Thomas Moles (13 November 1871 – 3 February 1937) was a journalist and

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the I ...

politician.

Life

Born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in 1871, Moles was the son of Edward Moles and Margaret née Carson and was educated at the Collegiate School,

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...

. A journalist by profession, he was

Leader Writer A leader writer is a senior journalist in a British newspaper who is charged with writing the paper's editorial either in the absence of the editor or in cases where the editor chooses not to write editorials because their editorial skills may res ...

for the ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

'' from 1909 until 1924 and managing editor for that newspaper from 1924. Moles was an Irish representative on the British press visit to Canada in 1911. He was a member of the Secretariat to the Irish Convention from 1917 to 1918. Moles was MP for Belfast Ormeau 1918–1922 and Belfast South 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 ...

from 1922 until he retired in 1929. He was also an MP in the

Northern Ireland House of Commons The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the ''Government of Ireland Act 1920''. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished wit ...

from 1921 to 1929 for South Belfast and for Belfast, Ballynafeigh from 1929 to his death in 1937. He was the first ever member declared elected to the Northern Ireland House of Commons. He was Chairman of the Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland House of Commons from 7 June 1921 until his death; and Member of the

Privy Council of Northern Ireland The Privy Council of Northern Ireland is a formal body of advisors to the sovereign and was a vehicle for the monarch's prerogative powers in Northern Ireland. It was modelled on the Privy Council of Ireland. The council was created in 1922 as ...

in 1923. Moles was married in Ramoan, Co Antrim on 20 March 1901 to Charlotte Brannigan and had three children. He was also a motorcycle enthusiast and helped to push through parliament the first Road Races Act, which made it legal for the roads on the Clady Course to be closed for the first Ulster Grand Prix motorcycle road race on 14 October 1922.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moles, Thomas 1871 births 1937 deaths Journalists from Northern Ireland Irish Unionist Party politicians Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom 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 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (since 1922) Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 Politicians from Belfast Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast constituencies