Prelude to the Easter Rising of 1916
The Signatories of the Proclamation
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Patrick Cawley
Patrick Cawley (26 December 1904 – 18 December 1968) was an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was elected on his sixth attempt, to Dáil Éireann as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway South constituency at the 1951 general election. He lost his seat at the 1954 general election.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - James M. Hession
James M. Hession (5 November 1912 – 12 January 1999) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and solicitor who served as a Teachta Dála (TD), representing the Galway North constituency in Dáil Éireann. Hession was first elected at the 1951 general election, was re-elected at the 1954 general election but lost his seat at the 1957 general election.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Henry Percy Dockrell
Henry Percy Dockrell (27 December 1914 – 22 November 1979) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served for twenty years as a Teachta Dála (TD).
Dockrell was first elected as a Fine Gael TD for the Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown constituency at the 1951 general election, and was re-elected at the 1954 general election. He was defeated at the 1957 election, but regained his seat at the 1961 general election and was re-elected a further three times for the same constituency until he was defeated at the 1977 general election.
His father, Henry Morgan Dockrell, and his brother, Maurice E. Dockrell were also Fine Gael TDs. His grandfather, Sir Maurice Dockrell, had been a Unionist MP before independence. Percy Dockrell's two sons, John H. Dockrell and William Dockrell served as councillors on the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire a predecessor of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Dockrell was first elected as a Fine Gael TD for the Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown constituency at the 1951 general election, and was re-elected at the 1954 general election. He was defeated at the 1957 election, but regained his seat at the 1961 general election and was re-elected a further three times for the same constituency until he was defeated at the 1977 general election.
His father, Henry Morgan Dockrell, and his brother, Maurice E. Dockrell were also Fine Gael TDs. His grandfather, Sir Maurice Dockrell, had been a Unionist MP before independence. Percy Dockrell's two sons, John H. Dockrell and William Dockrell served as councillors on the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire a predecessor of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Michael ffrench-O'Carroll
Michael ffrench-O'Carroll (15 September 1919 – 5 May 2007) was an Irish politician and medical doctor. He was an independent Teachta Dála (TD) and Senator. He served one term in each house of the Oireachtas in the 1950s.
Born in Dublin, he qualified in medicine at Trinity College, Dublin. He married Renee Marie de la Laforcade in 1944. He joined Clann na Poblachta as the same time as Noël Browne, though he did not stand at the 1948 general election. He became a Clann na Poblachta member of Dublin City Council in 1950.
He was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt, as an independent candidate at the 1951 general election for the Dublin South–West constituency. He took the fourth seat in the 5-seat constituency, defeating Fine Gael TD Michael O'Higgins. His former party leader Seán MacBride was also elected in the same constituency. Taking his seat in the 14th Dáil, he supported the Fianna Fáil government on most issues.
In 1953, he joined Fianna Fáil together with Noël Browne. He stood again in Dublin South–West at the 1954 general election, this time as a Fianna Fáil candidate, but lost his seat to O'Higgins. He then contested the 1954 Seanad Éireann elections as an independent candidate on the Cultural and Educational Panel, and was elected to the 8th Seanad.
At the 1957 general election, he was again an unsuccessful Fianna Fáil candidate in Dublin South–West. He was not re-elected to the Seanad.
He later became a pioneer in the field of addiction care. He established an out-patient centre at Arbour House in Cork. He also helped establish a residential programme for young adult heroin addicts at Cuan Mhuire in Athy. He published a book on addiction in 1995. He died on 5 May 2007.
Born in Dublin, he qualified in medicine at Trinity College, Dublin. He married Renee Marie de la Laforcade in 1944. He joined Clann na Poblachta as the same time as Noël Browne, though he did not stand at the 1948 general election. He became a Clann na Poblachta member of Dublin City Council in 1950.
He was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt, as an independent candidate at the 1951 general election for the Dublin South–West constituency. He took the fourth seat in the 5-seat constituency, defeating Fine Gael TD Michael O'Higgins. His former party leader Seán MacBride was also elected in the same constituency. Taking his seat in the 14th Dáil, he supported the Fianna Fáil government on most issues.
In 1953, he joined Fianna Fáil together with Noël Browne. He stood again in Dublin South–West at the 1954 general election, this time as a Fianna Fáil candidate, but lost his seat to O'Higgins. He then contested the 1954 Seanad Éireann elections as an independent candidate on the Cultural and Educational Panel, and was elected to the 8th Seanad.
At the 1957 general election, he was again an unsuccessful Fianna Fáil candidate in Dublin South–West. He was not re-elected to the Seanad.
He later became a pioneer in the field of addiction care. He established an out-patient centre at Arbour House in Cork. He also helped establish a residential programme for young adult heroin addicts at Cuan Mhuire in Athy. He published a book on addiction in 1995. He died on 5 May 2007.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Philip A. Brady
Philip A. Brady (born 10 June 1898 – 6 January 1995) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin South–Central for 19 years.
He was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt, at the 1951 general election. He was defeated at the 1954 general election, but he regained his seat at the 1957 general election, and held it at four subsequent elections until he stood down at the 1977 general election. His son Gerard Brady then succeeded him as a TD for the new Dublin Rathmines West constituency.
He served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1959 to 1960.
He was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt, at the 1951 general election. He was defeated at the 1954 general election, but he regained his seat at the 1957 general election, and held it at four subsequent elections until he stood down at the 1977 general election. His son Gerard Brady then succeeded him as a TD for the new Dublin Rathmines West constituency.
He served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1959 to 1960.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Declan Costello
Declan Costello
Declan Costello (1 August 1926 – 6 June 2011) was an Irish jurist and Fine Gael politician, who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for twenty years, as Attorney General for four years and as a High Court judge for another twenty years before his retirement.
Costello was born in Dublin, the son of John A. Costello who served as Taoiseach on two occasions. He was educated at University College Dublin (UCD), and was an auditor of the UCD Law Society. At the 1951 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála for the Dublin North–West constituency and was re-elected at every subsequent election until he stood down at the 1969 general election. He stood again in the Dublin South–West constituency at the 1973 general election, and was elected for a final time, to the 20th Dáil.
During the 1960s Fine Gael was out of power and Costello was leader of a new generation of Fine Gael politicians who wanted to move the party to the left. He persuaded the party to publish a document called Towards a Just Society which supported economic planning and more government intervention in the economy. This document went on to define what Fine Gael stood for over the following twenty years.
In 1973, Fine Gael were back in government and Costello was appointed Attorney General under Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. He served in that position until 1977 when he finally left politics to become a High Court judge. In 1979, he presided over the Costello Inquiry into the Whiddy Island Disaster. He was appointed President of the High Court in 1994 and retired in 1997. Costello died in 2011.
Costello was born in Dublin, the son of John A. Costello who served as Taoiseach on two occasions. He was educated at University College Dublin (UCD), and was an auditor of the UCD Law Society. At the 1951 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála for the Dublin North–West constituency and was re-elected at every subsequent election until he stood down at the 1969 general election. He stood again in the Dublin South–West constituency at the 1973 general election, and was elected for a final time, to the 20th Dáil.
During the 1960s Fine Gael was out of power and Costello was leader of a new generation of Fine Gael politicians who wanted to move the party to the left. He persuaded the party to publish a document called Towards a Just Society which supported economic planning and more government intervention in the economy. This document went on to define what Fine Gael stood for over the following twenty years.
In 1973, Fine Gael were back in government and Costello was appointed Attorney General under Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. He served in that position until 1977 when he finally left politics to become a High Court judge. In 1979, he presided over the Costello Inquiry into the Whiddy Island Disaster. He was appointed President of the High Court in 1994 and retired in 1997. Costello died in 2011.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Colm Gallagher
Colm Gallagher (died 26 June 1957) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who was elected twice as Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin North–Central, in 1951 and in 1957.
His first candidacy was at the 1948 general election, where he was unsuccessful, winning just 3.3% of the first-preference votes and losing his deposit. At the 1951 general election, he tripled his share of the vote and won a second seat for Fianna Fáil in the three-seat constituency.
He lost his seat at the 1954 general election to the Labour Party's Maureen O'Carroll, but defeated her at the 1957 general election.
His death in June 1957, just three months after the general election, triggered a by-election on 14 November, which was won by an independent candidate, Frank Sherwin.
