Justin McCarthy (22 November 1830 – 24 April 1912) was an
Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...
, journalist, historian, novelist and politician. He was a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) from 1879 to 1900, taking his seat in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...
.
Early life
McCarthy was born in
Cork City, Cork, and was educated there. He began his career as a journalist, aged 18, in Cork. From 1853 to 1859 he was in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, on the staff of the ''
Northern Daily Times
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
''. In March 1855, he married Charlotte Ailman. In 1860 he moved to London, as parliamentary reporter to the ''
Morning Star'', of which he became editor in 1864. He gave up his post in 1868, and, after a lecturing tour in the United States, joined the staff of the ''
Daily News'' as leader-writer in 1870 (where he was employed for the next twenty-three years) and was also to write for several periodicals including ''
The Fortnightly Review
''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000; ...
'', ''
The Contemporary Review
''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013.
History
The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intellig ...
'' and
''The Nineteenth Century''. He became one of the most useful and respected upholders of the liberal politics of the time. He lectured again in America in 1886–87.
Political career
McCarthy was first elected to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
at a by-election on 4 April 1879, when he was returned unopposed as a
Home Rule League
The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until it was replaced by the Irish Parliam ...
MP for
County Longford
County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...
.
He was re-elected unopposed as a Parnellite Home Ruler in
1880
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia.
* January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy.
* February ...
, and when the two-seat Longford constituency was split into two divisions under the
Redistribution of Seats Act, he was elected as an
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...
member for the new single-seat
Northern division of Longford. His sole opponent, a Conservative, won only 6% of the votes.
At the
1886 general election, he was returned unopposed in North Longford, but had also stood in
Londonderry City, where he was declared to have lost to the
Unionist candidate by the narrow margin of 1778 votes to 1781. However, the result was later overturned on petition, and McCarthy opted to sit for Londonderry City. During the divorce controversy surrounding
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...
in November 1890, the British Prime Minister
Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
expressed a warning, given to Justin McCarthy as intermediary, that if Parnell retained leadership of the
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...
it would mean the loss of the next election, the end of their alliance and Home Rule. When the annual party leadership election meeting was called later that month, this threat was somehow not conveyed to the members, who re-elected Parnell leader of the Party.
After a further historical meeting of the Irish Party MPs early December, Parnell refused to retire, and the Party divided. McCarthy became chairman of the Anti-Parnellite group, or the
Irish National Federation
The Irish National Federation (INF) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1891 by former members of the Irish National League (INL), after a split in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) on the leadership of Charles S ...
and held that post until January 1896; but his nationalism was of a temperate and orderly kind, and though his personal distinction singled him out for the chairmanship during the party dissensions of this period, he was in no active sense the political leader.
At the
1892 general election, McCarthy again stood both in North Longford and in Londonderry City. In each seat there was a two-way contest between McCarthy and a Unionist candidate, but the narrow Unionist victory in Londonderry City (by 1986 votes to 1960) was not overturned, and McCarthy sat for North Longford, where he had won over 93% of the votes. He was returned unopposed for North Longford in
1895, and stood down from Parliament at the
1900 general election.
Writing
It has been claimed that McCarthy's true vocation was as a writer. He published his first novel, ''Paul Massie: A Romance'' in 1866, a prelude to several novels that attained a considerable readership: ''A Fair Saxon'' (1873), ''Dear Lady Disdain'' (1875), ''Miss Misanthrope'' (1878), and ''Donna Quixote'' (1879). McCarthy's best known work is his ''History of Our Own Times'' (vols. i-iv., 1879–1880; vol. v., 1897), which treats of the period between
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
's accession and her
Diamond Jubilee
A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...
, and ran into several revised editions.
In 1882 McCarthy published ''The Epoch of Reform, 1830-1850.'' England, he argued, had avoided continental revolution because in a Parliament otherwise incapable of anticipating "the wants and wishes of the country" her statesmen were shrewd enough to defer to "pressure from without". In the case of Ireland, however, he believed their judgement failed them. To "the manner in which the Government resisted
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...
, and the grudging way of at last conceding it", he ascribed much of Ireland's subsequent "discontent and disaffection".
In 1885, he published ''England under Gladstone, 1880-1885'' . He began a four-volume ''History of the Four Georges'' (1884–1901); later completed by his son,
Justin Huntly McCarthy
Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859 – 20 March 1936) was an Irish author, historian, and nationalist politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1884 to 1892, taking his seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
He was the son of ...
. McCarthy traced to the days of
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...
and
William Pulteney the origins of the contemporary English political parties which, appealing to prejudices and passions, seek to "manufacture" a public opinion of their own.
He also collaborated on three novels with
Rosa Campbell Praed
Rosa Campbell Praed (; 26 March 1851 – 10 April 1935), often credited as Mrs. Campbell Praed (and also known as ''Rosa Caroline Praed''), was an Australian novelist in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Her large bibliography covered multiple ...
: ''The Right Honourable'' (1886), ''The Rebel Rose'' (issued anonymously in 1888 but appeared in their joint names in two later editions under the title, ''The Rival Princess''), and ''The Ladies' Gallery'' (1888). They also collaborated on ''The Grey River'', a book on the Thames, which was illustrated with etchings by
Mortimer Menpes
Mortimer Luddington Menpes (22 February 1855 – 1 April 1938) was an Australian-born British painter, author, printmaker and illustrator.
Life
Menpes was born in Port Adelaide, South Australia, the second son of property developer James ...
. He wrote ''The Story of Gladstone'' (1904), a somewhat uncritical biography of William Ewart Gladstone.
His biographer, Liam Harte, suggests that McCarthy's award of a civil-list pension for services to literature in 1903 "confirmed his stature as an eminent Victorian, while simultaneously reinforcing many Irish nationalists’ jaundiced view of him as a careerist West Briton".
Yet, reviewing his political career, Paul Townend finds that it was precisely McCarthy's "peculiar brand of anglophilia and deeply held Irish patriotism" that made him an ideal "ambassador between Parnellite nationalism and British opinion" which otherwise "despised" the cause of Irish Home Rule.
[Paul Townend (2007), ‘“No Imperial Privilege”: Justin McCarthy, Home Rule, and Empire’, ''Éire-Ireland'', vol. 42, nos. 1 and 2 (Spring/Summer), pp. 208–9]
Family life
McCarthy married Charlotte Ailman in 1855. They had a son
Justin Huntly McCarthy
Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859 – 20 March 1936) was an Irish author, historian, and nationalist politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1884 to 1892, taking his seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
He was the son of ...
born in 1859 who also became a Member of Parliament, and a daughter Charlotte, born in 1872. McCarthy died in Folkestone, Kent, England on 24 April 1912, aged 81.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Justin
1830 births
1912 deaths
Irish Liberal Party MPs
Home Rule League MPs
Irish Parliamentary Party MPs
Anti-Parnellite MPs
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Londonderry constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Longford constituencies (1801–1922)
Irish novelists
UK MPs 1874–1880
UK MPs 1880–1885
UK MPs 1885–1886
UK MPs 1886–1892
UK MPs 1892–1895
UK MPs 1895–1900
People educated at University College School
19th-century Irish historians
Politicians from County Cork
Irish journalists
Place of death missing
Irish male novelists