Thomas Quinn (1838 – 3 November 1897) was an Irish nationalist politician and a successful

builder Builder may refer to: * Construction worker, who specializes in building work * Carpenter, a skilled craftsman who works with wood * General contractor, that specializes in building work ** Subcontractor * Builder (detergent), a component of moder ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. A member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was

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

Kilkenny City Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilkenn ...

from 1886 to 1892 and Treasurer of the

Irish National League The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League h ...

and the Irish Land League of Great Britain. In the Split in the Irish Parliamentary Party over the leadership of

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

, he began as a supporter of Parnell but changed allegiance to the Anti-Parnellite majority in May 1891.

Early life

Quinn had a humble background. He was the son of Matthew Quinn of

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

Co. Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,634 ...

. He was educated at Longford and Mullingar,

Co. Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

. At an early age he went to London, where he lived for the rest of his life. He learned the building trade as a journeyman carpenter, eventually creating a large building business of his own, and winning government contracts. He was one of the pioneers of the building of flats. In 1863 he married Mary, daughter of Michael Canlan, and they had four children.

Political career

He stood as a Home Rule candidate for County Leitrim in 1880, but came 170 votes short of winning a seat. He remained active in the Nationalist cause; as of 1883 he was Treasurer of the National League and Land League of Great Britain. In August 1885 he was adopted as a Nationalist candidate for County Longford, and at a convention in October 1885 it was decided that he would fight the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

seat. He had to withdraw before being formally nominated because of an indirect connection with a government contract, but in the following July 1886 general election, he was returned unopposed for Kilkenny City. Quinn was a particular target of the "Parnellism and Crime" campaign by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' newspaper against Parnell and his party. Whereas the main accusation against Parnell was simply that according to a corrupt journalist

Richard Pigott Richard Pigott (1835 – 1 March 1889) was an Irish journalist, best known for his forging of evidence that Charles Stewart Parnell of the Irish National Land League had been sympathetic to the perpetrators of the Phoenix Park Murders. Parn ...

he had privately expressed support for the

Phoenix Park Murders The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke (civil servant), Thomas Henry Burke in Phoenix Park, Dublin, British rule in Ireland, Ireland, on 6 May 1882. Cavendish was the newly appoint ...

, Quinn was effectively accused in an anonymous letter published on 13 June 1887 of being an accessory to the murders themselves. He was effectively exonerated, along with his co-accused, by the collapse of The Times’ case before the

Parnell Commission The Parnell Commission, officially Special Commission on Parnellism and Crime, was a judicial inquiry in the late 1880s into allegations of crimes by Irish parliamentarian Charles Stewart Parnell which resulted in his vindication. Background On ...

in February 1889. When the Irish Parliamentary Party split over the question of Parnell's leadership in December 1890, Quinn supported Parnell. However he disagreed with Parnell over the latter's treatment of the disputed "Paris funds" and in May 1891 he applied for the

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

of the Anti-Parnellite Parliamentary Party chaired by Justin McCarthy. The Anti-Parnellites were seriously divided between the factions led on the one hand by Timothy Healy, and on the other by

John Dillon John Dillon (4 September 1851 – 4 August 1927) was an Irish politician from Dublin, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 35 years and was the last leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. By political disposition Dillon was an a ...

and

William O'Brien William O'Brien (2 October 1852 – 25 February 1928) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of ...

; between them Quinn was a neutral. In February 1892 he saw off an attempt by a creditor to have him committed to prison, when the judge at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

County Court threw out the case on the ground of Parliamentary privilege. Quinn retired from Parliament at the general election of July 1892 due to ill-health. He died at his home in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

on 3 November 1897, having never recovered from a severe chill contracted when attending a Gaelic athletic sports event four months previously. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, on 10 November 1897.Freeman’s Journal, 8 November 1897 He was survived by his wife, but all four of their children predeceased him.

Footnotes

Sources

*'' Freeman's Journal'', 4 & 8 November 1897 *T. W. Moody, ''The Times'' versus Parnell and Co., 1887–90, ''Historical Studies'' (Papers read before the Irish Conference of Historians), VI, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968 *''The Times'' (London), 25 August, 13 October and 1 December 1885; 17 July 1886; 13 June 1887; 10 July 1888; 4–6 May 1891; 10 February and 16 April 1892; 4 November 1897 *Brian M. Walker (ed.), ''Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922'', Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, 1978

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Thomas 1838 births 1897 deaths Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Anti-Parnellite MPs UK MPs 1886–1892 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kilkenny constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Longford Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery People from Longford (town)