Thomas Condon (16 May 1883 – 12 September 1963) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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politician.

Background and family

Thomas Condon was born in Athy, County Kildare on 16 May 1883, the son of Thomas Condon, a Sergent in the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

, and Helena Cunningham. He was brought up in

Cappoquin Cappoquin, also spelt Cappaquin or Capaquin (), is a town in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is on the Blackwater river at the junction of the N72 national secondary road and the R669 regional road. It is positioned on a sharp 90-degree b ...

, County Waterford, Ireland, he later moved to Clontarf, Dublin where he became a civil servant. He married Margaret McGuire a teacher from

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

in 1912, with whom he had eight children, including Colm Condon, who went on to become a barrister, and

Attorney General of Ireland The Attorney General of Ireland ( ga, An tArd-Aighne) is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does pa ...

. Thomas and Margaret later moved to

Ashbourne, County Meath Ashbourne, historically called ''Killeglan'' or ''Kildeglan'' (), is a town in County Meath, Ireland. Located about 20 km north of Dublin and close to the M2 motorway, Ashbourne is a commuter town within Greater Dublin. In the 20 years b ...

where they brought up their children. Thomas Condon was purportedly well educated, speaking fluently: Irish, Latin, and French, though little is known of his formal education. He died on 12 September 1963.

1916 Easter Rising

Condon was a member of the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...

, who took part in the raid of the

barracks in Ashbourne, led by

Thomas Ashe Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, in the Easter Rising of 1916, and was subsequently sent to

HM Prison Wandsworth HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South West London, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service and is one of the largest prisons in the UK. History The prison w ...

on 8 May 1916. It is also probable that he used his position as a British civil servant, to spy on the British administration, prior to the rebellion.

Local politics

Thomas Condon was a

Meath County Council Meath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Mí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Meath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...

lor for Ashbourne, and Cathaoirligh (chair) of Meath County Council from 1934 to 1936., Thomas Condon was also Eighteen times reelected as the chairman of the Council for County councils from 1936 to 1954.

Irish tourist board

Thomas Condon was appointed as the President of the Irish Tourist board, upon its creation in 1939, and he was later appointed as the chairman of the executive and finance committee of the tourist board

Seanad Éireann

He was a member of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

in 1938 and again in 1944. He was first elected 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. ...

in April 1938 by the

Administrative Panel The Administrative Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Administrative Panel elects seven senators. Election ...

. He lost his seat in the August 1938 Seanad election. He was re-elected by the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The In ...

at the 1944 Seanad election. He was disqualified from the Seanad on 25 October 1944 by virtue of his membership of the Irish Tourist Board. He was replaced by

Frederick Summerfield Frederick Maurice Summerfield (30 December 1887 – 22 July 1975) was an Irish Independent politician and businessman. He was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1945 to 1954. He was nominated to Seanad on 7 March 1945, replacing Thomas Condon on the ...

References

1883 births 1963 deaths Independent members of Seanad Éireann Members of the 2nd Seanad Members of the 5th Seanad Members of Meath County Council People from Athy People from Cappoquin Administrative Panel senators Industrial and Commercial Panel senators {{Ireland-senator-stub