Colm Gallagher lived in Glasnevin. He was married to Peggy Gallagher and they had three sons and one daughter.
His first candidacy was at the 1948 general election, where he was unsuccessful, winning just 3.3% of the first-preference votes and losing his deposit. At the 1951 general election, he tripled his share of the vote and won a second seat for Fianna Fáil in the three-seat constituency.
He lost his seat at the 1954 general election to the Labour Party's Maureen O'Carroll, but defeated her at the 1957 general election.
His death in June 1957, just three months after the general election, triggered a by-election on 14 November, which was won by an independent candidate, Frank Sherwin.
Colm Gallagher lived in Glasnevin. He was married to Peggy Gallagher and they had three sons and one daughter.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Liam Cunningham
Liam Cunningham (25 January 1915 – 29 February 1976) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was born in County Donegal in 1915. A qualified national school teacher, Cunningham was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal East constituency at the 1951 general election. At the time the senior Fianna Fáil TD was Neil Blaney who would subsequently become a Government Minister. From 1961 onwards, he was elected for the Donegal North–East constituency.
After the events of the Arms Crisis, Blaney was sacked as Minister for Agriculture by the Taoiseach Jack Lynch. In the resulting reshuffle, Cunningham was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government on 9 May 1970. This was something of a surprise at the time and was attributed to an attempt by the party leadership to pressurise Blaney within the Donegal North–East constituency. Cunningham remained a Parliamentary Secretary until Fianna Fáil lost power at the 1973 general election.
When Blaney launched the Independent Fianna Fáil organisation most of the Fianna Fáil public representatives joined the new organisation. Cunningham remained loyal, however, and was comfortably re-elected at the 1973 general election. He remained a TD until his death on 29 February 1976. In a considerable political shock the resulting by-election was won by Paddy Keaveney of Independent Fianna Fáil.
After the events of the Arms Crisis, Blaney was sacked as Minister for Agriculture by the Taoiseach Jack Lynch. In the resulting reshuffle, Cunningham was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government on 9 May 1970. This was something of a surprise at the time and was attributed to an attempt by the party leadership to pressurise Blaney within the Donegal North–East constituency. Cunningham remained a Parliamentary Secretary until Fianna Fáil lost power at the 1973 general election.
When Blaney launched the Independent Fianna Fáil organisation most of the Fianna Fáil public representatives joined the new organisation. Cunningham remained loyal, however, and was comfortably re-elected at the 1973 general election. He remained a TD until his death on 29 February 1976. In a considerable political shock the resulting by-election was won by Paddy Keaveney of Independent Fianna Fáil.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Michael Pat Murphy
Michael Pat Murphy
He was re-elected at each subsequent election until he was retired at the 1981 general election. From 1961 he was elected for the Cork South–West constituency. He was appointed a Parliamentary Secretary by the Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave and served at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries from 1973 to 1977.
His daughter Kate is married to John O'Donoghue, former Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry South.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Denis O'Sullivan
Denis J. O'Sullivan (5 March 1918 – 20 July 1987) was an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at his second attempt at the 1951 general election. He served as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) for various Cork constituencies until losing his seat at the 1965 general election. He served in the Second Inter-Party Government of John A. Costello as Government Chief Whip.
Members of the Fourteenth Dáil - Patrick John Hillery
Patrick Hillery
Patrick John Hillery (Irish: Pádraig J. Ó hIrghile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973. During this time he served as Minister for Education (1959–1965), Minister for Industry and Commerce (1965–1966), Minister for Labour (1966–1969) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1969–1973). In 1973 he was appointed Ireland's first European Commissioner,
serving until 1976 when he became President. He served two terms in the
presidency, and, though widely seen as a somewhat lacklustre President,
he was credited with bringing stability and dignity to the office, and
he won widespread admiration when it emerged that he had withstood
political pressure from his own Fianna Fáil party during a political crisis in 1982.
Patrick John Hillery, more popularly known as Paddy Hillery, was born in Spanish Point, Miltown Malbay, County Clare
in 1923. The son of Michael Joseph Hillery, a local doctor, and Ellen
McMahon, a district nurse, he was educated locally at Miltown Malbay national school before later attending Rockwell College. At third level Hillery attended University College Dublin
where he qualified with a degree in medicine. Upon his conferral in
1947 he returned to his native town where he followed in his father’s
footsteps as a doctor. Hillery’s medical career in the 1950s saw him
serve as a member of the National Health Council and as Medical Officer
for the Miltown Malbay Dispensary District. He also spent a year working
as coroner for West Clare.
Hillery married Maeve Finnegan on 27 October 1955. Together they had a son, John, and a daughter, Vivienne, who died after a long illness in 1987, shortly before her eighteenth birthday.
Hillery, though not himself political, agreed under pressure from Clare's senior Fianna Fáil TD, party leader and former Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, to become his running mate at the 1951 general election. The election resulted in a return to power for Fianna Fáil and Hillery was successful on his first attempt to get elected. He remained on the backbenches for almost a decade, before finally becoming a minister following de Valera's retirement as Taoiseach in 1959.
The new Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, began the process of retiring de Valera's ministers, many of whom had first become ministers in the de Valera cabinet of 1932. Under Lemass, party elders such as James Ryan, Seán MacEntee and Paddy Smith retired and a new generation of politicians were introduced to government such as Brian Lenihan, Donogh O'Malley, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney. Key among this new breed of politician was Hillery who became Minister for Education in 1959, succeeding Jack Lynch in that post.
Hillery, though not himself political, agreed under pressure from Clare's senior Fianna Fáil TD, party leader and former Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, to become his running mate at the 1951 general election. The election resulted in a return to power for Fianna Fáil and Hillery was successful on his first attempt to get elected. He remained on the backbenches for almost a decade, before finally becoming a minister following de Valera's retirement as Taoiseach in 1959.
The new Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, began the process of retiring de Valera's ministers, many of whom had first become ministers in the de Valera cabinet of 1932. Under Lemass, party elders such as James Ryan, Seán MacEntee and Paddy Smith retired and a new generation of politicians were introduced to government such as Brian Lenihan, Donogh O'Malley, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney. Key among this new breed of politician was Hillery who became Minister for Education in 1959, succeeding Jack Lynch in that post.
Following Ireland's successful entry into Europe Hillery was rewarded by becoming the first Irishman to serve on the European Commission. He was appointed Vice-President of the Commission as well as having special responsibility for Social Affairs. While Europe had gained one of Ireland's most capable and respected politicians, Jack Lynch had lost one of his allies, and someone who may have been in line to take over the leadership following Lynch's retirement. As Social Affairs Commissioner Hillery's most famous policy initiative was to force EEC member states to give equal pay to women. However in 1976 the then Irish government, the Fine Gael–Labour Party National Coalition under Liam Cosgrave informed him that he was not being re-appointed to the Commission. He considered returning to medicine, perhaps moving with his wife, Maeve (also a doctor) to Africa. However fate took a turn when the then Minister for Defence, Paddy Donegan, launched a ferocious verbal attack on President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, calling him "a thundering disgrace" for referring anti-terrorist legislation to the courts to test its constitutionality. When a furious President Ó Dálaigh resigned, a deeply reluctant Hillery agreed to become the Fianna Fáil candidate for the presidency. He was elected without a contest as the only candidate, becoming President of Ireland on 3 December 1976.
Though once voted the world's sexiest head of state by readers of the German Der Spiegel magazine, few expected Hillery to become embroiled in a sex scandal as president. Yet that scandal remains one of the biggest whodunnits of modern Irish politics. It occurred in September 1979, when the international press corps, travelling to Ireland for the visit of Pope John Paul II, told their Irish colleagues that Europe was "awash" with rumours that Hillery had a mistress living with him in Áras an Uachtaráin (the presidential residence), that he and his wife were divorcing and he was resigning the presidency. However, the story was untrue.
Once the Pope had left, Hillery told a shocked nation that there was no mistress, no divorce and no resignation. In reality, few people had even heard of the rumours. Critics questioned why he chose to comment on a rumour that few outside media and political circles had heard. Hillery however defended his action by saying that it was important to kill off the story for the good of the presidency, rather than allow the rumour to circulate and be accepted as "fact" in the absence of a denial. In that, he was supported by the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, whom he consulted before making the decision, and the leaders of the main opposition parties, Garret FitzGerald of Fine Gael and Frank Cluskey of the Labour Party.
