Kevin Christopher O'Higgins ( ga, Caoimhghín Críostóir Ó hUigín; 7 June 1892 – 10 July 1927) was an Irish politician who served as

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

and

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

from 1922 to 1927, Minister for External Affairs from June 1927 to July 1927 and

Minister for Economic Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

from January 1922 to September 1922. He served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) from 1918 to 1927. He was part of early nationalist

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

, before going on to become a prominent member of

Cumann na nGaedheal Cumann na nGaedheal (; "Society of the Gaels") was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. In 1933 it merged with smaller groups to form the Fine Gael party. Origins In 1922 the pro-Treaty ...

. In his capacity as Minister for Justice, O'Higgins established the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

police force. His brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and nephews Tom and

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

were also elected TDs at various stages. Along with

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...

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 ...

and

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish military commander, police commissioner and politician. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a prominent figure i ...

, 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, he went on to defend the nascent

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

, as part of the pro-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War. During this time he signed the execution orders of seventy-seven political prisoners. He was later assassinated in retaliation by an

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

unit in

Booterstown Booterstown () is a coastal suburb of the city of Dublin in Ireland. It is also a townland and civil parish in the modern county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre. History There is some debate on ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Background

Kevin O'Higgins was born in

Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, a National Secondary Route, about from Portlaoise. It is a townland, a civil parish and historic barony. It is known for its "Steam Ra ...

, County Laois, one of sixteen children of Dr. Thomas Higgins and Anne Sullivan, daughter of the Nationalist politician

Timothy Daniel Sullivan Timothy Daniel Sullivan (29 May 1827 – 31 March 1914) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, politician and poet who wrote the Irish national hymn " God Save Ireland", in 1867. He served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1886 to 1888 and a Member of ...

. His aunt was married to the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) Tim Healy. He was educated at the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

-run

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...

, where he was expelled. O'Higgins was then moved to

Knockbeg College St Mary's Knockbeg College ( ga, Coláiste Muire Cnoc Beag) is a Roman Catholic, all-boys secondary school located on the Laois/Carlow border in Ireland, approximately 3 km from both Carlow town and Graiguecullen, Co. Laois. A former sem ...

, St. Marys Christian Brother School, Portlaoise. With a view to becoming a priest he went to

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

. 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 British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2011. He attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. O'Higgins joined the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...

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 The First Dáil ( ga, An Chéad Dáil) was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919 to 1921. It was the first meeting of the unicameral parliament of the revolutionary Irish Republic. In the December 1918 election to the Parliament of the United ...

elected its "Aireacht" (Ministry) under the shadow of the Irish War of Independence. O'Higgins was appointed as the Assistant Minister for Local Government under

W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ir ...

. 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 ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), 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 ...

. 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, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

Irish Civil War

When the Irish Civil War 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, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

of seventy-seven republican prisoners of war, including Rory O'Connor who had been best man at his wedding. O'Higgins and his colleagues did not view them as prisoners of war, but rather as criminals. 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

, County Laois. 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, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

during the early stages of the war, which he described as "very short, though very brilliant". General

Richard Mulcahy Richard James Mulcahy (10 May 1886 – 16 December 1971) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and army general who served as Minister for Education from 1948 to 1951 and 1954 to 1957, Minister for the Gaeltacht from June 1956 to October 1956, ...

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 An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. 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 The Government of the 3rd Dáil was first both concurrently the 2nd Provisional Government (30 August – 6 December 1922) and the 5th Ministry of Dáil Éireann (9 September – 6 December 1922), formed after the 1922 general election held on ...

, 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 Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

autarky Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideal or method has been embraced by a wide range of political ideologies and movements, especiall ...

and militarism. O'Higgins had set up the

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

Garda Commissioner The Garda Commissioner ( ga, Coimisinéir an Gharda Síochána) – officially known as the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána – is the head of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of the Republic of Ireland. The Garda Commissione ...

. 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 The Ministers and Secretaries Acts 1924 to 2020 is the legislation which governs the appointment of ministers to the Government of Ireland and the allocation of functions between departments of state. It is subject in particular to the provisi ...

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, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. 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

who looked to Italy for inspiration. He did not approve of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, 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, 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 ''C ...

of the

as "mostly poetry". Before his death, he toyed with

's idea of a

dual monarchy Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other, and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing. The term is typically use ...

to end the

Partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. ...

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

, Timothy Coughlan, Bill Gannon and

Archie Doyle Archie Doyle (29 September 1903 - 1980) was one of three anti-Treaty members of the Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) (IRA) who on 10 July 1927 assassinated the Irish Justice Minister Kevin O'Higgins. He had had a long subsequent career in the ...

, in revenge for O'Higgins' part in the

executions Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

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 Blackock to buy cigarettes. 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. 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 ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

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 a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

, 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 ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. 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 Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

held at St Andrew's Church, Westland Row. He was buried at

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

.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 tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

in the grounds of

Leinster House Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...

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

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

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

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

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

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 Thomas Francis O'Higgins (20 November 1890 – 1 November 1953) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and medical practitioner who served as Minister for Defence from 1948 to 1951, Minister for Industry and Commerce from March 1951 to June 1951 an ...

and nephews

Tom O'Higgins Thomas Francis O'Higgins (23 July 1916 – 25 February 2003) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, barrister and judge who served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 1974 to 1985, a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 1985 to 1991, a Judge of ...

and

Michael O'Higgins Michael Joseph O'Higgins (1 November 1917 – 9 March 2005) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Leader of the Seanad from 1973 to 1977. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1948 to 1951 and 1954 to 1969. He also served as a Senato ...

were later elected TDs. His granddaughter

Iseult O'Malley Iseult Pauline Mary O'Malley (born 30 June 1964) is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland since October 2015. She previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2012 to 2015. Early life O'Malley was born ...

is a judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland.

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) * 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 People from County Laois 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 (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 (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 1920s murders in Ireland 1927 murders in Europe 1927 crimes in Ireland Vice-Presidents of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State