James Gerrard Lennon (1907–February 1976), known as Gerry Lennon, was a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Lennon stood unsuccessfully for the

National League of the North The National League of the North (NLN) was an Irish nationalist organisation active in Northern Ireland. The group was founded in May 1928 on the basis of a radical programme for the "National Unification of Ireland". It was in part an attempt ...

South Armagh South Armagh may refer to: *The southern part of County Armagh * South Armagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency) *South Armagh (UK Parliament constituency) *Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional ...

at the

1933 Northern Ireland general election The 1933 Northern Ireland general election was held on 30 November 1933. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. 33 of the 52 seats were uncontested, the la ...

. In 1944, he was appointed to the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Sen ...

, serving as a Senator until the body was prorogued in 1972.Brendan Lynn, ''Holding the Ground: The Nationalist Party in Northern Ireland, 1945 - 72'' (1997), From 1948 until 1950, he served as a Deputy

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. He was active in the

Irish Anti-Partition League The Irish Anti-Partition League (APL) was a political organisation based in Northern Ireland which campaigned for a united Ireland from 1945 to 1958. Foundation Prior to the establishment of the League, there had been no rank-and-file organis ...

, and in 1951 became the Vice President of the

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New ...

(AOH), serving until 1975. From 1962 to 63, he participated in the "Orange and Green" talks with George Clark, Grand Master of the Grand

Orange Lodge The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...

of Ireland. In 1965, Lennon became the Nationalist leader in the Senate, and in 1975 he became the President of the AOH. He was also active in the Northern Irish Civil Rights Association, and in July 1969, took part in a sit-down protest in

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

City Hall.Richard Deutsch and Vivien Magowan, ''Northern Ireland: A Chronology of Events 1968-73''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennon, Gerry 1907 births 1976 deaths Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1941–1945 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1945–1949 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1949–1953 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1953–1957 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1957–1961 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1961–1965 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1965–1969 Nationalist Party (Ireland) members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Solicitors from Northern Ireland 20th-century Irish lawyers