Michael Joyce (4 September 1851 – 9 January 1941) was an Irish politician who twice served as Mayor of Limerick and was the

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 ...

for the Limerick City constituency of the

United Kingdom Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

from 1900 until 1918.

Early life

Joyce was born at Merchant's Quay in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in 1851. His father was a

river pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professional ...

on the

Shannon Estuary The Shannon Estuary ( gle, Inbhear na Sionainne) is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick City at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to th ...

approach to the port of Limerick. He was educated by the Christian Brothers, attending three of their schools, including CBS Sexton Street. At the age of fourteen, Joyce left Limerick to serve as a seaman. During his time at sea, he survived four separate shipwrecks. Following his return to Limerick in the early 1870s, he became a pilot for Limerick Harbour Commissioners.

Political career

A supporter of

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

for Ireland, Joyce, along with a local priest Robert Ambrose, established the local Limerick branch, the ''Sarsfield branch'', of the

Irish National League The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League h ...

in 1882. In 1899, Joyce was elected to Limerick Corporation and stood for election to Parliament at the 1900 general election as a candidate for the Irish Parliamentary Party, defeating the Unionist candidate Francis Kearney by 2521 votes to 474. Joyce served as an MP until 1918. Although intending to run in the 1918 general election, he eventually decided not to seek re-election and was succeeded by 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 ...

candidate

Michael Colivet Michael Patrick Colivet (29 May 1884 – 4 May 1955) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was Commander of the Irish Volunteers in Limerick during the 1916 Easter Rising, and was elected to the First Dáil. Early life Michael Patrick Colivet ...

, who was elected unopposed. Joyce was elected Mayor of Limerick in January 1905, serving two successive terms until January 1907. Joyce became president of the U.K. Pilots' Association in 1910. He was also a founder member of the rugby club Garryowen in 1884, and played in the first fifteen for both that club and Limerick County. He was a member of St Michael's Temperance Society where he played Gaelic football. In 1900 he became the first Captain of

St Michael's Rowing Club Part of St Michael's Sporting Club which dates back to 1839,St Michael's Rowing Club is a rowing club located in Limerick, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North At ...

. While travelling to London aboard the in October 1918, Joyce survived his fifth maritime disaster, when the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

References

External links

* 1851 births 1941 deaths Garryowen Football Club players Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Mayors of Limerick (city) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Limerick constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Rugby union players from Limerick (city) {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub