Donal O'Callaghan (23 June 1891 – 12 September 1962) 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 and

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork () is the honorific title of the Chairperson () of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council. The incumbent ...

from 1920 to 1924. He was born in Peacock Lane, Cork in 1891, and was educated at Eason's Hill primary school and the

North Monastery The North Monastery ( Irish: ''An Mhainistir Thuaidh''), commonly known as The Mon, is a co-educational education campus comprising Scoil Mhuire Fatima Primary School, North Monastery Co-educational Secondary and Gaelcholáiste Mhuire AG, loca ...

secondary school. He was a member of several Irish republican organisations, including the

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is in the United States, where it was founded in New Yo ...

, the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

, 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 ...

and

. He was elected to

Cork Corporation Cork City Council () is the local authority of the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Before 1 January 2002, the council was known as Cork Corporation. The council is responsible for ho ...

in January 1920. He was also elected to

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

in June 1920, and became chairperson of the county council. He was elected as

in November 1920. He was the third Lord Mayor of Cork in 1920, after the assassination of

Tomás Mac Curtain Tomás Mac Curtain (20 March 1884 – 20 March 1920) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Cork until he was assassinated by the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was elected in January 1920. Background Tomás Mac Curt ...

by the

Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin ...

in January 1920, and the death on hunger strike of Terence MacSwiney in October 1920. After the

Burning of Cork The burning of Cork () by British forces took place during the Irish War of Independence on the night of 11–12 December 1920. It followed an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in the city, which wounded twelve Au ...

in December 1920, O'Callaghan who had received death threats, fled to America as a stowaway on board the steamship, ''West Cannon''. After being discovered by the Master of the ship, he was put to work as a crew member. He was arrested on arrival in the US but eventually freed, and spent the next eight months there where delivered a series of speeches and helped to secure a loan for Dáil Éireann, acting as the emissary of

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

. O'Callaghan returned to Cork in August 1921. He was elected unopposed as a Sinn Féin

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) to the

Second Dáil The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

at the 1921 elections for the Cork Borough constituency. 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 ...

and voted against it. At the 1921 elections, he was elected to the

House of Commons of Southern Ireland The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,Order in Coun ...

, and as the Lord Mayor of Cork, he was automatically a member of the

Senate of Southern Ireland The Senate of Southern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Southern Ireland, established in 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The Act stipulated that there be 64 senators, but only 39 were selected and the Senate met onl ...

. Article 18(4) of the

Government of Ireland Act 1920 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 67) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bi ...

precluded anyone from sitting in both Houses at once, though O'Callaghan boycotted both, sitting instead in the Second Dáil. He stood as an anti-Treaty Sinn Féin candidate at the 1922 general election but was not elected. In June 1923,

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 ...

appointed O'Callaghan as the Republican envoy to the US, replacing

Laurence Ginnell Laurence Ginnell (baptised 9 April 1852 – 17 April 1923) was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Irish Parliamentary ...

. On 25 January 1924, he resigned his position as Lord Mayor of Cork. Later in 1924, he married Eibhlín Ní Shuilleabháin in London. They lived in London and later in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

before returning to Ireland in 1929. O'Callaghan secured a job as an accountant for the ESB. He died in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1962, and is buried in

Deans Grange Cemetery Dean's Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been buried there. It is, toge ...

Blackrock, Dublin Blackrock () is an affluent suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire. It is named after the local geological rock formation to be found in the area of Blackrock Park. In the late 18th century, the Blackrock Ro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocallaghan, Donal 1891 births 1962 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Members of the 2nd Dáil Politicians from County Cork Members of the Senate of Southern Ireland Lord mayors of Cork Burials at Deans Grange Cemetery People educated at North Monastery