Edward J. Cronin (10 July 1897 – 1946), was an

Irish army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

officer, senior member of

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 � ...

and a leader of the

Blueshirts The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, then Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, but best known by the nickname the Blueshirts ( ga, Na Léinte Gorma), was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded ...

Personal life

He was the son of John and Johanna Cronin. One of his children, Noel died in 1930 aged 10 months.

Biography

Cronin fought in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

. 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 joined the National Army of the Free State, he was made a

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

. During the Civil War Cronin and 47 others in the National Army were forced to surrender to the

Anti-Treaty IRA 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 ...

. He remained a part of the National Army after the wars, until 1933. He was a founding member of the

and was made its

General secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

. It was Cronin who suggested that they adopt the now iconic blue uniform so that they could recognise each other during riots. In December 1933, Cronin was arrested and imprisoned for three months on the charges of sedition and membership of an illegal organisation, the Blueshirts having been outlawed by the Fianna Fáil government that summer. According to the Minister for Justice PJ Ruttledge, In July 1934 Cronin is said to have stated in a speech in Tipperary: Following the merger of Cumann na nGaedhael, the National Centre Party and the Blueshirts into one political party, Cronin was made a co-Vice President of Fine Gael along with

W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ir ...

and James Dillon. The Blueshirts were now to act as the youth wing of the new party. When

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish military commander, police commissioner and politician. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a prominent figure in ...

, the former leader of the Blueshirts resigned as leader of Fine Gael he attempted to retake his old position. Cronin refused to accept this and the Blueshirts split into two factions, the pro-Cronin faction and the pro-O’Duffy faction. Cronin opposed the formation of the Irish Brigade for the purposes of fighting in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, saying it had as much chance to reach

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

as it did of reaching the moon. In October 1936, Fine Gael voted to suspend the Blueshirts indefinitely, effectively axing them and Cronin. Most of Cronin's personal wealth had been tied up in the Blueshirts and following their demise, he emigrated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to work as a printer. The

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

, John A. Costello, invited him back to serve as an adviser to the government, but he died on the trip over. He was buried in Shandrum,

Newtownshandrum Newtownshandrum () is a small village in County Cork, Ireland located west of Charleville on the R515 road. The name translates from Irish to mean 'new town of the old ridge'. Historic maps from 1829–1841 and 1897–1913 identify the village ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Ned 1897 births 1946 deaths Irish anti-communists Irish fascists Members of the Blueshirts People from County Cork People of the Irish Civil War (Pro-Treaty side)