Thomas Derrig (Irish: Tomás Ó Deirg; 26 November 1897 – 19 November 1956) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Lands from 1939 to 1943 and 1951 to 1954, Minister for Education from 1932 to 1939 and 1940 to 1948 and Minister for Posts and Telegraphs in September 1939. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1921 to 1923 and 1927 to 1957.[1]
Thomas Derrig | |
|---|---|
.png) Thomas Derrig in 1933 | |
| Minister for Lands | |
| In office 13 June 1951 – 2 June 1954 | |
| Taoiseach | Éamon de Valera |
| Preceded by | Joseph Blowick |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Blowick |
| In office 8 September 1939 – 2 July 1943 | |
| Taoiseach | Éamon de Valera |
| Preceded by | Gerald Boland |
| Succeeded by | Seán Moylan |
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 18 June 1940 – 18 February 1948 | |
| Taoiseach | Éamon de Valera |
| Preceded by | Éamon de Valera |
| Succeeded by | Richard Mulcahy |
| In office 9 March 1932 – 8 September 1939 | |
| Taoiseach | Éamon de Valera |
| Preceded by | John M. O'Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Seán T. O'Kelly |
| Minister for Posts and Telegraphs | |
| In office 8 September 1939 – 27 September 1939 | |
| Taoiseach | Éamon de Valera |
| Preceded by | Oscar Traynor |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Little |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office February 1948 – 19 November 1956 | |
| In office June 1927 – July 1937 | |
| Constituency | Carlow–Kilkenny |
| In office July 1937 – February 1948 | |
| Constituency | Kilkenny |
| In office May 1921 – August 1923 | |
| Constituency | Mayo North and West |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 November 1897 Westport, County Mayo, Ireland |
| Died | 19 November 1956 (aged 58) Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University College Galway |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | |
| Battles/wars | |
Early life edit
Derrig was born on 26 November 1897, in Westport, County Mayo, the son of Patrick Derrig and Winifred Derrig (née Sammon).[2] He was educated locally and later at University College Galway.
Revolutionary period edit
During his time in college he organised a corps of the Irish Volunteers. Derrig did not take part in the 1916 Easter Rising but was arrested in the aftermath. He was imprisoned in Woking, Wormwood Scrubs and Frongoch internment camp. He was arrested in July 1918, and was accused of attempting to disarm a soldier. He was sentenced to five months imprisonment by a court in Belfast. When he was released in November 1918, he supported Joseph MacBride at the 1918 Irish general election. After his release, he graduated from college and became headmaster in a technical college in Mayo.[3]
During the Irish War of Independence he was the Brigade Commandant of the West Mayo Brigade of the Irish Republican Army, before being captured in January 1921 and interned at the Curragh Camp.[4] While there he was elected a Sinn Féin TD for Mayo North and West.[5] During the Truce period, he was appointed Divisional Director of Organisation of 4 Western Division IRA.
Taking the anti-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War, Derrig took part in fighting against National forces in Dublin. He escaped from Dublin on 30 June 1922 and served as Adjutant to Ernest O'Malley during fighting in counties Wicklow and Wexford in July and August. Derrig was appointed IRA Adjutant General by Liam Lynch in November 1922 and was serving in that position when arrested by National Forces on 6 April 1923. On that same date, while in custody of the Criminal Investigation Department in Oriel House, Derrig was shot in the face by a CID detective and lost his left eye. Derrig was interned at Kilmainham Gaol and was a leader there during the 1923 Irish hunger strikes[6] Derrig was later awarded a wound pension under the Army Pensions Act, 1932 for the gunshot wound he received while in custody. Derrig also applied to the Irish government for a service pension under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934 and was awarded 7 and 3/8 years service in 1942 at Grade A for his service with the Irish Volunteers and the IRA between 1 April 1917 and 30 September 1923. [7]
In 1928, he married Sinéad Mason of Ards, County Down; they had two daughters.[2]
Political career edit
At the June 1927 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow–Kilkenny. In Éamon de Valera's first government in 1932 Derrig was appointed Minister for Education. Derrig initiated a review of industrial and reformatory schools and the rules under the Children Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 67), resulting in the critical 1936 Cussen Report that followed which he shelved, and a report in 1946–1948 by the Irish-American priest Father Edward Flanagan, which was also shelved. His lack of action was noted in 2009 when the Ryan Report examined the subsequent management of these "residential institutions"; Derrig was the first Minister to seek a report that could have resulted in much-needed reforms. It has been suggested that he did not want to follow British law reforms in the 1920s and 1930s, because of his strong anti-British views, and that Irish children had suffered needlessly as a result.[8]
From 1939 to 1943, he served as Minister for Lands. He was re-appointed to Education in 1943 until 1948. During this period a bitter teachers' strike, involving the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), took place, lasting from 20 March to 30 October. Between 1951 and 1954, he became Minister for Lands again.
Thomas Derrig died in Dublin on 19 November 1956, seven days before his 59th birthday.[9] No by-election was held for his seat.
References edit
- ^ "Thomas Derrig". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
- ^ a b Dempsey, Pauric J. "Derrig, Thomas (Ó Deirig, Tomás)". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ Breathnach, Diarmuid; Ní Mhurchú, Máire. "Ó DEIRG, Tomás (1897–1956)". ainm.ie (in Irish). Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ See Derrig's successful application for a military service pension under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934. Available online at Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection - http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/search.aspx?formtype=advanced. Reference number MSP34REF8768
- ^ "Thomas Derrig". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
- ^ Deasy, Liam (1998), Brother Against Brother, Mercier Press, Cork pg 86.
- ^ Irish Military Archives, Military Service (1916-1923) Pension Collection, Thomas Derrig, MSP34REF8768. Available online at http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/search.aspx?formtype=advanced.
- ^ Arnold, Bruce, The Irish Gulag, (Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 2009), page 41. ISBN 978-0-7171-4614-7
- ^ "Dáil Éireann debate – Death of Member: Expression of Sympathy". Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 November 1956. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
External links edit
- Obituary, Connaught Telegraph, 24 November 1956 (Mayo County Library)