George Valentine McInerney, (February 14, 1857 – January 12, 1908) was a lawyer and politician in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. He represented

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1892 to 1900 as a

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

member. He was born on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

in Kingston (later Five Rivers), the son of Owen McInerney and Mary McAuley. McInerney was educated at the College of Saint Joseph in

Memramcook Memramcook, sometimes also spelled Memramcouke or Memramkouke, is a village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac deri ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He was called to the bar in 1880 and became a criminal lawyer in

Richibucto Richibucto is a town in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. Geography The town is situated on the Richibucto River where it discharges into the Northumberland Strait. History Richibucto had been the location of an annual Mi'kmaq summer coas ...

. He served as secretary-treasurer for Kent County from 1880 to 1900. In 1882, he married Christina, the daughter of

Henry O'Leary Henry O'Leary (May 13, 1832 – November 7, 1897) was an Irish-born businessman and political figure in New Brunswick, Canada. He represented Kent County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1873 to 1878. He was born in Castled ...

. In 1894, he was named

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. McInerney also lectured at the Saint John Law School (now the law faculty of the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

). He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the federal parliament in 1878, 1882, 1883 and 1887 and again in 1890 for the provincial assembly. He was finally elected in an 1892 by-election. McInerney was defeated in bids for reelection in 1900 and 1904; he also ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1903. McInerney was trustee and, for a time, co-editor of the

Catholic 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 ...

newspaper, the ''Freeman''. He died in Saint John at the age of 50. His son

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

also served in the provincial assembly.

Electoral record

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McInerney, George Valentine 1857 births 1908 deaths St. Joseph's College alumni Harvard University alumni Boston University alumni Lawyers in New Brunswick Canadian King's Counsel Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Canadian Roman Catholics