George Wolfe (16 December 1859 – 1 December 1941) was an Irish

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 G ...

politician, soldier, landowner, antiquarian, and farmer. He served for nine years 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) for the

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

constituency.

Early and personal life

George Wolfe was born 16 December 1859 at Bishopland,

Ballymore Eustace Ballymore Eustace () is a small town situated in County Kildare in Ireland, although until 1836 it lay within an exclave (a detached "pocket") of County Dublin. It lies close to the border with County Wicklow. The town's name, which is frequ ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, the younger son among two sons and one daughter of Theobald George Samuel Wolfe (1815–1872), landowner, of Bishopland and Forenaghts, Naas, County Kildare, and his wife Elizabeth Wolfe (née Ball) In 1870, his father had inherited the extensive Forenaghts estate. Wolfe was educated at

Rathmines School Rathmines School was a secondary school in the suburb of Rathmines, Dublin: it opened in 1855 and closed in 1899. In all 2,190 pupils attended the school. Notable pupils * Edward Vaughan Boulger (1846– 11 August 1910), Professor of Classics in ...

, Dublin; Trinity College Dublin; and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

. He succeeded as head of the family at Forenaghts on the death of his elder brother, Richard Wolfe in 1885. In 1888, he married Emily Leeman (née Smethurst) (d. 1910), only child of Richard Smethurst of Elterbeck Hall, Chorley, Lancashire, and widow of Joseph Johnson Leeman, MP for York. They had one daughter.

Army career

In 1882, he was commissioned lieutenant in the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

, and served at the

Battle of Tell El Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

in the Anglo-Egyptian War (being awarded a medal with clasp and the Khedive's Star), and in the 1884–1885 Sudanese war. After service with the

8th King's Royal Irish Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces ...

(1885–1890), he retired from the army with the rank of major.

Political career

Wolfe was served on Kildare County Council from 1899 to 1920; and was its vice-chairman from 1911 to 1920. He was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

on his first attempt, at the 1923 general election, becoming the only Cumann na nGaedheal TD from the 3-seat Kildare constituency in the

4th Dáil Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. He was re-elected at the June 1927 general election and again at the September 1927 general election, but did not stand at the 1932 general election.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, George 1859 births 1941 deaths Cumann na nGaedheal TDs Irish farmers Members of the 4th Dáil Members of the 5th Dáil Members of the 6th Dáil High Sheriffs of Kildare Local councillors in County Kildare Irish justices of the peace Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Irish Fusiliers officers 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War People educated at Rathmines School