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| }}</ref> In 1988 he retired as party leader and was succeeded by ]. | }}</ref> In 1988 he retired as party leader and was succeeded by ]. | ||
| While president he was regarded as a mediator between the ] wing headed by ] and the social-democratic wing of ]. At the 1992 special Ard Fheis he voted for the motion to abandon ] and to re-constitute the party much like the ].{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} However the motion failed to reach the required two-thirds majority and after the departure of six Workers' Party TDs led by De Rossa to form the new ] party in 1992, Mac Giolla was the sole member of the Workers' Party in the Dáil. He lost his Dáil seat at the ] by a margin of just 59 votes to ] of ].<ref name=elecs_irl/> In 1999 Mac Giolla wrote to the chairman of the Flood Tribunal calling for an investigation into revelations that former Dublin Assistant City and County Manager George Redmond had been the official supervisor at the election count in Dublin West and was a close associate of Liam Lawlor.<ref>http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/04/07/ihead.htm</ref> In 2003 Redmond was convicted of corruption by a Dublin court but subsequently had his conviction quashed due to conflicting evidence. | While president he was regarded as a mediator between the ] wing headed by ] and the social-democratic wing of ]. At the 1992 special Ard Fheis he voted for the motion to abandon ] and to re-constitute the party much like the ].{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} However the motion failed to reach the required two-thirds majority and after the departure of six Workers' Party TDs led by De Rossa to form the new ] party in 1992, Mac Giolla was the sole member of the Workers' Party in the Dáil. He lost his Dáil seat at the ] by a margin of just 59 votes to ] of ].<ref name=elecs_irl/> Although boundary changes to the Dublin West consituency which saw a large part of Ballyfermot removed which was considered his base in the consituency played a part in his defeat, <ref>http://geographyspecialinterestgroup.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/perspectives-on-the-dublin-west-constituency/ </ref> In 1999 Mac Giolla wrote to the chairman of the Flood Tribunal calling for an investigation into revelations that former Dublin Assistant City and County Manager George Redmond had been the official supervisor at the election count in Dublin West and was a close associate of Liam Lawlor.<ref>http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/04/07/ihead.htm</ref> In 2003 Redmond was convicted of corruption by a Dublin court but subsequently had his conviction quashed due to conflicting evidence. | ||
| In 1979, Mac Giolla was elected to ] for the ] area. He was re-elected in 1985 and 1991. He served as ] from 1993 to 1994 and remained a member of Dublin Corporation until 1998. | In 1979, Mac Giolla was elected to ] for the ] area. He was re-elected in 1985 and 1991. He served as ] from 1993 to 1994 and remained a member of Dublin Corporation until 1998. | ||
Revision as of 15:51, 3 August 2012
| Tomás Mac Giolla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of Sinn Féin | |
| In office 1962–1970 | |
| Preceded by | Paddy McLogan |
| Succeeded by | party split, continued as President |
| Leader of the Workers' Party of Ireland | |
| In office 1993–1994 | |
| Lord Mayor of Dublin | |
| In office 1993–1994 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office November 1982 – November 1992 | |
| Constituency | Dublin West |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1924-01-25)25 January 1924 Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Died | 4 February 2010(2010-02-04) (aged 86) Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | Official Sinn Féin / Workers' Party (1970–2010), Sinn Féin (1950–1969) |
| Spouse | May McLoughlin |
Tomás Mac Giolla (25 January 1924 – 4 February 2010) was an Irish politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) and a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Workers' Party of Ireland.
Early life
He was born Thomas Gill in Nenagh, County Tipperary. His uncle T. P. Gill was an Member of Parliament (MP) and member of the Irish Parliamentary Party of Charles Stewart Parnell. Tomás's father Robert also stood unsuccessfully for election on a number of occasions. His mother was Mary Hourigan.
Mac Giolla was educated at the local national school in Nenagh before completing his secondary education at St. Flannan's College, Ennis, County Clare. It was while at St. Flannan's that he changed to using the Irish language version of his name. He won a scholarship to University College Dublin where he qualified with a Bachelor of Arts degree, followed by a degree in Commerce.
