Thomas Derrig
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 | |
|---|---|
 Thomas Derrig c. 1932 | |
| 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 – March 1957 | |
| 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 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse(s) | Sinéad Derrig (m. 1920; d. 1956) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University College Galway |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  |
| Branch/service | Irish Republican Army Anti-Treaty IRA |
| Battles/wars | Irish War of Independence Irish Civil War |
Early life and career
Derrig was born on 26 November 1897, in Westport, County Mayo. He was educated locally and later at University College Galway. During his time in college he organised a corps of the Irish Volunteers. After the 1916 Easter Rising he was arrested and imprisoned, and sent to the prisons of Woking, Wormwood Scrubs and Frongoch internment camp. He was arrested in 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, 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.[2]
During the Irish War of Independence he was the commander of the Westport Brigade of the Irish Republican Army, before being captured and interned at the Curragh Camp. While there he was elected a Sinn Féin TD for Mayo North and West.[3]
Derrig took the Republican/Anti-treaty side during the Irish Civil War. During the Civil War, he was an auxiliary assistant to Liam Lynch. He was later captured by the Irish Free State army. While in custody of the Criminal Investigation Department he was severely injured, having an eye shot out by CID detectives.
Political career
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, resulting in the critical 1936 Cussen Report, which he 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.[4]
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.
References
- "Thomas Derrig". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
- Breathnach, Diarmuid; Ní Mhurchú, Máire. "Ó DEIRG, Tomás (1897–1956)". ainm.ie (in Irish). Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- "Thomas Derrig". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
- Arnold, Bruce, The Irish Gulag, (Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 2009), page 41. ISBN 978-0-7171-4614-7
External links
- Obituary, Connaught Telegraph, 24 November 1956 (Mayo County Library)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John M. O'Sullivan |
Minister for Education 1932–1939 |
Succeeded by Seán T. O'Kelly |
| Preceded by Oscar Traynor |
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs 1939 |
Succeeded by Patrick Little |
| Preceded by Gerald Boland |
Minister for Lands 1939–1943 |
Succeeded by Seán Moylan |
| Preceded by Éamon de Valera |
Minister for Education 1940–1948 |
Succeeded by Richard Mulcahy |
| Preceded by Joseph Blowick |
Minister for Lands 1951–1954 |
Succeeded by Joseph Blowick |
