Pat O'Brien (Irish Politician)
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Patrick O'Brien (c.1847 – 12 July 1917) was an Irish
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 ...
MP in the
House Of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...
and as member of the
Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nati ...
represented North Monaghan (1886–1892) and Kilkenny City (1895–1917). He was
Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...
of the Irish Party from 1907 until his death in 1917.


Biography

The second son of James O’Brien of
Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...
, Co. Offaly, he never married. He trained as a mechanical and marine engineer but subsequently moved to Liverpool where he set up a business as a coal merchant. In his early days he was a
Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...
and was imprisoned as such. After moving to England he became active in the
Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún''), also known as the Land League, was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which organised tenant farmers in their resistance to exactions of landowners. Its prima ...
and in the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain, and was again imprisoned in his capacity as secretary of the Commercial Branch of the Land League in Liverpool. He became known to
Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1875 to 1891, Leader of the Home Rule Leag ...
, who chose him as candidate for North Monaghan at a by-election in February 1886 after Timothy Healy, who had won the seat in 1885, elected to sit for South Londonderry. O’Brien was reluctant to stand but yielded to Parnell's instructions to be in Monaghan the following morning. He went to catch the steamer for Ireland without returning home for his coat, but borrowed one which was several sizes too large from a friend he met in the street. In this he appeared at the Party convention. O’Brien was very active in the
Plan of Campaign The Plan of Campaign was a strategy, stratagem adopted in Ireland between 1886 and 1891, co-ordinated by Irish politicians for the benefit of tenant farmers, against mainly absentee landlord, absentee and rack-rent landlords. It was launched to ...
in 1887–90. He was imprisoned 5 times in 1888 and 1890, being given sentences totalling nearly 18 months. He always had a camera with him on Land League campaigns, and took photographs of scenes of eviction which he exhibited on a barge in the Thames opposite the House of Commons to members on the Terrace and crowds on Westminster Bridge. J. P. Hayden described the circumstances of his first encounter with O’Brien on 1 January 1888, at a protest meeting at Four Roads, Co. Roscommon. O’Brien and James Gilhooly were both speakers, the latter under warrant of arrest under the Coercion Act. In order to protect Gilhooly, Hayden as chair introduced O’Brien as Gilhooly and Gilhooly as O’Brien. Gilhooly was taken away surreptitiously from the meeting after his speech. The police subsequently followed O’Brien thinking he was Gilhooly, and arrested him the next day in Athlone. They had to release him. However he was arrested as himself a few days afterwards for his speech at Four Roads. At the time of the Split over Parnell's leadership in December 1890, O’Brien was in prison, but on his release he declared for Parnell. He was made whip of the Parnellite party after Parnell's death in October 1891. At the following election in 1892 the Parnellites did not contest North Monaghan, where a split in the Nationalist vote would probably have given the seat to the Unionist candidate. O'Brien fought
Limerick City Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
as a Parnellite instead, but was defeated. He won election as a Parnellite at Kilkenny City in 1895 by the narrow majority of 14 votes and thereafter held this seat unopposed. When the Irish Party reunited in 1900, O’Brien became one of its whips and remained so until his death. He played a key role in the passage of the Home Rule Act 1914 when many voting ambushes were attempted by the opposition. Along with fellow Parnellites
Willie Redmond William Hoey Kearney Redmond (13 April 1861 – 7 June 1917) was an Irish Irish nationalism, nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP). He was also a lawyer and soldier Denman, Teren ...
and J. J. Clancy, O'Brien was one of the small circle of political intimates of the leader of the Irish Party,
John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as leader ...
. He often spent holidays at Redmond's home at Aghavannagh, Co. Wicklow, and moved there at Redmond's invitation during his last illness. His death from a stroke in July 1917 only a month after Willie Redmond (John Redmond's brother) was killed serving with the
16th (Irish) Division The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the 'National Volunteers', ...
on the Western Front on 9 June 1917 was a devastating blow to John Redmond.
Stephen Gwynn Stephen Lucius Gwynn (13 February 1864 – 11 June 1950) was an Irish journalist, biographer, author, poet and Protestant Nationalist politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party he represented Galway city as its Member of Parliamen ...
recorded of Redmond at O'Brien's funeral that 'Then, and then only in his lifetime people saw him publicly break down; he had to be led away from the grave'.


Sources

* ''Freeman’s Journal'', 13–14 July 1917 *
Stephen Gwynn Stephen Lucius Gwynn (13 February 1864 – 11 June 1950) was an Irish journalist, biographer, author, poet and Protestant Nationalist politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party he represented Galway city as its Member of Parliamen ...
, ''John Redmond's Last Years'', London, Edward Arnold, 1919 * Patrick Maume, ''The long Gestation, Irish Nationalist Life 1891-1918'', p. 237, Gill & Macmillan (1999) * Brian M. Walker (ed.), ''Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922'', Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, 1978 * ''Who Was Who'' 1916-1928


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Pat 1840s births 1917 deaths Parnellite MPs Irish Parliamentary Party MPs UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Activists for Irish land reform Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Monaghan constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kilkenny constituencies (1801–1922) People from Tullamore, County Offaly Activists from County Offaly