Kevin Christopher O'Higgins (; 7 June 1892 – 10 July 1927) was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice from 1922 to 1927, Minister for External Affairs from June 1927 to July 1927 and Minister for Economic Affairs from January 1922 to September 1922. He 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) from 1918 to 1927. He was part of early nationalist

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 ...

, before going on to become a prominent member of Cumann na nGaedheal. In his capacity as Minister for Justice, O'Higgins established the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

police force. His brother Thomas and nephews Tom and

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

were also elected TDs at various stages. Along with Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins and

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier, police commissioner, politician and fascist. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a promin ...

, O'Higgins is an important figure in Irish nationalist historiography, representing a more "conservative revolutionary" position when contrasted with republicanism. After having a role in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

, he went on to defend the nascent

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

, as part of the pro-Treaty side in 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 ...

. During this time he signed the execution orders of seventy-seven prisoners. He was later assassinated in retaliation by an IRA unit in

Booterstown Booterstown () is a coastal suburb of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the modern county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is situated about south of Dublin ...

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 ...

Background

Kevin O'Higgins was born in Stradbally,

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

, one of sixteen children of Dr. Thomas Higgins and Anne Sullivan, daughter of the Nationalist politician Timothy Daniel Sullivan. His aunt was married to the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

Member of Parliament (MP) Tim Healy. He was educated at the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

-run Clongowes Wood College, where he was expelled. O'Higgins was then moved to Knockbeg College, St. Marys Christian Brother School,

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...

. With a view to becoming a priest he went to

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

. There he broke the non-smoking rules, and was removed to Carlow Seminary.David Harkness, 'O'Higgins, Kevin Christopher (1892–1927)', ''

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, 2004; online edn, January 2011. He attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. O'Higgins joined 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 ...

in 1915. He was efficient, had a forceful personality and was soon appointed captain of Stradbally company, Carlow brigade. He joined

, but was soon arrested and imprisoned in 1918. While he was in prison he became MP for Queen's County (Laois).

1919–1923

In 1919, the

First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

elected its "Aireacht" (Ministry) under the shadow of the

. O'Higgins was appointed as the Assistant Minister for Local Government under W. T. Cosgrave. When Cosgrave was arrested in 1920, O'Higgins took the lead as head of the Ministry. Like other writers on Sinn Féin, O'Higgins believed the extremists were self-deluded; they themselves rejected the damning epithet "extremist". When he wrote on disillusionment he articulated this fear: Sinn Féin then split in 1922 over the terms of 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 ...

. In the debate that took place in the Dáil on the Treaty, O'Higgins outlined the reasons for his support thus: When running for election in 1922, he told a crowd: He was duly elected as a TD for Leix–Offaly, becoming Minister for Justice and External Affairs in the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

Irish Civil War

When the

broke out in June 1922, O'Higgins tried to restore law and order by introducing tough measures. Between then and mid-1923, he confirmed the sentences of

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

of seventy-seven republican prisoners of war. The execution's of

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...

, Richard Barrett, Joe McKelvey and Rory O'Connor, was particularly noteworthy given O'Connor had been best man at his wedding to Brigid Cole the previous year, and, the men were executed for a crime that was legislated for after their imprisonment and were offered no trial. O'Higgins and his colleagues did not view them as prisoners of war, but rather as criminals. Today, the executions O'Higgins legislated for are seen as unconstitutional even by the

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

party, the inheritors of the Pro-Treaty party. In 2022, then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

said the four executions were “murder by any definition and were seen so as that at the time”. The contemporary Labour Party leader Tom Johnson said the executions were "utterly to destroy in the public mind the association of the Government with the idea of law. I am almost forced to say you have killed the new State at its birth". On 11 February 1923, the Anti-Treaty IRA killed his father, who had snatched a revolver from the leader of a raiding party in his family home in Stradbally,

