Eamon Donnelly

Eamon Donnelly (19 July 1877 – 29 December 1944) was an Irish politician.^[1]

He was born in Middletown, County Armagh, the son of Francis Donnelly, a mason, and Catherine Donnelly (née Haggin).^[2] He was a member of the Irish Volunteers.^[1] Donnelly was among the group of Volunteers that assembled for the Easter Rising of 1916 in Coalisland, County Tyrone.^[3] In 1921 he joined Éamon de Valera's anti-treaty forces and remained a critic of partition until his death. In February 1923 Donnelly was interned by the Irish Free State military and released in August. Rearrested and again interned he joined the 1923 Irish hunger strikes, undergoing a forty-one day hunger strike.^[4] Upon his release Donnelly was appointed Chief Organiser of Sinn Féin.^[1] During the 1920s Donnelly worked with the Anti Partitionist Cahir Healy to establish a unified approach against partition.^[5]

While living in Newry, Donnelly was elected as an abstentionist Independent Republican member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland for the Armagh constituency at the 1925 general election. Shortly after his election, he was served with an order excluding him from Northern Ireland. No official reason was given for the granting of this order.^[6]

In 1926, he became a founder member of Fianna Fáil.^[1] Donnelly was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Leix–Offaly constituency at the 1933 general election.^[7] He did not contest the 1937 general election.^[8] He also served as Director of Elections for Fianna Fáil.^[6]

In 1938, Donnelly visited his wife's house near Newry, and was imprisoned in Belfast Prison, before being given a choice between paying a fine of £25 or returning to prison. Again, no reason for his imprisonment and exclusion was revealed. Donnelly refused to pay the fine and spent a month and a half in prison.^[9] That year, he stood for election to the 2nd Seanad, but was not successful.^[6]

In 1942, Donnelly was again elected to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, this time in a by-election for Belfast Falls. Again, he refused to take his seat. He died on 29 December 1944.^[2] In 2012 Donnelly's family donated more than 400 documents relating to the life and work of Eamon Donnelly to the Newry and Mourne Museum.^[10]

References