Hillery also hit the headlines when, on the advice of then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, he declined Queen Elizabeth II's invitation to attend the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
However it was in 1982 that Hillery's reputation as president was arguably made. In January 1982, the Fine Gael-Labour government of Garret FitzGerald lost a budget vote in Dáil Éireann. Since this was a loss of supply, FitzGerald travelled to Áras an Uachtaráin to ask for a parliamentary dissolution. Under Article 13.2.2., if Hillery refused FitzGerald's request for a dissolution, FitzGerald would have had to resign. Had this happened, Haughey, as the leader of the largest single party, would have been the favorite to form a new government. To this end a series of phone calls (some published reports claim seven, others eight) was made by senior opposition figures urging Hillery to refuse FitzGerald a dissolution, so allowing Haughey to form a government.
Hillery regarded such pressure as gross misconduct, and ordered one of his aides de camp, Captain Anthony Barber, not to pass on any telephone calls from opposition figures. He might also have been motivated by the Irish version of the Constitution, which states that the President uses his discretionary powers as a chomhairle féin, which usually translates to "under his own counsel"--meaning that no contact whatsoever could take place with the opposition. Whenever there is a conflict between the Irish and English versions, the Irish one takes precedence. In the end, Hillery granted the dissolution. (No Irish president to date has ever refused such a request.)
By 1990, Hillery's term seemed to be reaching a quiet end, until the events of 1982 returned, changing the course of the history of the presidency, Ireland and Hillery forever. Three candidates had been nominated in the 1990 presidential election: the then Tánaiste, Brian Lenihan from Fianna Fáil (widely viewed as the certain winner), Austin Currie from Fine Gael and Mary Robinson from Labour.
In May 1990, in an on the record interview with Jim Duffy, a post-graduate student researching the Irish presidency, Lenihan had confirmed that he had been one of those phoning Hillery in January 1982. He confirmed that Haughey too had made phone calls.
Jim Duffy mentioned the information in a newspaper article on the history of the Irish presidency on 28 September 1990 in The Irish Times. In October 1990, Lenihan changed his story, claiming (even though he had said the opposite for eight years) that he had played "no hand, act or part" in pressurising President Hillery that night. He made these denials in an interview in The Irish Press (a pro-Fianna Fáil newspaper) and on an RTÉ 1 political show, Questions and Answers. When it was realised that he had said the opposite in an on the record interview in May 1990, his campaign panicked and tried to pressurise Duffy into not revealing the information. Their pressure backfired, particularly when his campaign manager, Bertie Ahern, named Duffy as the person to whom he had given the interview in a radio broadcast, forcing a besieged Duffy to reverse an earlier decision and release the relevant segment of his interview with Lenihan.
In the aftermath, the minority party in the coalition government, the Progressive Democrats indicated that unless Lenihan resigned from cabinet, they would resign from government and support an opposition motion of no confidence in Dáil Éireann, bringing down the government and causing a general election. Though publicly Taoiseach Charles Haughey insisted that it was entirely a matter for Lenihan, his "friend of thirty years" and that he was putting no pressure on him, in reality he gave Lenihan a letter of resignation to sign. When Lenihan refused, Haughey formally advised President Hillery to dismiss Lenihan as Tánaiste, Minister for Defence and member of the cabinet, which the President as constitutionally required duly did. Lenihan became the only candidate from his party to date to lose the presidency, having begun the campaign as the apparent certain winner. Instead Labour's Mary Robinson, who already had had a spectacularly successful campaign, became the seventh president of Ireland, the first elected president from outside Fianna Fáil, and the first woman to hold the office.
The revelations, and the discovery that Hillery had stood up to pressure from former cabinet colleagues, including his close friend Brian Lenihan, back in 1982 increased Hillery's standing substantially. From a low-key modest presidency that many had written off as mediocre, his presidency came to be seen as embodying the highest standards of integrity. His reputation rose further when opposition leaders under parliamentary privilege alleged that Taoiseach Charles Haughey, who in January 1982 had been Leader of the Opposition, had not merely rung the President's Office but threatened to end the career of the army officer who took the call and who, on Hillery's explicit instructions, had refused to put through the call to the President. Haughey angrily denied the charge, though Lenihan, in his subsequently published account of the affair, noted that Haughey had denied "insulting" the officer, whereas the allegation was that he had "threatened" him. Hillery, it was revealed, had called in the Irish Army's Chief of Staff the following day and as Commander-in-Chief of the Army had ordered the Chief of Staff to ensure that no politician ever interfered with the career of the young army officer. About ten years after the incident, RTÉ attempted to interview the young officer with regard to the allegations but as a serving officer he was unable to comment.
Having been re-elected unopposed in 1983, Hillery (until then) shared the distinction with Seán T. O'Kelly and Éamon de Valera of serving two full terms as President of Ireland. He was one of three holders of the office of President who did not face popular election for the office, the others being Douglas Hyde and Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh. Hillery left office in 1990 (he had served the maximum two terms), widely applauded for his integrity, honesty and devotion to duty. The previous image of Hillery, as low key, dull and unexciting (except for the bizarre sex rumours), had been somewhat undermined. Hillery retired from public life. However he re-entered public life in 2002 during the second referendum on the Nice Treaty, when he urged a yes vote.
In 2002, state papers released by the British Public Record Office under the 'Thirty Year Rule' and published in the Irish media, revealed how Hillery was viewed. A briefing paper, prepared for then British Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec Douglas-Home and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw, observed about Hillery:
Patrick Hillery died on 12 April 2008 in his Dublin home following a short illness. His family agreed to a full state funeral for the former president.
In tributes, President Mary McAleese said "He was involved in every facet of policy-making that paved the way to a new, modern Ireland. Today, we detect his foresight and pioneering agenda everywhere – a free education system, a dynamic, well-educated people, a successful economy and a thriving membership of the European Union, one of the single most transformative events for this country." Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he "was a man of great integrity, decency and intelligence, who contributed massively to the progress of our country and he is assured of an honoured place in Ireland’s history". In the Dáil and Seanad he was praised by all political leaders and parties during expressions of sympathy on 15 April 2008. In the graveside oration, Tánaiste Brian Cowen said Hillery was "A humble man of simple tastes, he has been variously described as honourable, decent, intelligent, courteous, warm and engaging. He was all of those things and more."
Hillery married Maeve Finnegan on 27 October 1955. Together they had a son, John, and a daughter, Vivienne, who died after a long illness in 1987, shortly before her eighteenth birthday.
Hillery, though not himself political, agreed under pressure from Clare's senior Fianna Fáil TD, party leader and former Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, to become his running mate at the 1951 general election. The election resulted in a return to power for Fianna Fáil and Hillery was successful on his first attempt to get elected. He remained on the backbenches for almost a decade, before finally becoming a minister following de Valera's retirement as Taoiseach in 1959.
The new Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, began the process of retiring de Valera's ministers, many of whom had first become ministers in the de Valera cabinet of 1932. Under Lemass, party elders such as James Ryan, Seán MacEntee and Paddy Smith retired and a new generation of politicians were introduced to government such as Brian Lenihan, Donogh O'Malley, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney. Key among this new breed of politician was Hillery who became Minister for Education in 1959, succeeding Jack Lynch in that post.
Hillery, though not himself political, agreed under pressure from Clare's senior Fianna Fáil TD, party leader and former Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, to become his running mate at the 1951 general election. The election resulted in a return to power for Fianna Fáil and Hillery was successful on his first attempt to get elected. He remained on the backbenches for almost a decade, before finally becoming a minister following de Valera's retirement as Taoiseach in 1959.
The new Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, began the process of retiring de Valera's ministers, many of whom had first become ministers in the de Valera cabinet of 1932. Under Lemass, party elders such as James Ryan, Seán MacEntee and Paddy Smith retired and a new generation of politicians were introduced to government such as Brian Lenihan, Donogh O'Malley, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney. Key among this new breed of politician was Hillery who became Minister for Education in 1959, succeeding Jack Lynch in that post.