. O'Higgins feared, as did many of his colleagues, that a prolonged civil conflict would give the British an excuse, in the eyes of the world, to reassert their control in the Free State. He was given a nominal posting to the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

during the early stages of the war, which he described as "very short, though very brilliant". General Richard Mulcahy was less impressed, recalling that "O'Higgins' personal presence in the Adjutant-General's office at that time (July–August 1922) was the personal presence of a person who didn't understand what was going on". In August 1922, following Collins' assassination, O'Higgins was moved from the Army to Ministry of Home Affairs. O'Higgins had formed a negative view of Cosgrave, having worked under him at Local Government, and was not happy when the latter was appointed President of the Executive Council. Of the alternatives Mulcahy had been seen as indecisive, pedantic and too close to the Army (opinions which the subsequent Kenmare incident would make widespread), whereas O'Higgins himself was not avowedly republican. In the Government of the 3rd Dáil, he would be classed, along with Desmond FitzGerald, as one of the “ Donnybrook set" – out of step with the rest on issues such as

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

autarky Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideology or economic approach has been attempted by a range of political ideologies and movement ...

and militarism. O'Higgins had set up the

, but by September 1922, the force was experiencing indiscipline in the ranks. He appointed

as Garda Commissioner. At the time O'Duffy was a fine organiser and worked for the emergence of a respected and unarmed police force. O'Duffy insisted on a Catholic nationalist ethos to distinguish the Gardaí from their RIC predecessors.Fearghal McGarry, 'O'Duffy, Eoin (1890–1944)',

, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2011. He became increasingly authoritarian in later years, however, a fact that caused several high-profile arguments between himself and O'Higgins. Cosgrave appointed O'Higgins as Vice-President in December that year.

Politics and later career

In March 1924, midway through the 'Army Mutiny', Minister Joseph McGrath resigned from the cabinet and President Cosgrave took sick leave. O'Higgins, as ''de facto'' head of government, reversed Cosgrave's policy of appeasement and confronted the IRAO mutineers confounding their objectives. In June, the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 changed his title from Minister for Home Affairs to Minister for Justice. As Minister for External Affairs he successfully increased Ireland's autonomy within the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

. O'Higgins was seen very much as the "strong man" of the cabinet. He once described himself as one of "the most conservative-minded revolutionaries that ever put through a successful revolution". Though far-left political enemies characterised him as having supposed "fascist" tendencies, O'Higgins was to the fore in resisting the small wing of Cumann na nGaedheal who looked to Italy for inspiration. He did not approve of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, for instance when asked by Leader of the Labour Party Thomas Johnson in the Dáil whether he believed giving women the vote had been a success, O'Higgins replied, "I would not like to pronounce an opinion on it in public". He famously derided the socialist influenced

Democratic Programme The Democratic Programme was a declaration of economic and social principles adopted by the First Dáil at its first meeting on 21 January 1919. A text of the programme was first adopted in Irish and then in English. Its official Irish title was ...

of the

as "mostly poetry". Before his death, he toyed with Arthur Griffith's idea of a dual monarchy to end the

Partition of Ireland The Partition of Ireland () was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland (the area today known as the R ...

Assassination

At approximately midday on Sunday 10 July 1927, O'Higgins was assassinated at the age of 35 by three anti-Treaty members of the IRA, Timothy Coughlan, Bill Gannon and Archie Doyle, in revenge for O'Higgins' part in the

executions Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

of 77 IRA prisoners during the civil war. O'Higgins had been walking from his home on Cross Avenue, Blackrock to mass on Booterstown Avenue. He had been accompanied by an armed garda detective but had sent the detective back to Blackrock to buy cigarettes.Bushe, A (11 June 2007) 'The Irish Times': Details of O'Higgins killers revealed in security files: at p. 6 As he approached the junction with Booterstown Avenue, one of the assassins emerged from a parked car and shot him. O'Higgins ran a short distance before collapsing, and one of the assailants shot him again as he lay on the ground. The men then got back in their car and drove away. Despite being hit eight times, O'Higgins did not die for almost five hours. Harry White, the former IRA chief of staff explained the cause of the assassination as; "As minister for justice, he ordered the murder of his former friends, Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellows, Dick Barrett and Joe McKelvey in Mountjoy Jail .. That’s why he was killed." None of the three assassins was ever apprehended or charged, but Coughlan, a member of

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 ...

as well as the IRA, was killed in strange circumstances in Dublin, in 1928, by a police undercover agent whom he was attempting to murder. The other two (Doyle and Gannon) benefited from the amnesty to IRA members issued by

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 ...

