Michael Joseph Staines (1 May 1885 – 26 October 1955) was an Irish republican, politician and police commissioner. He was born in

Newport, County Mayo Newport (), historically known as Ballyveaghan and for many years also known as Newport-Pratt, is a small town in the barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo, Ireland. The population was 626 in 2016. It is located on the west coast of Ireland, along ...

, his mother Margaret's home village, and where his father Edward was serving as a

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 ...

(RIC) officer. Staines was a member of the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

(IRB) and on its Supreme Council from 1921 to 1922. He served as Quartermaster General in the GPO during the 1916 Easter Rising and was later interned with his fellow insurgents at

Frongoch internment camp Frongoch internment camp at Frongoch in Merionethshire, Wales was a makeshift place of imprisonment during the First World War and the 1916 Easter Rising. History 1916 the camp housed German prisoners of war in a yellow distillery and cru ...

. These men were served with internment orders under the

Defence of the Realm Act 1914 The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after it entered the First World War and was added to as the war progressed. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war, such as the p ...

, which stated that they were "suspected of having honoured, promoted or assisted an armed insurrection against His Majesty". This meant that there were no charges, no court appearances and no pleas. Staines was elected Commandant of the prisoners after the former Commandant J. J. O'Connell was sent to

Reading Gaol HM Prison Reading, popularly known as Reading Gaol, is a former prison located in Reading, Berkshire, England. The prison was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service until its closure at the start of 2014. It is a Grade II listed building and ...

on 30 June. W.J. Brennan-Whitmore described Staines as: "a highly efficient officer who earned the love and respect of every individual prisoner." The attempts to conscript men in Frongoch to the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

proved to be a serious source of disagreement between the prisoners and the camp authorities. The prisoners felt that it was ludicrous to expect Irish rebels to fight for Britain and the Crown. In addition, they were concerned that acceptance of conscription in Frongoch might be a prelude to the introduction of conscription in Ireland. Roughly sixty men in Frongoch had lived in Great Britain before the Rising and they were accordingly deemed liable for conscription. Staines, whom W. J. Brennan-Whitmore describes as maintaining "a very difficult position with remarkable efficiency and tact" throughout the conscription troubles which took place in Frongoch, took up a very resolute attitude on the question of identification. He asked Colonel F.A. Heygate-Lambert, Camp Commandant if he expected the prisoner leaders to identify comrades of theirs for military service in the British Army. To this Heygate-Lambert replied that it was the leaders' duty to identify men for all purposes. Staines retorted that by identifying the men for military service they would be lowering themselves to the level of spies and informers. On his release from internment in Frongoch, he collaborated with

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

, James Ryan,

Eamonn Duggan Eamonn Seán Duggan ( ga, Éamonn Ó Dúgáin; 2 March 1878 – 6 June 1936) was an Irish lawyer and politician who served as Government Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence from 1927 to 1932, Parliamentary Secre ...

and others in founding the New Ireland Assurance Collecting Society, in furtherance of the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

policy of investment in Ireland. He was elected Director for Supply for Sinn Féin on 27 October 1917. He was also elected as a

MP for the Dublin St Michan's constituency at the 1918 general election. He attended Dáil Éireann, working closely with the legal side of government. At the 1920 Dublin Corporation election, he was elected as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

. He was re-elected in 1921 and 1922 for the Dublin North-West constituency. He later served in the

Free State Seanad Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procure ...

. He was on the Grangegorman Psychiatric Hospital Board. He was the first commissioner of the Garda Síochána, of which he said, Appointed in April 1922, he was forced to retreat from the

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

Depot during the Civic Guard Mutiny by recruits the following month. Staines was replaced as commissioner by

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish military commander, police commissioner and politician. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a prominent figure i ...

in September 1922. Prior to the formation of the Garda, Staines and O'Duffy had acted as liaisons between the RIC and the

Irish Republican Police The Irish Republican Police (IRP) was the police force of the 1919–1922 Irish Republic and was administered by the Department for Home Affairs of that government. Foundation The IRP was founded between April and June 1920 under the authority ...

during the Truce which preceded the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

References

External links

* Michael_Staines.jpg, Michael Staines (1918) Piece 207-181; Michael Staines (1922).pdf, page=8, British Army intelligence file for Michael Staines {{DEFAULTSORT:Staines, Michael 1885 births 1955 deaths Garda Commissioners Early Sinn Féin TDs Cumann na nGaedheal senators Fine Gael senators Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil Members of the 1928 Seanad Members of the 1931 Seanad Members of the 1934 Seanad Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Dublin constituencies (1801–1922) People of the Irish Civil War (Pro-Treaty side) Politicians from County Mayo UK MPs 1918–1922 Local councillors in Dublin (city)