Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, (30 July 1914 – 25 April 1999) was an Irish journalist, author, sports official, and the sixth

president of the International Olympic Committee The president of the International Olympic Committee is head of the executive board that assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the management of its affairs. The IOC E ...

(IOC), seeing from 1972 to 1980. He succeeded his uncle as Baron Killanin in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

in 1927, when he was 12, which allowed him to sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

at the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

as Lord Killanin upon turning 21.

Early life

Morris was born in

St George Hanover Square St George Hanover Square was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of the St George's, Hanover Square, Church of St George's, Hanover Square, ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, the son of Lt. Col. George Morris, an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...

from

Spiddal Spiddal, also known as Spiddle (Irish language, Irish and official name: , , meaning 'the hospital'), is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road (Ireland), R336 road. It is o ...

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. His grandfather was Michael Morris, 1st Baron Killanin, who had served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland from 1887 to 1889. The Morrises were one of the fourteen families making up the Tribes of Galway. On 1 September 1914, early in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Killanin's father was killed in action near

Villers-Cotterêts Villers-Cotterêts () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, France. It is notable as the signing-place in 1539 of the '' Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts'' discontinuing the use of Latin in official French documents, and as ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, while commanding the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

. His

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n-born mother, Dora Maryon Wesley Hall (1891–1948), was the second-eldest daughter of English-born James Wesley Hall (1839–1901) and Australian Mary Dora Frederica Hall (''née'' Dempster; 1864–1895). Wesley Hall was the first general manager of the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Limited in the

Colony of Queensland The Colony of Queensland was a colony of the British Empire from 1859 to 1901, when it became a State in the federal Australia, Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. At its greatest extent, the colony included the present-day Queensland, ...

, from 1886 to 1891. He was born in Kington,

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, to Walter Hall, a miller, and Elizabeth Carleton Skarratt. Lord Killanin's maternal grandmother, Dora Hall, was born in Williamstown,

Colony of Victoria The Colony of Victoria was a historical administrative division in Australia that existed from 1851 until 1901, when it federated with other colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the southeastern corner of the Australian ...

, to William Dempster, a bank manager, and Margaret Herbert Davies. Killanin was educated at Summerfields,

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, the Sorbonne in Paris and then

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, where he was President of the

Footlights The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy so ...

dramatic club. In the mid-1930s, he began his career as a journalist on

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

, working for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'', the '' Daily Sketch'' and subsequently the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

''. In 1937–38, he was

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

. In July 1927, he succeeded his father's older brother Martin Morris to become Baron Killanin, which gave him an hereditary seat in the

as it was a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

in the

Family

Lord Killanin married (Mary) Sheila Cathcart Dunlop (1919–2007), MBE, of

Oughterard Oughterard () is a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore of Lough Corrib in Connemara, County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located about northwest of Galway on the N59 road (Ireland), N59 road. ...

, in 1945. She was the granddaughter of

Henry Dunlop Henry Wallace Doveton Dunlop (1844 – 1930) was a sports promoter, civil servant, engineer and, a former leader of Irish Rugby, founder of Lansdowne Football Club and figure behind the construction of the former Lansdowne Road stadium. A ch ...

, who built Lansdowne Road Rugby Ground in Ballsbridge,

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 1872. Her father was Douglas

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Lyall Chandler Dunlop,

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Rector of Oughterard. Lord and Lady Killanin had three sons: George Redmond ("Red"), Michael ("Mouse"), and John ("Johnny"), and a daughter, Monica Deborah.

Military career

In November 1938, the young Lord Killanin was commissioned into the Queen's Westminsters, a territorial regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, where he was responsible for recruiting fellow journalists, including future ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' editor Bill Deedes, and friends who were musicians and actors. He reached the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and took part in the planning of

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

and the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

in 1944, acting as brigade major for 30th Armoured Brigade, part of the

79th Armoured Division The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division of the British Army created during the Second World War. The division was created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, D-Day. Major-General Percy ...

. He was appointed, due to the course of operations, a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE). After being demobilised, he went to Ireland. He was awarded the Territorial Efficiency Medal in 1946, and the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

in 1950. He resigned his TA commission in 1951.

President of the IOC

In 1950, Lord Killanin became the head of the

Olympic Council of Ireland The Olympic Federation of Ireland or OFI () (called the Irish Olympic Council from 1920 to 1952, and the Olympic Council of Ireland from 1952 to 2018) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ireland. Athletes from Northern Ireland have the op ...

(the OCI), and became his country's representative in the IOC in 1952. He became senior vice-president in 1968, and succeeded

Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee, serving from 1952 to 1972, the only American and first non-European to attain that position. Brundage is remembered as a z ...

