Daniel O'Rourke (died 4 August 1968) was an Irish politician and sportsman. He was born in the townland of Tents, near

Manorhamilton Manorhamilton () is the second-largest town in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located on the N16 from Sligo and from Enniskillen. History Before the Plantations of Ireland, the settlement was known, and continues to be known in the ...

, County Leitrim, but soon moved to

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, basing himself in

Castlerea Castlerea ( ; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 2,348 at the 2022 census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled castle' (''Caisl ...

, where he worked as a teacher. He was a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er and later president of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA). He was a member of

Roscommon County Council Roscommon County Council () is the local authority of County Roscommon, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban plannin ...

for 40 years, and 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 periods between 1921 and 1951. He was elected unopposed as a

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 ...

TD to the

2nd Dáil The Second Dáil () was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected ...

at the

1921 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1921. * 1921 Belgian general election * 1921 Italian general election * 1921 Northern Ireland general election * 1921 Norwegian parliamentary election Africa * 1921 South African general election Asia ...

for the Mayo South–Roscommon South constituency. He said later that his election came as a surprise to him, as he did not know he had been nominated and did not want to be. Although he 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 ...

, he voted in favour of it, as he believed the alternative of further war was worse. He was re-elected unopposed as a pro-Treaty Sinn Féin TD at the 1922 general election. He resigned his seat on 29 November 1922. He stood as a

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 ...

candidate at the September 1927 general election but was not elected. He was elected as a

TD at the 1932 general election for the

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

constituency but lost his seat at the 1933 general election. He was re-elected at the

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

and

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

general elections but again lost his seat at the 1943 general election. He was re-elected at the

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

general elections but once again lost his seat at the 1951 general election. At the 1951 Seanad election, he was elected on the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 of the Const ...

. He stood unsuccessfully at the

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

and

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

general elections. He played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for the Roscommon county team, founded the Tarmon GAA club, and was president of the GAA from 1946 to 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Daniel Year of birth missing 1968 deaths Alumni of De La Salle Teacher Training College, Waterford Early Sinn Féin TDs Fianna Fáil senators Irish schoolteachers Irish sportsperson-politicians Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil Members of the 7th Dáil Members of the 9th Dáil Members of the 10th Dáil Members of the 12th Dáil Members of the 13th Dáil Members of the 7th Seanad Politicians from County Roscommon Presidents of the Gaelic Athletic Association Roscommon inter-county Gaelic footballers Fianna Fáil TDs People from Manorhamilton People from Castlerea Labour Panel senators