Following Ireland's successful entry into Europe Hillery was rewarded by becoming the first Irishman to serve on the European Commission. He was appointed Vice-President of the Commission as well as having special responsibility for Social Affairs. While Europe had gained one of Ireland's most capable and respected politicians, Jack Lynch had lost one of his allies, and someone who may have been in line to take over the leadership following Lynch's retirement. As Social Affairs Commissioner Hillery's most famous policy initiative was to force EEC member states to give equal pay to women. However in 1976 the then Irish government, the Fine Gael–Labour Party National Coalition under Liam Cosgrave informed him that he was not being re-appointed to the Commission. He considered returning to medicine, perhaps moving with his wife, Maeve (also a doctor) to Africa. However fate took a turn when the then Minister for Defence, Paddy Donegan, launched a ferocious verbal attack on President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, calling him "a thundering disgrace" for referring anti-terrorist legislation to the courts to test its constitutionality. When a furious President Ó Dálaigh resigned, a deeply reluctant Hillery agreed to become the Fianna Fáil candidate for the presidency. He was elected without a contest as the only candidate, becoming President of Ireland on 3 December 1976.
Though once voted the world's sexiest head of state by readers of the German Der Spiegel magazine, few expected Hillery to become embroiled in a sex scandal as president. Yet that scandal remains one of the biggest whodunnits of modern Irish politics. It occurred in September 1979, when the international press corps, travelling to Ireland for the visit of Pope John Paul II, told their Irish colleagues that Europe was "awash" with rumours that Hillery had a mistress living with him in Áras an Uachtaráin (the presidential residence), that he and his wife were divorcing and he was resigning the presidency. However, the story was untrue.
Once the Pope had left, Hillery told a shocked nation that there was no mistress, no divorce and no resignation. In reality, few people had even heard of the rumours. Critics questioned why he chose to comment on a rumour that few outside media and political circles had heard. Hillery however defended his action by saying that it was important to kill off the story for the good of the presidency, rather than allow the rumour to circulate and be accepted as "fact" in the absence of a denial. In that, he was supported by the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, whom he consulted before making the decision, and the leaders of the main opposition parties, Garret FitzGerald of Fine Gael and Frank Cluskey of the Labour Party.
Hillery also hit the headlines when, on the advice of then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, he declined Queen Elizabeth II's invitation to attend the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
However it was in 1982 that Hillery's reputation as president was arguably made. In January 1982, the Fine Gael-Labour government of Garret FitzGerald lost a budget vote in Dáil Éireann. Since this was a loss of supply, FitzGerald travelled to Áras an Uachtaráin to ask for a parliamentary dissolution. Under Article 13.2.2., if Hillery refused FitzGerald's request for a dissolution, FitzGerald would have had to resign. Had this happened, Haughey, as the leader of the largest single party, would have been the favorite to form a new government. To this end a series of phone calls (some published reports claim seven, others eight) was made by senior opposition figures urging Hillery to refuse FitzGerald a dissolution, so allowing Haughey to form a government.
Hillery regarded such pressure as gross misconduct, and ordered one of his aides de camp, Captain Anthony Barber, not to pass on any telephone calls from opposition figures. He might also have been motivated by the Irish version of the Constitution, which states that the President uses his discretionary powers as a chomhairle féin, which usually translates to "under his own counsel"--meaning that no contact whatsoever could take place with the opposition. Whenever there is a conflict between the Irish and English versions, the Irish one takes precedence. In the end, Hillery granted the dissolution. (No Irish president to date has ever refused such a request.)
By 1990, Hillery's term seemed to be reaching a quiet end, until the events of 1982 returned, changing the course of the history of the presidency, Ireland and Hillery forever. Three candidates had been nominated in the 1990 presidential election: the then Tánaiste, Brian Lenihan from Fianna Fáil (widely viewed as the certain winner), Austin Currie from Fine Gael and Mary Robinson from Labour.
In May 1990, in an on the record interview with Jim Duffy, a post-graduate student researching the Irish presidency, Lenihan had confirmed that he had been one of those phoning Hillery in January 1982. He confirmed that Haughey too had made phone calls.
Jim Duffy mentioned the information in a newspaper article on the history of the Irish presidency on 28 September 1990 in The Irish Times. In October 1990, Lenihan changed his story, claiming (even though he had said the opposite for eight years) that he had played "no hand, act or part" in pressurising President Hillery that night. He made these denials in an interview in The Irish Press (a pro-Fianna Fáil newspaper) and on an RTÉ 1 political show, Questions and Answers. When it was realised that he had said the opposite in an on the record interview in May 1990, his campaign panicked and tried to pressurise Duffy into not revealing the information. Their pressure backfired, particularly when his campaign manager, Bertie Ahern, named Duffy as the person to whom he had given the interview in a radio broadcast, forcing a besieged Duffy to reverse an earlier decision and release the relevant segment of his interview with Lenihan.
In the aftermath, the minority party in the coalition government, the Progressive Democrats indicated that unless Lenihan resigned from cabinet, they would resign from government and support an opposition motion of no confidence in Dáil Éireann, bringing down the government and causing a general election. Though publicly Taoiseach Charles Haughey insisted that it was entirely a matter for Lenihan, his "friend of thirty years" and that he was putting no pressure on him, in reality he gave Lenihan a letter of resignation to sign. When Lenihan refused, Haughey formally advised President Hillery to dismiss Lenihan as Tánaiste, Minister for Defence and member of the cabinet, which the President as constitutionally required duly did. Lenihan became the only candidate from his party to date to lose the presidency, having begun the campaign as the apparent certain winner. Instead Labour's Mary Robinson, who already had had a spectacularly successful campaign, became the seventh president of Ireland, the first elected president from outside Fianna Fáil, and the first woman to hold the office.
The revelations, and the discovery that Hillery had stood up to pressure from former cabinet colleagues, including his close friend Brian Lenihan, back in 1982 increased Hillery's standing substantially. From a low-key modest presidency that many had written off as mediocre, his presidency came to be seen as embodying the highest standards of integrity. His reputation rose further when opposition leaders under parliamentary privilege alleged that Taoiseach Charles Haughey, who in January 1982 had been Leader of the Opposition, had not merely rung the President's Office but threatened to end the career of the army officer who took the call and who, on Hillery's explicit instructions, had refused to put through the call to the President. Haughey angrily denied the charge, though Lenihan, in his subsequently published account of the affair, noted that Haughey had denied "insulting" the officer, whereas the allegation was that he had "threatened" him. Hillery, it was revealed, had called in the Irish Army's Chief of Staff the following day and as Commander-in-Chief of the Army had ordered the Chief of Staff to ensure that no politician ever interfered with the career of the young army officer. About ten years after the incident, RTÉ attempted to interview the young officer with regard to the allegations but as a serving officer he was unable to comment.
Having been re-elected unopposed in 1983, Hillery (until then) shared the distinction with Seán T. O'Kelly and Éamon de Valera of serving two full terms as President of Ireland. He was one of three holders of the office of President who did not face popular election for the office, the others being Douglas Hyde and Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh. Hillery left office in 1990 (he had served the maximum two terms), widely applauded for his integrity, honesty and devotion to duty. The previous image of Hillery, as low key, dull and unexciting (except for the bizarre sex rumours), had been somewhat undermined. Hillery retired from public life. However he re-entered public life in 2002 during the second referendum on the Nice Treaty, when he urged a yes vote.
In 2002, state papers released by the British Public Record Office under the 'Thirty Year Rule' and published in the Irish media, revealed how Hillery was viewed. A briefing paper, prepared for then British Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec Douglas-Home and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw, observed about Hillery:
- Dr. Hillery is regarded as a powerhouse of ideas, one of the few members of Fianna Fáil who has new policies and is eager to implement them.
- The greatest example has been in his present job [then, Minister for Foreign Affairs], where he has perforce concentrated on Anglo-Irish relations and, in particular the North (i.e., Northern Ireland). Policy in this field is determined primarily between him and the Taoiseach; and it is likely that the Fianna Fáil new line owes much to Dr. Hillery. . . .
- Dr. Hillery has a pleasant manner. He can appear diffident and casual but has an undoubted intellectual capacity and a strong will; since the government crisis of 1970 he has appeared much more assured – even brash – and has handled the Dáil with confidence.
Patrick Hillery died on 12 April 2008 in his Dublin home following a short illness. His family agreed to a full state funeral for the former president.
