Timothy Smiddy

Timothy Smiddy (1875–1962) was an Irish academic, economist, and diplomat. He is best known as Ireland's first Ambassador/overseas Minister, serving as Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the United States of America for the Irish Free State from 1924 to 1929.

Timothy Aloysius "Audo" Smiddy was born on 30 April 1875 in Kilbarry, Co. Cork, the son of William Smiddy, a wealthy merchant originally from Ballymacoda, East Cork, and Honora Mahony, a scion of the Blarney Mahony family. He was educated at St. Finbarr's College Cork, before attending University College Cork, graduating with a B.A. (1905) and an M.A. (1907). Later he attended universities in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany. At one point, he considered the priesthood. However in 1900, he married Lillian "Muddie" O'Connell, also from Cork city. They had six children including five daughters Pearl (Binnie), Muriel, Cecil, Ita and Ethna, and a son Sarsfield.

A contemporary and friend of Michael Collins, the Irish revolutionary, Smiddy was appointed by Collins to be his Economic Adviser to Plenipotentiaries for the Treaty Negotiations from October to December 1921 following the War of Independence. This was at a time when Michael Collins was the Minister for Finance in the putative Republic.

Smiddy was first and foremost an academic and an economist. In the College at Cork in the newly constituted National University of Ireland, which replaced the Royal University of Ireland, Smiddy was holder of the Professorship of Economics and Commerce. He served in this post from 1903 to 1924, one of only six to have held the post since the formation of the Department of Mental and Moral Science at the College in 1849. In 1952, he was awarded the Honorary Degree of DEconSc by University College, Cork.

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