Frederick Maurice Summerfield (30 December 1887 – 22 July 1975) was an Irish

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 ...

politician and businessman. He was a member of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

from 1945 to 1954. He was nominated to Seanad on 7 March 1945, replacing

Thomas Condon Thomas Condon (1822–1907) was an Irish Congregational minister, geologist, and paleontologist who gained recognition for his work in the U.S. state of Oregon. Life and career Condon arrived in New York City from Ireland in 1833 and graduated ...

on the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The In ...

. He was re-elected at the 1948 and 1951 Seanad elections, but lost his seat at the 1954 election.

Early life

He was born in

Portobello, Dublin Portobello (, meaning 'beautiful harbour') is an area of Dublin in Ireland, within the southern city centre and bounded to the south by the Grand Canal. It came into existence as a small suburb south of the city in the 18th century, centred on ...

. His family moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

when he was a child. He was educated at a CBS school, and at the age of 12 he took his first job in Birmingham as a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

and

copper wire Copper has been used in electrical wiring since the invention of the electromagnet and the telegraph in the 1820s. The invention of the telephone in 1876 created further demand for copper wire as an electrical conductor. Copper is the electri ...

packer. While in Birmingham he was a member of the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

, played hurling, and was a champion step dancer.

Career

In 1923 Summerfield opened his own company, F.M. Summerfield Ltd., and was the agent for American Chrysler cars. He started assembling Chrysler's in 1933 at his factory on Castleforbes Road, after the introduction of the requirement that all cars sold in Ireland had to be assembled there. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1925 Seanad election. A Peace Commissioner, Summerfield served as an independent member of the Seanad, representing the interests of the motor industry. He was also president of the Society of Irish Motor Traders in 1923 and 1924, and the Irish Motor Agents Association from 1924 to 1925. He served as president of Dublin Chamber of Commerce in 1950. Summerfield's other business interests included the first

neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in D ...

manufacturer in Ireland and being part owner of the Irish Cutlery Company.

Personal life

Summerfield returned to Dublin in 1911. He married Nora O'Brien (1888–1944) in 1913 and they had three daughters.

References

1887 births 1975 deaths Independent members of Seanad Éireann Members of the 5th Seanad Members of the 6th Seanad Members of the 7th Seanad Politicians from Dublin (city) Businesspeople from Dublin (city) Industrial and Commercial Panel senators {{Ireland-senator-stub