In tributes, President Mary McAleese said "He was involved in every facet of policy-making that paved the way to a new, modern Ireland. Today, we detect his foresight and pioneering agenda everywhere – a free education system, a dynamic, well-educated people, a successful economy and a thriving membership of the European Union, one of the single most transformative events for this country." Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he "was a man of great integrity, decency and intelligence, who contributed massively to the progress of our country and he is assured of an honoured place in Ireland’s history". In the Dáil and Seanad he was praised by all political leaders and parties during expressions of sympathy on 15 April 2008. In the graveside oration, Tánaiste Brian Cowen said Hillery was "A humble man of simple tastes, he has been variously described as honourable, decent, intelligent, courteous, warm and engaging. He was all of those things and more."
Sunday, September 16, 2012
The Fourteenth Dáil
This is a list of the members who were elected to the 14th Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These TDs (Members of Parliament) were elected at the 1951 general election on 30 May 1951 and met on 13 June 1951. The 14th Dáil was dissolved by President Seán T. O'Kelly, at the request of the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera on 24 April 1954. The 14th Dáil lasted 1,084 days.
The list of the 147 TDs elected, is given in alphabetical order by constituency.
The list of the 147 TDs elected, is given in alphabetical order by constituency.
| Members of the 14th Dáil | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Name | Party | |
| Carlow–Kilkenny | Patrick Crotty | Fine Gael | |
| Joseph Hughes | Fine Gael | ||
| Francis Humphreys | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Thomas Derrig | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Thomas Walsh | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Cavan | Patrick O'Reilly | Fine Gael | |
| Michael Sheridan | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Paddy Smith | Fianna Fáil | ||
| John Tully | Clann na Poblachta | ||
| Clare | Éamon de Valera | Fianna Fáil | |
| Patrick Hillery | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Patrick Hogan | Labour Party | ||
| William Murphy | Fine Gael | ||
| Cork Borough | James Hickey | Labour Party | |
| Seán McCarthy | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Patrick McGrath | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Jack Lynch | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Thomas F. O'Higgins | Fine Gael | ||
| Cork East | Martin Corry | Fianna Fáil | |
| Seán Keane | Labour Party | ||
| Patrick O'Gorman | Fine Gael | ||
| Cork North | Patrick McAuliffe | Labour Party | |
| Seán Moylan | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Denis O'Sullivan | Fine Gael | ||
| Cork South | Seán Buckley | Fianna Fáil | |
| Dan Desmond | Labour Party | ||
| Patrick Lehane | Independent | ||
| Cork West | Seán Collins | Fine Gael | |
| Michael Murphy | Labour Party | ||
| Timothy O'Sullivan | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Donegal East | Neil Blaney | Fianna Fáil | |
| Liam Cunningham | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Daniel McMenamin | Fine Gael | ||
| William Sheldon | Independent | ||
| Donegal West | Joseph Brennan | Fianna Fáil | |
| Cormac Breslin | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Patrick O'Donnell | Fine Gael | ||
| Dublin County | Patrick Burke | Fianna Fáil | |
| Seán Dunne | Labour Party | ||
| Éamon Rooney | Fine Gael | ||
| Dublin North–Central | Vivion de Valera | Fianna Fáil | |
| Colm Gallagher | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Patrick McGilligan | Fine Gael | ||
| Dublin North–East | Jack Belton | Fine Gael | |
| Alfred Byrne | Independent | ||
| Harry Colley | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Peadar Cowan | Independent | ||
| Oscar Traynor | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Dublin North–West | Cormac Breathnach | Fianna Fáil | |
| Alfred P. Byrne | Independent | ||
| Declan Costello | Fine Gael | ||
| Dublin South–Central | Philip Brady | Fianna Fáil | |
| Maurice E. Dockrell | Fine Gael | ||
| James Larkin, Jnr | Labour Party | ||
| Seán Lemass | Fianna Fáil | ||
| John McCann | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Dublin South–East | John A. Costello | Fine Gael | |
| Noël Browne | Independent | ||
| Seán MacEntee | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Dublin South–West | Robert Briscoe | Fianna Fáil | |
| Bernard Butler | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Peadar Doyle | Fine Gael | ||
| Michael ffrench-O'Carroll | Independent | ||
| Seán MacBride | Clann na Poblachta | ||
| Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown | Seán Brady | Fianna Fáil | |
| Liam Cosgrave | Fine Gael | ||
| H. Percy Dockrell | Fine Gael | ||
| Galway North | Michael Donnellan | Clann na Talmhan | |
| James Hession | Fine Gael | ||
| Mark Killilea, Snr | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Galway South | Patrick Beegan | Fianna Fáil | |
| Patrick Cawley | Fine Gael | ||
| Frank Fahy | Ceann Comhairle | ||
| Galway West | Gerald Bartley | Fianna Fáil | |
| Peadar Duignan | Fianna Fáil | ||
| John Mannion, Snr | Fine Gael | ||
| Kerry North | John Lynch | Fine Gael | |
| Patrick Finucane | Independent | ||
| Tom McEllistrim | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Dan Spring | Labour Party | ||
| Kerry South | Honor Crowley | Fianna Fáil | |
| John Flynn | Independent | ||
| Patrick Palmer | Fine Gael | ||
| Kildare | Thomas Harris | Fianna Fáil | |
| William Norton | Labour Party | ||
| Gerard Sweetman | Fine Gael | ||
| Leix–Offaly | Patrick Boland | Fianna Fáil | |
| William Davin | Labour Party | ||
| Oliver J. Flanagan | Independent | ||
| Peadar Maher | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Tom O'Higgins | Fine Gael | ||
| Limerick East | Daniel Bourke | Fianna Fáil | |
| Tadhg Crowley | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Michael Keyes | Labour Party | ||
| James Reidy | Fine Gael | ||
| Limerick West | James Collins | Fianna Fáil | |
| David Madden | Fine Gael | ||
| Donnchadh Ó Briain | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Longford–Westmeath | Frank Carter | Fianna Fáil | |
| Erskine H. Childers | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Charles Fagan | Independent | ||
| Michael Kennedy | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Seán Mac Eoin | Fine Gael | ||
| Louth | Frank Aiken | Fianna Fáil | |
| James Coburn | Fine Gael | ||
| Laurence Walsh | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Mayo North | Patrick Browne | Fine Gael | |
| Thomas O'Hara | Clann na Talmhan | ||
| P. J. Ruttledge | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Mayo South | Joseph Blowick | Clann na Talmhan | |
| Dominick Cafferky | Clann na Talmhan | ||
| Seán Flanagan | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Micheál Ó Móráin | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Meath | Patrick Giles | Fine Gael | |
| Michael Hilliard | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Matthew O'Reilly | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Monaghan | James Dillon | Independent | |
| Patrick Maguire | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Bridget Rice | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Roscommon | John Beirne, Jnr | Clann na Talmhan | |
| Gerald Boland | Fianna Fáil | ||
| John Finan | Clann na Talmhan | ||
| Jack McQuillan | Independent | ||
| Sligo–Leitrim | Stephen Flynn | Fianna Fáil | |
| Eugene Gilbride | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Mary Reynolds | Fine Gael | ||
| Joseph Roddy | Fine Gael | ||
| Patrick Rogers | Fine Gael | ||
| Tipperary North | John Fanning | Fianna Fáil | |
| Daniel Morrissey | Fine Gael | ||
| Mary Ryan | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Tipperary South | Dan Breen | Fianna Fáil | |
| Patrick Crowe | Fine Gael | ||
| Michael Davern | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Richard Mulcahy | Fine Gael | ||
| Waterford | Thomas Kyne | Labour Party | |
| Patrick Little | Fianna Fáil | ||
| John Ormonde | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Bridget Redmond | Fine Gael | ||
| Wexford | Denis Allen | Fianna Fáil | |
| Brendan Corish | Labour Party | ||
| Anthony Esmonde | Fine Gael | ||
| John O'Leary | Labour Party | ||
| James Ryan | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Wicklow | Thomas Brennan | Fianna Fáil | |
| Patrick Cogan | Independent | ||
| James Everett | Labour Party | ||
Changes
| Date | Constituency | Gain | Loss | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 June 1952 | Limerick East | Fine Gael | Fianna Fáil | John Carew (FG) wins the seat vacated by the death of Daniel Bourke (FF) | ||
| 26 June 1952 | Mayo North | Fianna Fáil | Fianna Fáil | Phelim Calleary (FF) holds the seat vacated by the death of P. J. Ruttledge (FF) | ||
| 26 June 1952 | Waterford | Fianna Fáil | Fine Gael | William Kenneally (FF) wins the seat vacated by the death of Bridget Redmond (FG) | ||
| 12 November 1952 | Dublin North–West | Independent | Independent | Thomas Byrne (Ind) holds the seat vacated by the death of his brother Alfred P. Byrne (Ind) | ||
| 18 June 1953 | Cork East | Fine Gael | Labour Party | Richard Barry (FG) wins the seat vacated by the death of Seán Keane (Lab) | ||
| 18 June 1953 | Wicklow | Fine Gael | Fianna Fáil | Mark Deering (FG) holds the seat vacated by the death of Thomas Brennan (FF) | ||
| 21 August 1953 | Galway South | Fianna Fáil | Fianna Fáil | Robert Lahiffe (FF) holds the seat vacated by the death of Frank Fahy (FF) | ||
| 3 March 1954 | Cork Borough | Fine Gael | Fine Gael | Stephen Barrett (FG) holds the seat vacated by the death of Thomas F. O'Higgins (FG) | ||
| 3 March 1954 | Louth | Fine Gael | Fine Gael | George Coburn (FG) holds the seat vacated by the death of his father James Coburn (FG) |
Keynesian Economic Theory
According to "The Course of Irish History" (pg.282), " After 1948, when the first inter-party government took office, economic policies were adopted which, in some cases,seemed even more radical than anything Lemass had sponsored. The Minister of Finance, McGilligan, for instance, introduced the concept of the capital budget - the first explicit evidence of Keynesian influence in Irish public finance. Under successive governments since then, the state capital programme has grown progressively in significance. Lord Keynes, indeed, was seeming in practice to have more influence than Connolly on the Irish economy of the fifties and sixties."