, becoming

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

elect at the 73rd

IOC Session This is the list of International Olympic Committee (IOC) meetings. Olympic Congresses IOC Sessions There has been a session during all Olympic Games except the 1900, 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics and the 1924, 1928 and ...

(21–24 August) held in Munich prior to the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

. He took office soon after the Games. During his presidency, the Olympic movement experienced a difficult period, dealing with the financial flop of the

1976 Montreal Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

and the international boycott of the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. Denver, originally selected to host the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (, ) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 (), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Inn ...

, withdrew and had to be replaced by Innsbruck. The cities of Lake Placid and Los Angeles were chosen for 1980 Winter and 1984 Summer Games by default due to a lack of competing bids. Killanin retired after the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and was succeeded by

Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch ( Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh ...

. He was later unanimously elected Honorary Life President.

Other positions

Killanin served as Honorary Consul-General of

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

in Ireland from 1961 to 1984. Killanin served as Chairman of the Race Committee for Galway Racecourse from 1970 to 1985. In his acceptance speech on behalf of the Galway Race Committee when accepting an award for its contribution to Irish Racing in 2013 the then chairman Tim Naughton said Lord Killanin's appointment as Chairman of the Race Committee in the early 1970s was instrumental in setting in motion a train of development that has resulted in the venue not only becoming a top horse-racing destination but also an attractive tourist destination. A keen horse racing enthusiast, Killanin also served as a steward of the Irish Turf Club on two occasions and on the National Hunt Steeplechase Committee. In his business life Killanin was a director of many companies including Shell Ireland,

Ulster Bank Ulster Bank is one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group was subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank Plc, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in England and Wales and operating i ...

, Beamish and Crawford, and Chubb Ireland. He was a founder member of

An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; "An Taisce" meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is ...

(The National Trust for Ireland) and was chairman of the National Monuments Advisory Council until his death. In 1948 Killanin was invested as a Knight of Honour and Devotion in the Irish Association of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

Film

Lord Killanin also worked in the film industry, collaborating with his lifelong friend,

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

, on '' The Quiet Man'', when he acted as a general factotum, and later producing two of Ford's films '' The Rising of the Moon'' and '' Gideon’s Day'', as well as the film '' The Playboy of the Western World''.

Death

Michael-Morris-3rd-Baron-Killanin-stained-glass-window-Spiddal

Killanin died at his home in

aged 84 and, following a bilingual funeral Mass at St Enda's Church in

, he was buried in the family vault in Bohermore Cemetery,

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

Arms

Selected works

* ''Four days, an account of the 1938 Munich crisis'', edited by Lord Killanin. London, W. Heinemann, Ltd. (1938). * ''Sir Godfrey Kneller & His Times'', by Lord Killanin. B. T. Batsford Ltd., (England) (1948). * ''Olympic Games'', by Lord Killanin. Macmillan Publishing Company (1 February 1976), . * ''Shell Guide to Ireland'', by Lord Killanin, M.V. Duignan, Peter Harbison (Editor). Macmillan; 3Rev Ed edition (May 1989). . * ''The Fitzroy: The Autobiography of a London Tavern'', by Lord Killanin, Sally Fiber, and Clive Powell-Williams. Temple House; 1st edition (21 August 1995). . * ''My Olympic Years'', by Lord Killanin. Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd; First Edition (9 May 1983). . * ''My Ireland: A Personal Impression'', by Lord Killanin. Gallery Books (Nov 1987). .

References

Sources

British Army Officers 1939−1945Lord Killanin
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' obituary. Retrieved: 2010-10-23.
''Lord Killanin, Olympic Leader, Dies at 84''
by Richard Goldstein (two pages). ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' obituary, 26 April 1999. Retrieved: 2010-10-23. *''An Irishman and his family: Lord Morris and Killanin'', by Maud Wynne. Publisher: J. Murray (1937). *''Lord Killanin (1914–1999)'', Maire Boran, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 53, 2001, 218–19. {{DEFAULTSORT:Killanin, Michael Morris, 3rd Baron 1914 births 1999 deaths Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Michael People educated at Eton College 3 Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge University of Paris alumni Irish officers in the British Army Queen's Westminsters officers British Army personnel of World War II Daily Express people Daily Mail journalists Irish film producers King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Members of the Order of the British Empire Olympic Federation of Ireland officials Irish people of English descent Irish International Olympic Committee members Presidents of the International Olympic Committee 20th-century Irish journalists Military personnel from the City of Westminster

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 ...

British Roman Catholic writers