Séamus Fitzgerald (21 August 1896 – 23 July 1972) was an Irish politician. He was elected unopposed as a

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 ...

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) to the 2nd Dáil at the 1921 elections for the Cork East and North East constituency. Fitzgerald was born in Cobh (then known as Queenstown) in 1896. He joined 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 ...

in 1914 and was mobilised in Cork in preparation for the Easter Rising in 1916. When the Rising failed to spread beyond

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and some other limited actions, Fitzgerald and many of his Cork comrades was interned in Britain. After the amnesty for prisoners he rejoined what had now become the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

(IRA) in Cobh and also became active in the

party. He was elected a member of the town's first republican Urban District Council (later Cobh Town Council) at the 1919 local elections and was elected chairman at its first meeting. He opposed 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 ...

and voted against it. He stood as an anti-Treaty Sinn Féin candidate at the 1922 general election but was not elected. He joined

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

in 1926 shortly after its foundation and was to remain a prominent member of the party in the Cork area for the next 50 years until his death. He was elected to the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

Seanad in 1934 and served until it was abolished in 1936. He stood in several elections for that party in both Cork East and Cork City but was only successful on one occasion when elected to the short-lived 11th Dáil as a Fianna Fáil

(TD) for the Cork Borough constituency at the 1943 general election. He lost his seat at the 1944 general election. He married Mary Harrington in 1927, and they had three children. Fitzgerald owned a local business in Cobh and was an active member of the local Chamber of Commerce as well as Cork Harbour Commissioners (now the Port of Cork Company). He held several directorships in local companies. Fitzgerald died in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Seamus 1896 births 1972 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Fianna Fáil TDs Fianna Fáil senators Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 11th Dáil Members of the 1934 Seanad Politicians from County Cork People from Cobh Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members