James McNeill
| James McNeill | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Governor-General of the Irish Free State | |
|
In office 1 February 1928 – 1 November 1932 |
|
| Monarch | George V |
| Preceded by | Timothy Michael Healy |
| Succeeded by | Domhnall Ua Buachalla |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Timothy James McNeill 27 March 1869 Glenarm, County Antrim, Ireland |
| Died | 12 December 1938 (aged 69) London, England, UK |
| Spouse(s) | Josephine Ahearne |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
James McNeill (27 March 1869 – 12 December 1938) was an Irish politician and diplomat, who served as first High Commissioner to London and second Governor-General of the Irish Free State.
One of five children born to Archibald McNeill, a Roman Catholic working class "baker, sailor and merchant", and his wife, Rosetta (née McAuley) McNeill, James was the brother of nationalist leader Eoin MacNeill. James McNeill served as a high-ranking member of the Indian Civil Service in Calcutta. Although unconnected with the Easter Rising in 1916, McNeill was arrested and jailed by the British Dublin Castle administration.
On release, he was elected to Dublin County Council, becoming its chairman. He served as a member of the committee under Michael Collins, the chairman of the Provisional Government, that drafted the Constitution of the Irish Free State. He was subsequently appointed as Irish High Commissioner (ambassador) to the Court of St. James's, meaning the United Kingdom. When the first governor-general of the Free State, Timothy Michael Healy retired in December 1927, James McNeill was proposed as his replacement by the Irish government of W. T. Cosgrave and duly appointed by King George V as Governor-General of the Irish Free State.
In office, McNeill clashed with the King's Private Secretary when he insisted on following the constitutional advice of his Irish ministers, rather than that of the Palace, in procedures relating to the receipt of Letters of Credence accrediting ambassadors to the King in Ireland. He also refused to attend ceremonies in Trinity College, Dublin, when some elements in the college tried to ensure that the old British national anthem God Save the King was played, rather than the new Irish anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann.
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