Sir Edward Mervyn Archdale, 1st Baronet, PC (Ire), DL (26 January 1853 – 1 November 1943) was a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

politician.

Early life and naval career

Archdale was born the son of Nicholas Montgomery Archdale and his wife Adelaide Mary (née Porter) in Rossfad,

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

. He entered the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1867. He was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1875 and retired in 1881.

Political career

He was appointed High Sheriff of Fermanagh for 1884. In 1898 he was elected

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament for North Fermanagh. He resigned in 1903, but regained the seat in 1916. The seat was abolished in 1922. In 1921 he stood for the new

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

and was elected for Fermanagh and Tyrone. He held that seat until 1929, and was then elected for

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

, retiring in 1937. From 1921 to 1925, he served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the

Government of Northern Ireland A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and continued as Minister of Agriculture from 1925 to 1933. As a landowner and practical

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

he was well-qualified for the job. After Archdale's departure from his position,

Cahir Healy Charles Everard Healy (2 December 1877 – 8 February 1970) was an Ireland, Irish politician. He was a leader of northern nationalists and a self-educated man who made major contributions to Ireland's political, cultural and literary heritage. ...

, a Nationalist leader and member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons, criticised both the

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the L ...

, James Craig, and Archdale for their public campaign against the employment of Catholics. Healy stated that Archdale's slogan was "No Catholics need apply" and said that this policy was not a new one: "Sir Edward Archdale...declared on 31 March 1925 that out of 109 officials in his Department only four were Roman Catholics, and he apologized for even having four in the service of the Government." Archdale was appointed to the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in the 1921 New Year Honours, entitling him to the style "The Right Honourable", and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1928. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Vice-Admiral Sir Nicholas Edward Archdale.

Arms

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 3 November 1943

External links

Bio at The Peerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archdale, Edward 1853 births 1943 deaths Politicians from County Fermanagh Royal Navy officers Farmers from Northern Ireland

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom High sheriffs of County Fermanagh Lord-lieutenants of Tyrone Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Fermanagh constituencies (1801–1922) Irish Unionist Party MPs Ulster Unionist Party MPs UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1925–1929 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1929–1933 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1933–1938 Northern Ireland Cabinet ministers (Parliament of Northern Ireland) Deputy lieutenants of Tyrone Grand masters of the Orange Order Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Fermanagh and Tyrone Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for County Fermanagh constituencies Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland