John Jinks (4 May 1871 – 11 September 1934) (often known as Alderman Jinks from his position as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

Sligo Corporation Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

) was an Irish politician who served in Dáil Éireann from June to August 1927.

Biography

He was born as John Jenk, to Patrick Jenk (also Jinks), a farmer, and Bridget Gilmartin, of

Drumcliff Drumcliff or Drumcliffe () is a village in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is 8 km (5 miles) north of Sligo, Sligo town on the N15 road (Ireland), N15 road on a low gravel ridge between the mountain of Ben Bulben and Drumcl ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

. An auctioneer and licensed grocer, he was elected to Dáil Éireann as

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 7-seat Leitrim–Sligo constituency at the June 1927 general election for the

National League Party The National League was a political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1926 by William Redmond (Irish politician, born 1886), William Redmond and Thomas O'Donnell (Irish nationalist politician), Thomas O'Donnell in support of the Anglo-Ir ...

. He is most famous for his absence, on 16 August 1927, from a crucial vote. The Labour Party had proposed a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

in the

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; "Society of the Gaels") was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. In 1933 it merged with smaller groups to form the Fine Gael party. Origins In 1922 the pro-Treaty ...

Executive Council. They proposed an alternative coalition government with the National League, supported by

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

, which had just entered the Dáil. Jinks's abstention resulted in a tied vote (71–71) and the government survived on the

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

of the Ceann Comhairle. His absence had been unannounced and unauthorised by the party. He afterwards explained that he had been opposed to the proposed alliance between the National League, Labour and

, but did not want to create a split by voting against the party or by announcing his decision in advance. He described the "sensational rumour" of a kidnapping as "sheer invention". Many colourful stories have grown up over the years as to the means by which his absence from the voting lobbies was secured. Jinks resigned from the National League on 18 August, stating that he could not "remain any longer a member of a party from which my political outlook so distinctly differs". After Cumann na nGaedheal won two by-elections held on 24 August, a new general election was called. In the September 1927 general election, he stood 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 ...

candidate, but was not re-elected. In 1928 and 1934, he was elected to

Sligo County Council Sligo County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Shligigh) is the authority responsible for local government in County Sligo, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and ...

as a

and

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

candidate respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jinks, John 1871 births 1934 deaths National League Party TDs Members of the 5th Dáil Politicians from County Sligo Local councillors in County Sligo Independent politicians in Ireland Cumann na nGaedheal politicians Fine Gael politicians