Keynesian Economic Theory has had a major influence on major economies around the world including Britain, Ireland, and the US. It has also, in my estimation, brought disaster to these very economies. But what is this theory?
The Keynesian Revolution was a fundamental reworking of economic theory concerning the factors determining employment levels in the overall economy. The revolution was set against the then orthodox economic framework: Neoclassical economics.
The early stage of the Keynesian Revolution took place in the years following the publication of Keynes's General Theory in 1936. It saw the neoclassical understanding of employment replaced with Keynes's view that demand, and not supply, is the driving factor determining levels of employment. This provided Keynes and his supporters with a theoretical basis to argue that governments should intervene to alleviate severe unemployment. With Keynes unable to take much part in theoretical debate after 1937, a process swiftly got under way to reconcile his work with the old system to form Neo-Keynesian economics, a mixture of neoclassical economics and Keynesian economics. The process of mixing these schools is referred to as the neoclassical synthesis, and Neo-Keynesian economics can be summarized as "Keynesian in macroeconomics, neoclassical in microeconomics".
The revolution was primarily a change in mainstream economic views and in providing a unified framework – many of the ideas and policy prescriptions advocated by Keynes had ad hoc precursors in the underconsumptionist school of 19th century economics, and some forms of government stimulus were practiced in 1930s United States without the intellectual framework of Keynesianism.
The central policy change was the proposition that government action could change the level of unemployment, via deficit spending (fiscal stimulus) such as by public works or tax cuts, and changes in interest rates and money supply (monetary policy) – the prevailing orthodoxy prior to that point was the Treasury view that government action could not change the level of unemployment.
The driving force was the economic crisis of the Great Depression and the 1936 publication of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes, which was then reworked into a neoclassical framework by John Hicks, particularly the IS/LM model of 1936/37. This synthesis was then popularized in American academia in the very influential textbook Economics by Paul Samuelson from 1948 onward, and came to dominate post-World War II economic thinking in the United States. The term "Keynesian Revolution" itself was used in the 1947 text The Keynesian Revolution by American economist Lawrence Klein. In the United States, the Keynesian Revolution was initially actively fought by conservatives during the Second Red Scare (McCarthyism) and accused of Communism, but ultimately a form of Keynesian economics became mainstream; see textbooks of the Keynesian revolution.
The Keynesian revolution has been criticized on a number of grounds: some, particularly the freshwater school and Austrian school, argue that the revolution was misguided and incorrect; by contrast, other schools of Keynesian economics, notably Post-Keynesian economics, argue that the "Keynesian" revolution ignored or distorted many of Keynes's fundamental insights, and did not go far enough.
A central aspect of the Keynesian revolution was a change in theory concerning the factors determining employment levels in the overall economy. The revolution was set against the orthodox classical economic framework, and its successor, neoclassical economics, which based on Say's Law argued that unless special conditions prevailed the free market would naturally establish full employment equilibrium with no need for government intervention. This view held that employers will be able to make a profit by employing all available workers as long as workers drop their wages below the value of the total output they are able to produce – and classical economics assumed that in a free market workers would be willing to lower their wage demands accordingly, because they are rational agents who would rather work for less than face unemployment.
Keynes argued that both Say's Law and the assumption that economic actors always behave rationally are misleading simplifications, and that the classical economics was only reliable at describing a special case. The Keynesian Revolution replaced the classical understanding of employment with Keynes's view that employment is a function of demand, not supply.
Professor Harry Johnson has written that economics in its modern form can be seen as dawning with the Smithian Revolution against mercantilism. Prior to Keynes there were five other major developments in economic thought rapid enough in pace to be characterised as revolutions, most notably the Ricardian. Another noted revolution is the marginalist revolution, which is taken to mark the transition from classical economics to neoclassical economics in the 1870s. Collectively, these fashioned the classical economic orthodoxy that Keynes attacked.
Note however that in economic practice, as opposed to economic theory, the behavior of industrializing nations in the 19th century has frequently been described as mercantilist or embodying economic nationalism, as in the American School of 19th century American economic practice.
The rise of Monetarism, particularly in the 1970's and via the work of Milton Friedman, is considered the next major change in mainstream economic theory and practice, and has at times been described as the "monetarist revolution". The stagflation of the 1970s led to a loss of influence by classical Keynesian economics, and continuing tensions between Keynesian economics and neoclassical economics led in the 1970's to the division between New Keynesian economics and New classical macroeconomics; these are also referred to as the saltwater school and freshwater school, due to the American universities with which they are associated. In development economics, this period is referred to as the Washington Consensus period, and the economic expansion of the 1980's, 1990's, and early 2000's has been referred to as The Great Moderation.
Within academia the post WWII high point of free market economics occurred in the 1990s, with several free market economists winning the Nobel Prize. Increased skepticism concerning the free market consensus was fueled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the Dot com crash. The financial crisis of 2007–2010 saw a resurgence of interest in Keynesian economics, the 2008–2009 Keynesian resurgence.
The importance and history of
textbooks is less-studied than other aspects of the Keynesian revolution, but
some argue that it is of fundamental importance.
In the United States, the 1948 textbook Economics by Paul Samuelson was the key textbook that spread the Keynesian revolution. It was not however the first Keynesian textbook, being preceded by the 1947 The Elements of Economics, by Lorie Tarshis. Tarshis's book, the first American textbook to discuss Keynesian ideas, was initially widely adopted, but was subsequently attacked by American conservatives (as part of the Second Red Scare, or McCarthyism), donors to universities withheld donations, and subsequently the text was largely withdrawn. Tarshis's text was subsequently attacked in the 1951 God and Man at Yale by American conservative William F. Buckley, Jr.
Samuelson's Economics was also subject to "conservative business pressuring" and accusations of Communism, but the attacks were less "virulen[t]" and Economics became established. The success of Samuelson's book is attributed to various factors, notably Samuelson's dispassionate, scientific style, in contrast to Tarshis's more engaged style. Subsequent texts have followed Samuelson's style.
According to post Keynesian economists and some others such as Charles Goodhart, in the academic sphere the so called revolution failed to properly get off the ground, with neo Keynesian economics being Keynesian in name only. Such critics have held that Keynes's thinking was misunderstood or misrepresented by the revolutions leading popularisers, the founders of neo Keynesian economics such as John Hicks and Paul Samuelson. The post Keynesians felt neo Keynesianism excessively compromised with the classical view. For Paul Davidson the revolution was "aborted" in its early years; for Hyman Minsky it was "still born"; while for Joan Robinson the revolution led to a "bastard Keynesianism".
A suggested reason for the distortion is the central role John Hicks's IS/LM model played in helping other economists understand Keynes's theory – for post Keynesians, and by the 1970s even Hicks himself, the model distorted Keynes's vision.
