Sir James Michael Gallagher (1860–1925) was an Irish businessman who was

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

for two terms. Gallagher was born in

Kiltyclogher Kiltyclogher () is a small village in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is on the border with County Fermanagh, close to the hamlet of Cashelnadrea. Population The population of the electoral division in which Kiltyclogher lies was 233 residents as ...

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

, the son of Patrick Gallagher.Gallagher, Sir James Michael
''Thom's Irish Who's Who''. Retrieved 28 November 2022. By 1889 he had moved to Dublin and opened a business as a cigar importer; by 1905 the business had four shops in the city. On 15 January 1908 he was elected to the

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

for Fitzwilliam ward for the

United Irish League The United Irish League (UIL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland, launched 23 January 1898 with the motto ''"The Land for the People"''. Its objective to be achieved through agrarian agitation and land reform, compelling larger grazi ...

, and he continued to represent the ward until the corporation was suspended by the

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 ...

government in 1924. He was appointed a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1913. Gallagher was elected to serve two consecutive terms as Lord Mayor of Dublin 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 ...

between 1915 and 1917. His tenure coincided with the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

and the resulting general instability in Dublin. He emphasised to the

Dublin Castle administration Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

the need for British government compensation for Dubliners as a result of the destruction of much of the city, commenting "They blew up the best portion of our city and... it is their duty to replace it". His lobbying, and that of the Dublin Fire and Property Losses Association, led to the establishment of the

Property Losses (Ireland) Committee The Property Losses (Ireland) Committee was a committee established by the Dublin Castle administration in Ireland in 1916 to assess claims for damages to buildings and property as a result of destruction caused by the Easter Rising. Although prin ...

by the Lord Lieutenant in June 1916. In July 1916, he travelled to London to petition the British government for assistance in rebuilding Dublin and for workable town planning regulations. This resulted in a £700,000 loan to the Dublin Corporation and in the

Dublin Reconstruction (Emergency Provisions) Act 1916 The Dublin Reconstruction (Emergency Provisions) Act 1916 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, given royal assent on 22 December 1916. The act provided for the reconstruction of areas of Dublin which had been destroyed ...

passing into law in December 1916.Dublin Reconstruction (Emergency Provisions) Act
UK Parliament legislation. Retrieved 28 November 2022. From London, Gallagher proceeded to Paris to visit the Exposition de la Cité Réconstitutée – an urban planning exhibition of plans for rebuilding areas in France and Belgium destroyed during the First World War. At the quarterly meeting of the Dublin Corporation in October 1916 Lord Mayor Gallagher made a lengthy statement defending the corporation's management of the city in reference to criticisms of the administration by ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

''. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

at the end of his second term in 1917. He was the last knighted person to be Lord Mayor of Dublin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, James Michael 1860 births 1925 deaths 20th-century Irish politicians Irish justices of the peace Knights Bachelor Lord Mayors of Dublin Businesspeople from County Leitrim United Irish League people 20th-century Irish businesspeople