Thomas Meagher (1796–1874) was an Irish businessman and politician, born and raised in St. John's, Colony of Newfoundland. His father, also named Thomas Meagher (1763–1837), had emigrated from Tipperary to St. John's, Colony of Newfoundland, where he became a successful businessman. The younger Thomas was born in St. John's and returned to Ireland in his 20s to represent his father's business interests, where he prospered. Meagher was

Mayor of Waterford The Kings of Viking Waterford (914–1170) The Vikings, who had created a longphort near Waterford in 853, finally settled and created a town in 914. These were led by Ottir Iarla. Ragnall ua Ímair then installed himself over them in 917, how ...

in 1843 and 1844, the first Roman Catholic mayor of the city since the penal laws. He was elected at the 1847 general election as 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 ...

(MP) for

Waterford City "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. He was re-elected in

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1857 general election. Meagher and his wife (Alicia Quan Meagher) had five children, only two of whom survived childhood. One of these,

Thomas Francis Meagher Thomas Francis Meagher (; 3 August 18231 July 1867) was an Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Rebellion of 1848. After being convicted of sedition, he was first sentenced to death, but received transportation for life ...

(1823–1867), would garner renown as a leader of the

Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 The Young Irelander Rebellion was a failed Irish nationalist uprising led by the Young Ireland movement, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 that affected most of Europe. It took place on 29 July 1848 at Farranrory, a small settlement about 4 ...

. The death sentence for his role in the rebellion was commuted to transportation to Australia. He escaped and went to United States, where he rose to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and later became acting governor of the Montana Territory.

Death

Thomas Meagher, who died in 1874, having been predeceased by all save possibly one of his children; the year of death of his daughter, Christine Mary Meagher, is unknown. Thomas Meagher's grave is located at Faithlegg Church cemetery, Checkpoint, County Waterford.

References

External links

* 1796 births 1874 deaths People from Waterford (city) Mayors of Waterford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Waterford constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Irish Repeal Association MPs {{Ireland-UK-MP-stub