Seán T. O'Kelly | |
---|---|
2nd President of Ireland | |
In office 25 June 1945 – 24 June 1959 |
|
Taoiseach |
Éamon de Valera John A. Costello Éamon de Valera John A. Costello Éamon de Valera |
Preceded by | Douglas Hyde |
Succeeded by | Éamon de Valera |
Tánaiste | |
In office 29 December 1937 – 14 June 1945 |
|
Taoiseach | Éamon de Valera |
Preceded by | Himself as Vice-President of the Executive Council |
Succeeded by | Seán Lemass |
Minister for Finance | |
In office 16 September 1939 – 14 June 1945 |
|
Taoiseach | Éamon de Valera |
Preceded by | Seán MacEntee |
Succeeded by | Frank Aiken |
Vice-President of the Executive Council | |
In office 9 March 1932 – 29 December 1937 |
|
President | Éamon de Valera |
Preceded by | Ernest Blythe |
Succeeded by | Himself as Tánaiste |
Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann | |
In office 22 January 1919 – 16 August 1921 |
|
Preceded by | Count Plunkett |
Succeeded by | Eoin MacNeill |
Teachta Dála | |
In office August 1923 – February 1948 |
|
Constituency | Dublin North-West |
Personal details | |
Born |
Seán Thomas O'Kelly 25 August 1882 Abbotstown, Dublin, Ireland |
Died | 23 November 1966 Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland |
(aged 84)
Resting place | Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland |
Nationality | Irish |
Political party | Fianna Fáil |
Spouse(s) |
|
Parents |
|
Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Profession | |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Seán Thomas O'Kelly (Irish: Seán Tomás Ó Ceallaigh; 25 August 1882 – 23 November 1966), originally John T. O'Kelly, was the second President of Ireland (1945–1959). He was a member of Dáil Éireann from 1918 until his election as President. During this time he served as Minister for Local Government (1932–1939) and Minister for Finance (1939–1945). He also served as deputy prime minister of Ireland from 1932 to 1945, under the title Vice-President of the Executive Council from 1932 until 1937 and Tánaiste from 1937 until 1945.
O'Kelly was born in inner-city Dublin, although his exact place of birth is disputed. Baptised as John, he was the eldest son of Samuel O'Kelly, a boot and shoemaker of Berkley Road, by his marriage to Catherine O'Dea, and had three sisters and four brothers, two of whom were educated by Patrick Pearse at St Enda's school.
O'Kelly's first school was the Sisters of Charity, in Mountjoy Street (1886–90), then the Christian Brothers School in St Mary's Place (1890–94). His senior school education was at O'Connell School, a Christian Brothers school in North Richmond Street (1894–98). O'Kelly joined the National Library of Ireland in 1898 as a junior assistant to T. W. Lyster, remaining there until 1902, and becoming a subscriber to the Celtic Literary Society. The same year, he joined the Gaelic League, becoming a member of the governing body in 1910 and general secretary in 1915. He was appointed manager of An Claidheamh Soluis, which included amongst its editors the revolutionary leaders of Sinn Féin.
He went to work almost immediately for Arthur Griffith, at the Gaelic League on the organization's administration papers. He came to Griffith's notice the previous years joining the IRB as a member of the esoteric Bartholomew Teeling Circle from 1901. O'Kelly joined Sinn Féin, then a small dual-monarchist, capitalist party, immediately at its inception in 1905 as one of its founders. He became a joint-honorary secretary of the movement from 1908, remaining in the post until 1925. In 1906 he was elected to Dublin Corporation, and retained the seat for Inns Quay Ward until 1924. One acolyte campaigner was Thomas Kelly who joined him in pressing the government for improved municipal drainage schemes for Dublin's slums.