A second reason offered is the attacks on the more progressive expressions of Keynes's views that occurred due to McCarthyism. For example, while initially popular, Lorie Tarshis's 1947 text book introducing Keynes's ideas, The elements of economics was soon under heavily attacked by those influenced by McCarthy. The book's place as a leading text book for Keynes's ideas in America was taken by Paul Samuelsons Principles of Economics. According to Davidson, Samuelson failed to understand one of the key pillars of the revolution, the refutation ergodic axiom (i.e. saying that economic decision makers are always confronted by uncertainty – the past isn't a reliable predictor of the future).
Economists Robert Shiller and George Akerlof re-asserted the importance of recognising uncertainty in their 2009 book Animal Spirits.
Another reason for the distortion of Keynes's views was his low level of participation in the intellectual debates that followed the publication of his General Theory, first due to his heart-attack in 1937 and then due to his busyness with the war. It has been suggested by Lord Skidelsky that apart aside from his busyness and incapacity, Keynes didn't challenge models like IS/LM as he perceived that from a pragmatic point of view they would be a useful compromise.
Keynesian Economic Theory has had a major influence on major economies around the world including Britain, Ireland, and the US. It has also, in my estimation, brought disaster to these very economies. But what is this theory?
The Keynesian Revolution was a fundamental reworking of economic theory concerning the factors determining employment levels in the overall economy. The revolution was set against the then orthodox economic framework: Neoclassical economics.
The early stage of the Keynesian Revolution took place in the years following the publication of Keynes's General Theory in 1936. It saw the neoclassical understanding of employment replaced with Keynes's view that demand, and not supply, is the driving factor determining levels of employment. This provided Keynes and his supporters with a theoretical basis to argue that governments should intervene to alleviate severe unemployment. With Keynes unable to take much part in theoretical debate after 1937, a process swiftly got under way to reconcile his work with the old system to form Neo-Keynesian economics, a mixture of neoclassical economics and Keynesian economics. The process of mixing these schools is referred to as the neoclassical synthesis, and Neo-Keynesian economics can be summarized as "Keynesian in macroeconomics, neoclassical in microeconomics".
The revolution was primarily a change in mainstream economic views and in providing a unified framework – many of the ideas and policy prescriptions advocated by Keynes had ad hoc precursors in the underconsumptionist school of 19th century economics, and some forms of government stimulus were practiced in 1930s United States without the intellectual framework of Keynesianism.
The central policy change was the proposition that government action could change the level of unemployment, via deficit spending (fiscal stimulus) such as by public works or tax cuts, and changes in interest rates and money supply (monetary policy) – the prevailing orthodoxy prior to that point was the Treasury view that government action could not change the level of unemployment.
The driving force was the economic crisis of the Great Depression and the 1936 publication of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes, which was then reworked into a neoclassical framework by John Hicks, particularly the IS/LM model of 1936/37. This synthesis was then popularized in American academia in the very influential textbook Economics by Paul Samuelson from 1948 onward, and came to dominate post-World War II economic thinking in the United States. The term "Keynesian Revolution" itself was used in the 1947 text The Keynesian Revolution by American economist Lawrence Klein. In the United States, the Keynesian Revolution was initially actively fought by conservatives during the Second Red Scare (McCarthyism) and accused of Communism, but ultimately a form of Keynesian economics became mainstream; see textbooks of the Keynesian revolution.
The Keynesian revolution has been criticized on a number of grounds: some, particularly the freshwater school and Austrian school, argue that the revolution was misguided and incorrect; by contrast, other schools of Keynesian economics, notably Post-Keynesian economics, argue that the "Keynesian" revolution ignored or distorted many of Keynes's fundamental insights, and did not go far enough.
A central aspect of the Keynesian revolution was a change in theory concerning the factors determining employment levels in the overall economy. The revolution was set against the orthodox classical economic framework, and its successor, neoclassical economics, which based on Say's Law argued that unless special conditions prevailed the free market would naturally establish full employment equilibrium with no need for government intervention. This view held that employers will be able to make a profit by employing all available workers as long as workers drop their wages below the value of the total output they are able to produce – and classical economics assumed that in a free market workers would be willing to lower their wage demands accordingly, because they are rational agents who would rather work for less than face unemployment.
Keynes argued that both Say's Law and the assumption that economic actors always behave rationally are misleading simplifications, and that the classical economics was only reliable at describing a special case. The Keynesian Revolution replaced the classical understanding of employment with Keynes's view that employment is a function of demand, not supply.
Professor Harry Johnson has written that economics in its modern form can be seen as dawning with the Smithian Revolution against mercantilism. Prior to Keynes there were five other major developments in economic thought rapid enough in pace to be characterised as revolutions, most notably the Ricardian. Another noted revolution is the marginalist revolution, which is taken to mark the transition from classical economics to neoclassical economics in the 1870s. Collectively, these fashioned the classical economic orthodoxy that Keynes attacked.
Note however that in economic practice, as opposed to economic theory, the behavior of industrializing nations in the 19th century has frequently been described as mercantilist or embodying economic nationalism, as in the American School of 19th century American economic practice.
The rise of Monetarism, particularly in the 1970's and via the work of Milton Friedman, is considered the next major change in mainstream economic theory and practice, and has at times been described as the "monetarist revolution". The stagflation of the 1970s led to a loss of influence by classical Keynesian economics, and continuing tensions between Keynesian economics and neoclassical economics led in the 1970's to the division between New Keynesian economics and New classical macroeconomics; these are also referred to as the saltwater school and freshwater school, due to the American universities with which they are associated. In development economics, this period is referred to as the Washington Consensus period, and the economic expansion of the 1980's, 1990's, and early 2000's has been referred to as The Great Moderation.
Within academia the post WWII high point of free market economics occurred in the 1990s, with several free market economists winning the Nobel Prize. Increased skepticism concerning the free market consensus was fueled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the Dot com crash. The financial crisis of 2007–2010 saw a resurgence of interest in Keynesian economics, the 2008–2009 Keynesian resurgence.
When Keynes published his General Theory in 1936, the
influence of free market economics on policy making had already declined
substantially compared to the almost unchallenged ascendancy it had enjoyed in
Britain during the 1840's - 1860's. By the mid 1930's, much of the first and
second world was already under the sway of communism or fascism, with even the
US departing from economic orthodoxy with the New Deal. There had not been a
corresponding decline for neoclassical economics in the academic sphere however.
According to economic historian Richard Cockett, within academia the prestige
of free market economics was still near its peak even in the 1920's.
In the 1930's, neoclassical economics began to be challenged within academia, though at first by various diverse schools which apart from Marxism were mostly of only local influence - such as the Stockholm school in Sweden or in the US the Administered price theorists Keynes was little influenced by the various heterodox economists of the 1930's, his General theory was written largely in a Marshellian framework though with some important points of dissent such as the idea that excessive savings can be harmful for the overall economy. Keynes asserts that when savings exceed available investment opportunities it makes it impossible for business as a whole to make a profit and so lay offs and increased unemployment will result. In chapter 23 of the General Theory Keynes traces the genesis of this idea to, among others, Mercantilist thinkers of the previous three centuries, to the Fable of the Bees and to the dissenting economist J A Hobson with his Physiology of industry (1889).
In the 1930's, neoclassical economics began to be challenged within academia, though at first by various diverse schools which apart from Marxism were mostly of only local influence - such as the Stockholm school in Sweden or in the US the Administered price theorists Keynes was little influenced by the various heterodox economists of the 1930's, his General theory was written largely in a Marshellian framework though with some important points of dissent such as the idea that excessive savings can be harmful for the overall economy. Keynes asserts that when savings exceed available investment opportunities it makes it impossible for business as a whole to make a profit and so lay offs and increased unemployment will result. In chapter 23 of the General Theory Keynes traces the genesis of this idea to, among others, Mercantilist thinkers of the previous three centuries, to the Fable of the Bees and to the dissenting economist J A Hobson with his Physiology of industry (1889).
