John McQuillan (30 August 1920 – 8 March 1998) was an Irish politician,

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

official and army officer.

Early life

He was born in Ballyforan,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

in 1920, the eldest of seven childlen. His father, Thomas Francis McQuillan was a

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

sergeant, and later became a school teacher, while his mother Anne (née Fallon) was a national

school teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

who came from a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

family. McQuillan was educated at Roscommon CBS,

Summerhill College Summerhill College (aka The College of the Immaculate Conception) is a Roman Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys located in the town of Sligo in northwest Ireland. History The school was founded in 1857 by then-Bishop of Elphin, Dr La ...

, Sligo, and St Clement's Redemptorist College, Limerick. He was a member of the Roscommon county team that won the

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

in 1943 and 1944. He began a career as an officer in the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

though resigned to work as a local government official.

Politics

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 as a

Clann na Poblachta Clann na Poblachta (; "Family/Children of the Republic") was an Irish republican political party founded in 1946 by Seán MacBride, a former Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army. Foundation Clann na Poblachta was officially launched on ...

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

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

constituency at the 1948 general election. After fellow Clann na Poblachta TD,

Noël Browne Noël Christopher Browne (20 December 1915 – 21 May 1997) was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Health from 1948 to 1951 and Leader of the National Progressive Democrats from 1958 to 1963. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1 ...

resigned as

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Count ...

, McQuillan resigned from Clann na Poblachta in support of Browne and sat as an

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 ...

TD. He was re-elected at the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

and

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

general elections as an independent TD. On 16 May 1958, the

National Progressive Democrats The National Progressive Democrats was a small socialist political party in the Republic of Ireland, active between 1958 and 1963. The party was founded as a left-wing progressive secular party. Its founders were Noël Browne (former Ministe ...

party was founded with Noël Browne and McQuillan as the party's leaders. Between 1958 and 1961, 7 of the 9 motions discussed in Private Member's Time had been proposed by one of them. In 1961 and 1962 they asked 1,400 parliamentary questions, 17% of the total. The

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

paid them a unique compliment by referring to them as "the real opposition". Both were re-elected at the 1961 general election. In October 1963 both men joined the Labour Party. This new arrangement did not prove electorally beneficial to McQuillan as he lost his seat in Roscommon at the 1965 general election. However, he was elected to

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 ...

by the

Administrative Panel The Administrative Panel () 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 Administrative Panel elects seven senators. Election ...

. He resigned the Labour Party whip in 1967 and did not seek re-election at the 1969 general election, and retired from his

Roscommon County Council Roscommon County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Ros Comáin) is the authority responsible for local government in County Roscommon, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

seat in 1974. When the Socialist Labour Party was founded in 1977, McQuillan joined as a trustee of the new party but later resigned. Remaining close to Noël Browne he lobbied hard for him to get the Labour Party nomination to contest the 1990 presidential election for the Labour Party. However,

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

was the preferred candidate of

Dick Spring Dick Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and former politician. He was a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North from 1981 to 2002. He became leader of the Labour Party in 1982, and held this position until 1997 ...

. He died on 8 March 1998 in

Bray, County Wicklow Bray ( ) is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area within Ireland (at the 2016 census). Bray is ...

References

Sources

*Kevin Rafter (1996), ''The Clann: The Story of Clann na Poblachta'' *John Horgan (2000), ''Noel Browne: Passionate Outsider'' *Noel Browne (1986), ''Against the Tide'' (Gill & Macmillan)

External links

* A radio documentary, 3×45min CDs first broadcast o
RosFM
{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuillan, Jack 1920 births 1998 deaths Ballyforan Gaelic footballers Clann na Poblachta TDs Independent TDs Irish Army officers Irish sportsperson-politicians Irish socialists Irish trade unionists Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Members of the 11th Seanad Members of the 13th Dáil Members of the 14th Dáil Members of the 15th Dáil Members of the 16th Dáil Members of the 17th Dáil National Progressive Democrats TDs Politicians from County Roscommon Roscommon inter-county Gaelic footballers St Dominic's Gaelic footballers Labour Party (Ireland) senators Independent members of Seanad Éireann