Henry Leo Barniville (10 April 1887 – 23 September 1960) was an Irish politician and surgeon.

Life and career

Barniville was born in 1887 in Belfast to John Banniville and Mary Burke. He was educated at

Rockwell College Rockwell College ( ga, Coláiste Charraig an Tobair), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools Sen ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

and studied medicine at the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

. After graduation in 1916, he worked as house surgeon at the

Mater Misericordiae University Hospital The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal an Mater Misercordiae), commonly known as the Mater ( "matter"), is a major teaching hospital, based at Eccles Street, Phibsborough, on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is managed b ...

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 ...

, eventually becoming senior surgeon at the hospital. He was professor of surgery at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

from 1928 to 1958. He was elected to the new

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

Seanad in 1922 for 3 years. He was re-elected in 1925 for a 12-year term and served until the Free State Seanad was abolished in 1936. When the new

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 ...

was established in 1937, he was elected by the

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

constituency. He was re-elected at each subsequent election and served until his death in office in 1960. He holds the record as the longest serving member of the Seanad, as he was a member for a total of 35 years, 11 months. He died in Dublin on 23 September 1960.

References