welfare workers Irish activists Irish women activists People from County Longford