, upon his assumption of power in 1932. Gannon, who died in 1965, joined the Communist Party of Ireland and played a central role in organising Irish volunteers for the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Yet in party publications, his part in assassinating O'Higgins is downplayed. Doyle remained a prominent IRA militant and took part in various acts in the early 1940s. He lived to an old age, dying in 1980, and continued to take pride in having killed O'Higgins.

Legacy

O'Higgins' body lay in state in the Mansion House before a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

held at St Andrew's Church, Westland Row. He was buried at Glasnevin Cemetery.Lyng, Paul (2000). "Booterstown, A pastoral journey through four centuries 1616–2000", Future Print. In 1927, a relief of O'Higgins was posthumously added to a 1923

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

in the grounds of

Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...

dedicated to Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith. This was replaced in 1950, by a simpler granite

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

commemorating Griffith, Collins and O'Higgins. In July 2012,

Enda Kenny unveiled a commemorative plaque to his memory at the site in

, at the junction of Cross Avenue and Booterstown Avenue, where he was shot. Red paint was sprayed over this memorial within its first week, and it was further damaged shortly afterwards. It was removed some two weeks later and has not returned. His brother Thomas F. O'Higgins and nephews Tom O'Higgins and Michael O'Higgins were later elected TDs. His granddaughter Iseult O'Malley is a judge of the

Supreme Court of Ireland The Supreme Court of Ireland () is the highest judicial authority in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal (Ireland), Court of Appeal and the High Court (Ireland), Hig ...

Gallery

File:Ohiggins memorialbooterstownav2012.jpg, 2012 memorial plaque to O'Higgins, located briefly near the site where he was shot File:Piece 207-099; Kevin O'Higgins (1922).pdf, British Army military intelligence file for Kevin O'Higgins File:Kevin O'Higgins,1922 (cropped).jpg, O'Higgins in 1922

References

Bibliography

* Cronin, Sean, ''The Ideology of the IRA'' (Ann Arbor 1972) * De Paor, Liam, ''On the Easter Proclamation and Other Declarations'' (Dublin 1997) * Macardle, Dorothy, ''The Irish Republic 1911–1923'' (London 1937) * McGarry, Fearghal, ''Eoin O'Duffy: A Self-made Hero'' (Oxford 2005) * Markievicz, Constance de, ''What Irish republicans Stand For'' (Dublin 1922) * Matthews, Arthur, ''Walled in by Hate: Kevin O'Higgins, His Friends and Enemies'' (2024) * Mitchell, Arthur, ''Revolutionary Government in Ireland: Dáil Éireann 1919–22'' (Dublin 1995) * Townshend, Charles, 'Civilisation and Frightfulness': Air Control in the Middle East between the Wars', in C.J. Wrigley (ed.), ''Warfare, Diplomacy and Politics: Essays in Honour of A.J.P. Taylor'' (London 1986) * White, Terence de Vere, ''Kevin O'Higgins'' (London 1948) * Younger, Calton, ''Ireland's Civil War'' (London 1968)

External links

Kevin O'Higgins – Biography on the O'Higgins Clan website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohiggins, Kevin 1892 births 1927 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Assassinated Irish politicians Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Cumann na nGaedheal TDs Deaths by firearm in Ireland Early Sinn Féin TDs Irish anti-communists Ministers for foreign affairs of Ireland Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the 3rd Dáil Members of the 4th Dáil Members of the 5th Dáil Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Queen's County constituencies (1801–1922) Ministers for justice of Ireland People educated at Clongowes Wood College People educated at St Mary's Knockbeg College People from Stradbally People murdered in Ireland People of the Irish Civil War (Pro-Treaty side) Politicians from County Laois UK MPs 1918–1922 People murdered in 1927 Vice-presidents of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State Murder victims from County Laois Politicians assassinated in the 1920s