Arthur James Kickham O'Connor (18 May 1888 – 10 May 1950) was an Irish politician, lawyer and judge.

Early life

He was born in 1888, the second son of Arthur O'Connor of Elm Hall,

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

(1834–1907) and his second wife Elizabeth (''née'' Saul). He was educated at Blackrock College,

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

. He obtained the dispensation which was at that time required by Catholics in order to study engineering at the then almost exclusively Protestant

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, from which he duly graduated in 1911.

Politics

O'Connor was elected

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

MP for Kildare South at the 1918 general election. In January 1919 Sinn Féin MPs, who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918, refused to recognise the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

and instead assembled as a unicameral revolutionary parliament called

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

. In the 1st Dáil, he was appointed Substitute Director of Agriculture during the absence of Robert Barton. In the 2nd Dáil he held the position of Minister of Agriculture from 26 August 1921 to 9 January 1922. O'Connor subsequently opposed the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

and joined the Republican side. In March 1926, O'Connor became titular President of the Republic when

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 an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

resigned. He later resigned the presidency in 1927. He lost his Dáil seat in the 1923 general election and failed to be elected as a Sinn Féin candidate in 1927.

Later life

He retired from politics, returned to Trinity College Dublin to study law, after graduating in law he was called to the bar, subsequently appointed as Senior counsel, eventually being appointed Circuit Judge for

Cork city Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

. He never married and died suddenly at his family home, Elm Hall, in 1950, and is buried in Donacomper Cemetery, Celbridge. His brothers were also involved in the Irish Republican movement and his sister Fanny was a member of Cumann na mBan. His brother Daniel was the State Solicitor for Kildare.

References

External links

* Piece 206-040; Arthur O'Connor (1922).pdf, page=6, alt=British Army intelligence file for Arthur O'Connor, British Army intelligence file for Arthur O'Connor {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Art 1888 births 1950 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Irish barristers UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kildare constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Kildare People educated at Blackrock College Ministers for agriculture of Ireland Politicians imprisoned during the Irish revolutionary period Circuit Court (Ireland) judges Lawyers from County Kildare People from Celbridge Sinn Féin candidates in Dáil elections (post-1923)