Liam Ó Buachalla (10 April 1899 – 15 October 1970) was 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 ...

politician from Drogheda,

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

, Ireland. He was active as a financial expert 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 was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from 1939 to 1969, and was twice elected as

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish language, Irish for Chair (officer), chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or speaker (politics), presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Repub ...

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

. He worked as a cooper at

Guinness Brewery St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is ...

in Dublin, but studied in the evenings, taking a Bachelor of Commerce and a higher diploma in education from

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 ...

(UCD), and then a master's degree in economics from

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

. A professor of Economics at UCG, Ó Buachalla was

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

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 ...

to the

3rd Seanad The 3rd Seanad was in office from 1938 to 1943. An election to Seanad Éireann, the Senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1938 general election to the 10th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 4th Sean ...

in 1939, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Colonel Maurice Moore. He was re-appointed to the

4th Seanad The 4th Seanad was in office from 1943 to 1944. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1944 general election to the 11th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 5th Sean ...

and to the 5th. After Fianna Fáil lost power at the 1948 general election, the new

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 ...

Taoiseach was unlikely to reappoint him, and he was elected to the

6th Seanad The 6th Seanad was in office from 1948 to 1951. An election to Seanad Éireann, the Senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1948 general election to the 13th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 7th Sea ...

on the

Cultural and Educational Panel Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these gr ...

. He was re-elected five times, until he stood down at the 1969 Seanad election. He was

(chair) of the Seanad from 1951 to 1954, and from 1957 to 1969, and also served as

Leas-Chathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach is Fianna Fáil Senat ...

(deputy chair) from 1954 to 1957. He lectured through Irish in Commerce and Economics from his appointment as part of the programme for the Gaelicization of Third Level under the 1929 Act. He was author of many textbooks amongst which were "Bunadhas na Tráchtála" (1944), "Bunadhas an Gheileagair", "Cúntais agus Cúntaisíocht" (1954), "Ard-Chúntaisíocht" (1959) and "Forás Teoiricí an Gheilleagair" (1968). He was the founder of the highly successful "Scoltacha Éigse agus Seanchais" in the Conamara Gaeltacht. His wife Máire Ní Scolaí was a notable singer of songs in Irish both seannós and common style and also an actress. She created the role of Gráinne in the Taibhdhearc 1928 première of

Micheál Mac Liammóir Micheál Mac Liammóir (born Alfred Lee Willmore; 25 October 1899 – 6 March 1978) was an actor, designer, dramatist, writer, and impresario in 20th-century Ireland. Though born in London to an English family with no Irish connections, he emig ...

's drama "Diarmuid agus Gráinne".

References