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Tomás Mac Giolla (; born Thomas Gill; 25 January 1924 – 4 February 2010) was an Irish
Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
politician who served as
Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...
from 1993 to 1994, Leader of the Workers' Party from 1962 to 1988 and President of Sinn Féin from 1962 to 1970. 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) for the Dublin West constituency from 1982 to 1992.


Early life

He was born Thomas Gill in
Nenagh Nenagh ( ; , or simply 'the Fair') is the county town of County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond Fair. Nenagh was the county town of the former county of Nort ...
,
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
. His uncle T. P. Gill was a Member of Parliament (MP) and 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 ...
of
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 ...
. Tomás's father Robert Paul Gill, an engineer and architect, also stood unsuccessfully for election on a number of occasions. His mother was Mary Hourigan. Mac Giolla was educated at the local national school in Nenagh before completing his secondary education at St. Flannan's College,
Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...
,
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
. While at St. Flannan's, he changed to using the Irish language version of his name. He won a scholarship to
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 ...
where he qualified with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree, followed by a degree in Commerce. A qualified Accountant, Mac Giolla was employed by the Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB) from 1947 until he went into full-time politics in 1977. In his early life Mac Giolla was an active republican. He joined
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 ...
and the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
(IRA) around 1950. He was interned by the
government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...
during the 1956–62 IRA border campaign. He also served a number of prison sentences in
Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison (), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Ray Murtagh. History Mountjoy was designed by Cap ...
, Dublin. In 1961, he married May McLoughlin who was also an active member of Sinn Féin as well as of Cumann na mBan, the women's section of the IRA. She died on 24 March 2018.


Political career


1960s

At the 1961 general election, Mac Giolla unsuccessfully contested the Tipperary North constituency for
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 ...
. In 1962, he became president of Sinn Féin, and was part of the leadership that moved the party to the left during the 1960s. In 1970, Sinn Féin split and Mac Giolla remained leader of Official Sinn Féin, with a faction led by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh initially known as Provisional Sinn Féin. Initially, Mac Giolla's approach to his former comrades in the Provisional movement was one of conciliation, though over time, bitterness emerged. He was firm in his belief that the rise of the Provisionals was largely due to support from elements within Fianna Fáil. As violence in Northern Ireland escalated, Mac Giolla reiterated that the
Official IRA The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a " workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerg ...
(OIRA) favoured mass popular resistance, but would resort to "retaliatory" military action when deemed necessary. In contrast, he condemned the Provisionals' armed struggle, labelling it both counterproductive and sectarian. This stance sometimes led to confusion. After the OIRA killed Unionist Northern Ireland Senator John Barnhill, Mac Giolla initially blamed British agents. However, the Officials later admitted and defended the operation as a necessary retaliation against repression. Following Bloody Sunday on 30 January 1972 the OIRA bombed the headquarters of the Parachute Regiment. This resulted in the deaths of seven people, including five female cleaners. Mac Giolla expressed shock at the attack and attributed it to an ineffective bomb maker. The question of how far the OIRA should go in using armed force was one of the issues that led to the ceasefire in May 1972, which Mac Giolla fully supported. The Officials argued that the violence was deepening sectarian divisions and preventing unity between workers. In a speech at Carrickmore, County Tyrone, in July 1972, Mac Giolla stated that "the Irish revolution … demands the support of the Protestant working class," asserting that the violence of August 1969 had been carried out not by ordinary Protestants against Catholics, but by the B Specials and some members of the
Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...
. He also claimed that the Provisional IRA's campaign was pushing Protestants towards reaction. By 1978, Mac Giolla was asserting that "the Provos are engaged in a war against the Irish people … can anyone say that the atrocities of the infamous Black and Tans were any worse?" This sharp criticism of the Provisional IRA became a defining feature of Mac Giolla's rhetoric and that of his party. In 1969 he attended and spoke at a march in opposition to the Vietnam War in Dublin.


1970s

In November 1973 Tomás Mac Giolla addressed the World Congress of Peace Forces in Moscow, at a time when the Officials were becoming increasingly associated with Eastern Bloc socialism. While Mac Giolla had previously criticised the Soviet system, he never fully explained when or why his stance changed. He later suggested that Cuba would be a more suitable model for Ireland than the Eastern European states. Despite his prominent role, Mac Giolla was not the primary architect of these ideological shifts within the party. His more traditional republican outlook continued to cause unease among some members. As president of Official Sinn Féin, however, Mac Giolla played a crucial role in steering the party towards electoral politics, a process that was further solidified in 1977 when the party added "The Workers' Party" to its name. His popularity among the rank and file helped ease concerns within the movement, particularly for those who viewed the name change as a further departure from its republican roots. In 1982 the party became simply the
Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
. Mac Giolla was elected to
Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...
representing the
Ballyfermot Ballyfermot () is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located west of the city centre, south of Phoenix Park. It is bordered by Chapelizod on the north, by Bluebell, Dublin, Bluebell on the south, by Inchicore on the east, ...
local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...
in 1979 and at every subsequent local election until he retired from the council in 1997.


1980s

In the November 1982 general election Mac Giolla was elected to
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
for his party. In 1988, he stepped down as party leader and was succeeded by Proinsias De Rossa. He served as
Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...
from 1993 to 1994, the first Workers' Party councillor to serve as Lord Mayor, and remained a member of
Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...
until 1998.


1990s to 2010

While president he was regarded as a mediator between the Marxist–Leninist wing headed by Seán Garland and the
social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
ic wing of Proinsias De Rossa. At the 1992 special
Ardfheis or ( , ; 'high assembly'; plural ) is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. Usage Among the parties who use the term or are: * * * * Irish Republican Socialist Party * * Green Party * Republican ...
he voted for the motion to abandon
democratic centralism Democratic centralism is the organisational principle of most communist parties, in which decisions are made by a process of vigorous and open debate amongst party membership, and are subsequently binding upon all members of the party. The co ...
and to re-constitute the party much as the
Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...
became the Democratic Party of the Left. However the motion failed to reach the required two-thirds majority and after the departure of six Workers' Party TDs led by De Rossa to form the new Democratic Left party in 1992, Mac Giolla was the sole member of the Workers' Party in the Dáil. He lost his Dáil seat at the general election later that year by a margin of just 59 votes to
Liam Lawlor Liam Lawlor (19 October 1944 – 22 October 2005) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He resigned from the Fianna Fáil in 2000 following a finding by a party standards committee that he had failed to co-operate with its investigation into pl ...
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 ...
. In 1999, Mac Giolla wrote to the chairman of the Flood Tribunal calling for an investigation into revelations that former Dublin Assistant City and County Manager George Redmond had been the official supervisor at the election count in Dublin West and was a close associate of Liam Lawlor. In 2003, Redmond was convicted of corruption by a Dublin court but subsequently had his conviction quashed due to conflicting evidence. In his eighties, Mac Giolla continued to be active and was a member of the group which campaigned to prevent the demolition of No. 16 Moore Street in Dublin city centre, where the surrender after the
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
was completed. He also served on the Dublin '98 committee to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1798 Rebellion. He died in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on 4 February 2010 after a long illness.


Publications

* ''The Great Irish Oil & Gas Robbery '' (1974). .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacGiolla, Tomas 1924 births 2010 deaths Irish communists Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Irish republicans Irish republicans interned without trial Irish socialists Leaders of Sinn Féin Lord mayors of Dublin Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Official Irish Republican Army members People educated at St Flannan's College People from Nenagh Politicians from County Tipperary Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Workers' Party (Ireland) TDs Workers' Party (Ireland) local councillors