(Colander
& Landreth 1996) argue that there are three components to the Keynesian
revolution: a policy revolution, a theoretical (or intellectual) revolution,
and a textbook revolution. These are addressed in turn. Keynes's revolutionary
theory was set out in his book General Theory of Employment, Interest and
Money, commonly referred to by the abbreviated title General Theory. While
working on the book, Keynes wrote to George Bernard Shaw, saying "I
believe myself to be writing a book on economic theory which will largely
revolutionize, not I suppose at once but in the course of the next ten years –
the way the world thinks about economic problems … I don't merely hope what I
say, in my own mind I'm quite sure" Professor Keith Shaw wrote that
this degree of self-confidence was quite amazing especially considering it took
more than fifty years for the Newtonian revolution to gain universal
recognition; but also that Keynes's confidence was fully justified. John
Kenneth Galbraith has written that Say's Law dominated economic thought prior
to Keynes for over a century, and the shift to Keynesianism was difficult.
Economists who contradicted the law, which inferred that underemployment and
underinvestment (coupled with over-saving) were virtually impossible, risked
losing their careers.
Keynes's General Theory was published in 1936 and provoked
considerable controversy, yet according to professor Gordon Fletcher it rapidly
conquered professional opinion.
For biographer Lord Skidelsky, the General Theory triggered
a massive reaction immediately after its release, with extensive reviews in
journals and popular newspapers all around the world. While many academics were
critical, even the harshest critics recognised there was a case to be answered.
As with other theoretical revolutions, the young were most receptive with some
older economists never fully accepting Keynes's work, but by 1939 Keynes's view
had broadly gained ascendancy both in Great Britain and the US.
According to Murray Rothbard, an Austrian School economist
strongly opposed to Keynes:
“ the General Theory was, at least in the short run, one of
the most dazzlingly successful books of all time. In a few short years, his
"revolutionary" theory had conquered the economics profession and
soon had transformed public policy, while old-fashioned economics was swept,
unhonored and unsung, into the dustbin of history. ”
Rothbard goes on to describe that by the end of the 1930s
every single one of Friedrich Hayek's followers at the LSE was convinced by
Keynes's ideas – all economists who had previously opposed Keynes's advocacy of
state intervention in the economy.
Despite Keynes's early success, the revolutionary effect on
theoretical economics was soon diminished. From the late 1930s, a process began
to reconcile the General Theory with the classical ways of viewing the economy
– developments which included Neo-Keynesian and later New Keynesian economics.
An alternative take was advocated at the dawning of the
revolution by Dennis Robertson, who Fletcher has described as the most
intellectually formidable of Keynes's contemporary critics. This view held that
the great excitement triggered by the General Theory was unjustified – that
genuinely new ideas presented were overstated and not supported by evidence,
while the verifiable ideas were merely well-established principles dressed up
in new ways. According to Hyman Minsky, this position eventually became
dominant in mainstream academia, though it is by no means unchallenged.
"Capitalism
is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most
wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone." — John Maynard
Keynes
Lord Skidelsky has written that Keynes's motivation for the
revolution arose from the failure of the British economy to recover from its
post World War I recession in the manner predicted by classical economics –
throughout the 1920s British unemployment remained at historically high levels
not previously seen since a brief period in the aftermath of the Napoleonic
Wars. Skidelsky notes a December 1922 lecture to the British Institute of
Bankers where Keynes noted that wages no longer fell with prices in the
classical fashion, due in part to the power of unions and wage
"stickiness". Keynes recommended government intervention as the
cure for unemployment in this circumstance, a position he never deviated from
though he was to refine his thinking on what sort of intervention would work
best. For Dr Peter the revolution can be seen as dawning in 1924 which was when
Keynes first started advocating public works as a means by which the government
could stimulate the economy and tackle unemployment.
While much attention is given to the impact on academic
economics, the revolution also had a practical dimension. It influenced decision
makers in governments, central banks and global institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to Lord Skidelsky, the revolution began in policy making terms as
early as December 1930, with Keynes's participation in the Macmillan
Committee on Finance and Industry.
The Committee had been formed to make policy recommendations for Britain's
economic recovery – while Keynes's plans for an interventionist response were
rejected, he did succeed in convincing the government that the classical
conception that wages would drop along with prices and thus help to restore
employment after a recession was wrong.
The first government to adopt Keynesian demand management policies was Sweden
in the 1930s.
Keynes had some influence on President Roosevelt's 1933–1936 New Deal, though this package was not as radical or as sustained as Keynes had wished. After 1939, Keynes's ideas were adopted in the late 1940s, 1950s, and most of the 1960s, this period has been called the Age of Keynes. From the late sixties Keynes's influence was displaced following the success of "counter revolutionary" efforts by economists like Milton Friedman and others sympathetic to the free market. Following the financial crises in 2008, there has been a revival in Keynesian thinking among policy makers in favour of robust government intervention, which the Financial Times has described as a "stunning reversal of the orthodoxy of the past several decades".
Keynes had some influence on President Roosevelt's 1933–1936 New Deal, though this package was not as radical or as sustained as Keynes had wished. After 1939, Keynes's ideas were adopted in the late 1940s, 1950s, and most of the 1960s, this period has been called the Age of Keynes. From the late sixties Keynes's influence was displaced following the success of "counter revolutionary" efforts by economists like Milton Friedman and others sympathetic to the free market. Following the financial crises in 2008, there has been a revival in Keynesian thinking among policy makers in favour of robust government intervention, which the Financial Times has described as a "stunning reversal of the orthodoxy of the past several decades".
In the United States, the 1948 textbook Economics by Paul Samuelson was the key textbook that spread the Keynesian revolution. It was not however the first Keynesian textbook, being preceded by the 1947 The Elements of Economics, by Lorie Tarshis. Tarshis's book, the first American textbook to discuss Keynesian ideas, was initially widely adopted, but was subsequently attacked by American conservatives (as part of the Second Red Scare, or McCarthyism), donors to universities withheld donations, and subsequently the text was largely withdrawn. Tarshis's text was subsequently attacked in the 1951 God and Man at Yale by American conservative William F. Buckley, Jr.
Samuelson's Economics was also subject to "conservative business pressuring" and accusations of Communism, but the attacks were less "virulen[t]" and Economics became established. The success of Samuelson's book is attributed to various factors, notably Samuelson's dispassionate, scientific style, in contrast to Tarshis's more engaged style. Subsequent texts have followed Samuelson's style.
According to post Keynesian economists and some others such as Charles Goodhart, in the academic sphere the so called revolution failed to properly get off the ground, with neo Keynesian economics being Keynesian in name only. Such critics have held that Keynes's thinking was misunderstood or misrepresented by the revolutions leading popularisers, the founders of neo Keynesian economics such as John Hicks and Paul Samuelson. The post Keynesians felt neo Keynesianism excessively compromised with the classical view. For Paul Davidson the revolution was "aborted" in its early years; for Hyman Minsky it was "still born"; while for Joan Robinson the revolution led to a "bastard Keynesianism".
A suggested reason for the distortion is the central role John Hicks's IS/LM model played in helping other economists understand Keynes's theory – for post Keynesians, and by the 1970s even Hicks himself, the model distorted Keynes's vision.
A second reason offered is the attacks on the more progressive expressions of Keynes's views that occurred due to McCarthyism. For example, while initially popular, Lorie Tarshis's 1947 text book introducing Keynes's ideas, The elements of economics was soon under heavily attacked by those influenced by McCarthy. The book's place as a leading text book for Keynes's ideas in America was taken by Paul Samuelsons Principles of Economics. According to Davidson, Samuelson failed to understand one of the key pillars of the revolution, the refutation ergodic axiom (i.e. saying that economic decision makers are always confronted by uncertainty – the past isn't a reliable predictor of the future).
Economists Robert Shiller and George Akerlof re-asserted the importance of recognising uncertainty in their 2009 book Animal Spirits.
Another reason for the distortion of Keynes's views was his low level of participation in the intellectual debates that followed the publication of his General Theory, first due to his heart-attack in 1937 and then due to his busyness with the war. It has been suggested by Lord Skidelsky that apart aside from his busyness and incapacity, Keynes didn't challenge models like IS/LM as he perceived that from a pragmatic point of view they would be a useful compromise.
Professor Gordon Fletcher stated that Keynes's General
Theory provided a conceptual justification for policies of government
intervention in economic affairs which was lacking in the established economics
of the day – immensely significant as in the absence of a proper theoretical
underpinning there was a danger that ad hoc policies of moderate intervention
would be overtaken by extremist solutions, as had already happened in much of
Europe back in the 1930s before the revolution was launched. Almost 80 years
later in 2009, Keynes's ideas were once again a central inspiration for the
global response to the Financial crisis of 2007–2010.
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