Jasper Travers Wolfe (3 August 1872 – 27 August 1952) was an Irish

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politician who served 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 Cork West from 1927 to 1933. He was born into a

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family the son of William J. Wolfe. He was educated at Bishop's School, Skibbereen and was admitted as 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 ...

in 1893. He obtained first place in his final exams and was awarded the Findlater Scholarship. He was a member of Skibbereen Urban District Council for a number of years. He was crown prosecutor in Cork city for a period and for the West Riding of

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

from 1916 to 1923. He was the first Cork man to hold the Presidency of the Incorporated

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. Wolfe 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 June 1927 general election, and took his seat in the short-lived

5th Dáil Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

. He was re-elected at the September 1927 general election and again at the 1932 general election, but did not contest the 1933 general election. Wolfe was a solicitor who also owned the Cork County Eagle and Munster Advertiser newspaper. This was a successor to the ''

Skibbereen Eagle Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The name "Skibbereen" (sometimes shortened to "Skibb") means "little boat harbour". The River Ilen runs through the town; it reac ...

'', which in an editorial in 1897 had famously warned the Tsar of Russia about expansionist aims towards China, declaring that the Skibbereen Eagle had "got its eye on the Tsar". A book about Wolfe titled ''Jasper Wolfe of Skibbereen'' was written by Jasper Ungoed-Thomas, grandson of Jasper Wolfe, and tells the story of his life, set against the backdrop of the partition of Ireland and the emergent new political order. In 1894 Wolfe founded Wolfe & Co. Solicitors, which is still operating in Market Street, Skibbereen, County Cork. He died at his residence, "Norton", Skibbereen, and is buried in Aughadown Cemetery.

References

Sources

*''Willie Kingston: From Victorian Boyhood to the Troubles: A Skibbereen Memoir'', Skibbereen Historical Journal Vol 1 2005, extracts edited by his niece Daisy Swanton and Jasper Ungoed-Thomas, grandson of Jasper Wolfe, and Vol 2. *Tim Cadogan and Jeremiah Falvey, ''A Biographical Dictionary of Cork'', 2006, Four Courts Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Jasper 1872 births 1952 deaths Independent TDs Members of the 5th Dáil Members of the 6th Dáil Members of the 7th Dáil Politicians from County Cork People from Skibbereen