A qualified accountant, Mac Giolla was employed by the Irish Electricity Supply Board from 1947 until he went into full time politics in 1977.
In his early life Mac Giolla was an active republican. He joined Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) around 1950. He was interned by the Irish government during the IRA Border campaign of 1956 to 1962. He also served a number of prison sentences in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.
Political career
At the 1961 general election, Mac Giolla unsuccessfully contested the Tipperary North constituency for Sinn Féin.
In 1962 he became president of Sinn Féin and was one of the people who successfully pushed the party to the left during the 1960s. In 1969 Sinn Féin split and Mac Giolla remained leader of Official Sinn Féin. It was also in 1962 that Tomás married May McLoughlin who was also an active member of Sinn Féin and Cumann na mBan, the women's section of the IRA.
In 1977 the party changed its name to Sinn Féin the Workers Party and in 1982 it became simply the Workers' Party.
Mac Giolla was elected to Dublin City Council representing the Ballyfermot local electoral area in 1979 and at every subsequent local election until he retired from the council in 1997. In the November 1982 general election Mac Giolla was elected to Dáil Éireann for his party. In 1988 he retired as party leader and was succeeded by Proinsias De Rossa.
While president he was regarded as a mediator between the Marxist-Leninist wing headed by Sean Garland and the social-democratic wing of Prionsias de Rossa. At the 1992 special Ard Fheis he voted for the motion to abandon democratic centralism and to re-constitute the party much like the Communist Party of Italy. However the motion failed to reach the required two-thirds majority and after the departure of six Workers' Party TDs led by De Rossa to form the new Democratic Left party in 1992, Mac Giolla was the sole member of the Workers' Party in the Dáil. He lost his Dáil seat at the general election later that year by a margin of just 59 votes to Liam Lawlor of Fianna Fáil. Although boundary changes to the Dublin West consituency which saw a large part of Ballyfermot removed which was considered his base in the consituency played a part in his defeat, In 1999 Mac Giolla wrote to the chairman of the Flood Tribunal calling for an investigation into revelations that former Dublin Assistant City and County Manager George Redmond had been the official supervisor at the election count in Dublin West and was a close associate of Liam Lawlor. In 2003 Redmond was convicted of corruption by a Dublin court but subsequently had his conviction quashed due to conflicting evidence.
In 1979, Mac Giolla was elected to Dublin Corporation for the Ballyfermot area. He was re-elected in 1985 and 1991. He served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1993 to 1994 and remained a member of Dublin Corporation until 1998.
In his eighties Mac Giolla continued to be active and was a member of the group which campaigned to save No. 16 Moore Street in Dublin city centre where the surrender of Patrick Pearse was completed. He also served on the Dublin '98 committee to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1798 Rebellion.
He died in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on 4 February 2010 after a long illness.
References
- "Mr. Tomás Mac Giolla". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- ^ "Tomás Mac Giolla". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- http://geographyspecialinterestgroup.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/perspectives-on-the-dublin-west-constituency/
- http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/04/07/ihead.htm
- "Tomás MacGiolla dies aged 86". RTÉ News. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- "Former WP leader Mac Giolla dies". The Irish Times. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
| Oireachtas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byBrian Fleming (Fine Gael) |
Workers' Party Teachta Dála for Dublin West 1982–1992 |
Succeeded byConstituency redrawn |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded byPaddy McLogan | President of Sinn Féin 1962–1970 |
Succeeded bySplit in party |
| Preceded bySplit in party | President of the (Official) Sinn Féin/Workers' Party of Ireland 1970–1988 |
Succeeded byProinsias De Rossa |
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded byGay Mitchell | Lord Mayor of Dublin 1993–1994 |
Succeeded byJohn Gormley |
- 1924 births
- 2010 deaths
- Workers' Party of Ireland politicians
- Irish Republican Army members (1922–1969)
- Lord Mayors of Dublin
- Official Irish Republican Army members
- Members of the 24th Dáil
- Members of the 25th Dáil
- Members of the 26th Dáil
- People from County Tipperary
- Teachtaí Dála
- Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict
- Irish republicans interned without trial