Patrick Francis Baxter (1 October 1891 – 3 April 1959) was an Irish politician from

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 ...

. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) in the 1920s, and later a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for over 25 years, serving as Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann from 1954 to 1957. Baxter was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

at the 1923 general election, when he won a seat as Farmers' Party TD for

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

in the

4th Dáil Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. He had stood unsuccessfully in the 1922 general election, but after topping the poll in 1923 he was re-elected at the June 1927 general election with his vote halved. He lost his seat at the September 1927 general election. After the collapse of the Farmers' Party in the late 1920s, he made three further unsuccessful attempts to return to the Dáil: at the 1932 general election as a

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; "Society of the Gaels") was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. In 1933 it merged with smaller groups to form the Fine Gael party. Origins In 1922 the pro-Treaty G ...

candidate in Cavan, at the 1933 general election as a National Centre Party candidate in

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

, and as a Fine Gael candidate in Cavan at the 1943 general election. He was elected in 1934 as a senator for Fine Gael, for a nine-year term, but the

Free State Seanad Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

was abolished in 1936. When the house was re-established, he was re-elected in 1938 to the

2nd Seanad This is a list of the members of the 2nd Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in March 1938 and served until the close of poll for the 3rd Seanad in July 1938. ...

on the Agricultural Panel,The 2nd Seanad Éireann was actually the first Seanad elected under the 1937 constitution. This is because the Free State Seanad was considered to be in continuous session, since its members were elected for a period of nine years, with elections every three years for those senators whose terms had expired. The Free State Seanad is therefore collectively known as the First Seanad. and held the seat until his death in office in 1959. He was a

Clann na Talmhan Clann na Talmhan (, "Family/Children of the land"; formally known as the ''National Agricultural Party'') was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965. Formation and growth Clann na Talmhan was founded on 29 June 1939 in ...

senator from 1938 onwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Patrick 1891 births 1959 deaths Farmers' Party (Ireland) TDs Clann na Talmhan senators Cumann na nGaedheal politicians National Centre Party (Ireland) politicians Fine Gael senators Cathaoirligh of Seanad Éireann Members of the 4th Dáil Members of the 5th Dáil Members of the 1934 Seanad Members of the 2nd Seanad Members of the 3rd Seanad Members of the 4th Seanad Members of the 5th Seanad Members of the 6th Seanad Members of the 7th Seanad Members of the 8th Seanad Members of the 9th Seanad Irish farmers