Joseph B. Whelehan (19 May 1882 – 29 October 1968) was an Irish politician, scout leader and teacher. He was born in Tyrrellspass, County Westmeath, the son of grocery shopkeeper Michael Whelehan and Jane Gavin. He was married in Tuam in April 1918 to Mary Philomena Waldron. He was organiser of the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

Club in

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

. He was elected unopposed as a Sinn Féin

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) to the 2nd Dáil at the 1921 elections for the

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

constituency. He supported the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

and voted in favour of it. He was elected as a pro-Treaty Sinn Féin TD at the 1922 general election. He did not contest the 1923 general election. He served as Chair of the Prices Commission during his service in the 2nd Dáil. Whelehan was a secondary school teacher at St Jarlath's College in Tuam,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

.7th Kildare Troop Pilgrimage to Lourdes April 1958
by Joe Connolly. He served as Chief Scout of the

Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland The Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland (CBSI; ga, Gasóga Caitliceacha na hÉireann) was an Irish Catholic Scouting organisation active from 1927 until 2004, when it formed Scouting Ireland by merging with the former Scout Association of Ireland ...

from 1930 until 1962, and was instrumental in the purchase of

Larch Hill Larch Hill International Scout and Guide Centre is the national campsite, and administrative and training headquarters of Scouting Ireland. It was previously owned by Scouting Ireland (CSI). Overview Larch Hill was purchased in 1937 and has gon ...

as the National Campsite.

References

1968 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil People of the Irish Civil War (Pro-Treaty side) Politicians from County Galway 1882 births {{SinnFéin-politician-stub