Caitlín Brugha (; 11 December 1879 – 1 December 1959) was an Irish

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 ...

politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

constituency from 1923 to 1927.

Early life

Kingston was born in

Birr, County Offaly Birr (; , meaning "plain of water") is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Between 1620 and 1899 it was called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earl of Rosse, Earls of Rosse. The town is in a Civil p ...

to William Kingston, a shopkeeper, and Catherine (née Roche). She attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart in

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 2022 it had a population of 5,542. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Crónán of Roscrea, Saint Crónán of Roscrea, p ...

. Her family later moved to Dublin when she was 31 and she continued the activism she had been part of through the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

when she got there. She married Irish revolutionary

Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (; born Charles William St John Burgess; 18 July 1874 – 7 July 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first presid ...

, head of a candle manufacture company, in 1912. Because of the family activities and involvement in the War of Independence, they moved several times, to the Ring Gaeltacht in Waterford and Ballybunion in Kerry. In the aftermath of the Truce the family was able to return to Dublin.

Politics

Cathal Brugha died in battle on 7 July 1922 in the first days of the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, having taken the Republican side opposing 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 ...

. His death left her widowed with six children under the age of 10. She ran in the same constituency that her husband represented and was elected to

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 ...

as a Sinn Féin TD at the 1923 general election for the

constituency. In accordance with Sinn Féin policy of the time she did not take her seat in Dáil Éireann. She stayed with the

abstentionist Abstentionism is the political practice of standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abst ...

s of Sinn Féin 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 ...

left to found

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

in 1926. She was re-elected at the June 1927 general election. Sinn Féin was unable to raise the funds to contest the second election called that year, and Brugha did not contest the September 1927 general election. Brugha successfully campaigned on the welfare of Republican prisoners.

Later life

She established a drapery business, Kingston's Ltd, in 1924 and following her exit from politics devoted much time to the venture. Her continuing anti-Britishness was evidenced when, in 1941, she was accused of harbouring German spy

Günther Schütz Günther Schütz (17 April 1912 – 1991) was a German citizen who worked for German Intelligence (Abwehr) during World War II, he was deployed to Ireland, however, after parachuting to the wrong location he was apprehended by Irish police, and ...

, who had parachuted into

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

.S. Pašeta, ‘Brugha, Caitlin (1879–1959)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, Oxford University Press, October 2005 Her son,

Ruairí Brugha Ruairí Brugha (; 15 October 1917 – 31 January 2006) was an Irish politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Ireland from 1977 to 1979, Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 1969 to 1973 and 1977 to 1 ...

, became a

politician and was elected to

at the 1973 general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brugha, Caitlin 1879 births 1959 deaths

Caitlin Caitlin () is a feminine given name of Irish origin. Historically, the Irish name Caitlín was anglicized as Cathleen or Kathleen. In the 1970s, however, non-Irish speakers began pronouncing the name according to English spelling rules as , wh ...

Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 4th Dáil Members of the 5th Dáil Politicians from County Offaly Spouses of Irish politicians 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála People from Birr, County Offaly

Early life

Politics

Later life

See also

References