Justin McKenna (9 June 1896 – 23 March 1950) was an Irish politician and lawyer. Born in Mullagh,

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, McKenna's shopkeeper father, Thomas P. McKenna, was prominent in public life having held the offices of Chairman of

Cavan County Council Cavan County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae an Chabháin) is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the L ...

, founding Chairman of the Cavan County Board of the GAA, and a member of the Governing Body of

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD). His mother was Sarah Clinton. Educated at

St Patrick's College, Cavan Saint Patrick's College ( ga, Coláiste Padraig) is a Roman Catholic all-male secondary school. Located in County Cavan, Ireland. It was founded in 1871 as a minor and major seminary for the Diocese of Kilmore. It was officially opened by the B ...

, McKenna went on to be enrolled as a law student at UCD. While there he became active in the military struggle. During a visit home he was arrested on 26 November 1920 and later charged with possession of ammunition and seditious materials. He was held for a time at Arbour Hill Prison he was subsequently interned at the Rath Camp in the Curragh. He was released on 8 August 1921 having been elected unopposed as a

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 ...

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

Second Dáil The Second Dáil () was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected ...

at the 1921 elections for the Louth–Meath 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 stood as a pro-Treaty Sinn Féin candidate at the 1922 general election but was not elected. Following the formation of 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 ...

McKenna became

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

's first State Solicitor, a role which involves being the top appellate advocate, amongst other duties. He was married in Dublin in November 1932 to Brigid Lynch. After public life he continued in private practice in Kells, County Meath, until his death following a stroke on 23 July 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Justin 1896 births 1950 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 2nd Dáil People educated at St Patrick's College, Cavan Politicians from County Cavan Irish solicitors