Edmund William Dwyer Gray (29 December 1845 – 27 March 1888) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

newspaper proprietor, politician and MP in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

. He was also Lord Mayor and later

High Sheriff of Dublin City Sheriff of Dublin City was a judicial and administrative role in Ireland. Initially, the Sovereign's judicial representative in Dublin, the role was later held by two individuals and concerned with a mix of judicial, political and administrative ...

Boylan, John (1998) ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' p.153, 3rd.ed. and became a strong supporter of

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

Early life and family

Gray was born on 29 December 1845 in

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 ...

, the second son of Sir John Gray and his wife, Anna Dwyer. After receiving his education, he joined his father in managing the ''

Freeman's Journal The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper. Patriot journal It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radi ...

'', the oldest

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

newspaper in Ireland. When his father died in 1875, Gray took over proprietorship of the ''Journal'', and his family's other newspaper properties such as the ''Belfast Morning News'' and the Dublin ''

Evening Telegraph ''Evening Telegraph'' is a common newspaper name, and may refer to: * ''Evening Telegraph'' (Dundee), Scotland * ''Evening Telegraph'' (Dublin), Ireland, published 1871–1924. * ''Coventry Evening Telegraph The ''Coventry Telegraph'' is a lo ...

''.G. B. Smith
'Gray, Edmund Dwyer (1845–1888)’
, Rev. Alan O'Day, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2006, accessed 7 May 2008. In 1868, Gray saved five people from drowning in a wrecked schooner at Killiney Bay, an action for which he received the Tayleur Fund Gold Medal for bravery from the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

. By coincidence, the rescue was witnessed by his future wife, Caroline Agnes Gray, whom he would meet shortly afterwards.Edmund Dwyer Gray Album
, ''NUACHT Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann'' (

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland i ...

NEWS), Spring 2005. Agnes was the daughter of

Caroline Chisholm Caroline Chisholm (born Caroline Jones; 30 May 1808 – 25 March 1877) was a 19th-century English humanitarian known mostly for her support of immigrant female and family welfare in Australia. She is commemorated on 16 May in the calendar of ...

(an English humanitarian renowned for her work in female immigrant welfare in Australia), and although Gray was descended from a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

family, he converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to marry her. The wedding in London on 17 July 1869 was conducted by the Bishop of Northampton. The couple had one son,

Edmund Dwyer-Gray Edmund John Chisholm Dwyer-Gray (2 April 18706 December 1945) was an Irish-Australian politician, who was the 29th Premier of Tasmania from 11 June to 18 December 1939. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Early life He was bo ...

, who would take over from his father as proprietor of his newspapers and would go on to become

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

Political career

From 1875 to 1883, Gray served as a member of the

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

, and in 1880 served a term as

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

. Unusually for an Irish nationalist politician, Gray was very much focussed on urban rather than rural affairs, and like his father was heavily involved in public health and water provision for Dublin. He also promoted reform in the municipal health system. Gray unsuccessfully ran for his father's seat of Kilkenny City at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

in the 1875 by-election that followed Sir John Gray's death. He won a later by-election in 1877, becoming a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

representing

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

for the

Home Rule League The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until it was replaced by the Irish Parliam ...

. At the 1880 general election, he won the seat of Carlow County. At the 1885 election, as a member of the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...

, he won representation of both Carlow and the new constituency of Dublin St Stephen's Green, and chose to represent the latter. Edmund Dwyer Gray Hibernia

He was imprisoned for six weeks in 1882 for remarks made in the ''Freeman's Journal'' with regard to the composition of the jury in the case of a murder trial. (Gray was actually High Sheriff of the City of Dublin at the time of his imprisonment, and – because of the conflict of office – was taken into custody by the city coroner.)"Dublin people excited; The Hon. E. Dwyer Gray imprisoned for contempt"
''New York Times'' 17 August 1882 The defendant in the case in question was later hanged. A heavy drinker and

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

sufferer, Gray died aged 42 after a short illness on 27 March 1888, and was buried at

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Edmund Dwyer 1845 births 1888 deaths 19th-century Irish businesspeople 19th-century Irish people 19th-century journalists Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

High Sheriffs of Dublin City Home Rule League MPs Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Irish newspaper editors Lord Mayors of Dublin Male journalists Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Carlow constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Dublin constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Tipperary constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Dublin UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892