Timothy J. Murphy

Timothy J. Murphy
Timothy J. Murphy
	Timothy J. Murphy
Minister for Local Government
	In office; 18 February 1948 – 29 April 1949
Taoiseach	John A. Costello
Preceded by	Seán MacEntee
Succeeded by	William Norton(acting)
Teachta Dála
	In office; August 1923– 29 April 1949
Constituency	Cork West
Personal details
Born	Timothy Joseph Murphy; 17 July 1893; Clondrohid,County Cork,Ireland
Died	29 April 1949(aged 55); Fermoy,County Cork, Ireland
Political party	Labour Party
Children	6
Relatives	William J. Murphy(son)

Timothy Joseph Murphy(17 July 1893 – 29 April 1949) was an IrishLabour Partypolitician who served asMinister for Local Governmentfrom 1948 to 1949. He served as aTeachta Dála(TD) for theCork Westconstituency from 1923 to 1949.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Early life

Known as 'TJ', he was born inClondrohid,County Cork,^[6]son of Timothy Murphy, carpenter, and Mary Murphy (née Shea).^[7]He moved toDunmanway,County Cork around 1920, having been earlier educated at the Clondrohid andMacroomNational Schools.^[6]In his teens he was influenced by the activities of theIrish Land and Labour Associationas well as the politics ofWilliam O'Brien.^[6]During these years he became involved in atrade unionand with the Labour Party.^[6]

He was involved in journalism for a period, and became a salesman for Singer sewing machines before moving to Dunmanway around 1919.^[8]

Politician

Trade unionist

By 1922, he became branch Secretary of the Dunmanway ITGWU. His was also involved in local politics and had a role in the election of fellow ITGWU activist in Dunmanway, Michael Bradley, to the Dáil in the1922 general election.^{[citation needed]}

He expanded the role of 'labour clubs' and was involved in the formation of virtually every Labour Club between 1926 and the early 1930s.^{[citation needed]}

TD and councillor (1923–1949)

Following Bradley's death in 1922, he contested the selection convention for the1923 general election.At the Labour Party selection convention two Timothy Murphy's were nominated with the Dunmanway Murphy winning out by one vote over Timothy fromClonakilty.^{[citation needed]}

He was first elected toDáil Éireannat the 1923 general election as a Labour PartyTDforCork West.^[9]^[10]^[11]He was re-elected for this constituency as a Labour Party TD at the next nine general elections, until his death,^[6]^[12]^[13]but remained on the opposition benches of the Dáil until 1948 when the Labour Party joined theFirst Inter-Party Government.TheTaoiseach John A. Costellothen appointed him asMinister for Local Governmentin February of that year.^[6]He took a running mate in 1943 and 1944 but failed to deliver a second seat.

In the Dáil he supported the Treaty, urgedFianna Fáilto reject their abstentionist policy and return to normal politics. He was, however, in favour of Labour being an independent party and opposed the party supporting Fianna Fáil in government.^{[citation needed]}

He had also sat on the Cork County Council^[14]from 1925, representing the Dunmanway local electoral area (1925–42) and the Skibereen local electoral area from 1942 until his resignation from the council in July 1948. He served on a number of county council committees and as vice-chairman and Chairman of the council, and was also a member of the West Cork board of public assistance and public health.^[6]Murphy advocated for Christian Socialism and theco-operative movement.^[15]

Michael O'Riordan controversy (1944)

Murphy has been described as having been involved in the controversy surrounding the Liam Mellow branch of the Labour Party andMichael O'Riordan.A report inThe Irish Presssuggested that the Administrative Council had become aware that certain persons in Cork were engaging in activities which appear to be inconsistent with their membership of the Labour Party and they appointed a subcommittee to investigate the membership and administration of the Liam Mellows Branch. This was headed up by Murphy as vice-chair. They heard the complaint against O'Riordan and Nagle being present at the (NI) Communist Party conference. Following an investigation, the two Cork members were expelled on 5 February 1944 and the 4 Dublin members in April. O'Riordan would later accuse Murphy of "red-baiting".^[16]

Cabinet: Minister for Local Government (1948–1949)

Local Authority Manager Philip Monahan told Cork Corporation in 1948 that an experiment to build houses by direct labour had been suggested by Murphy. To proceed with the direct labour experiment, the City Manager was in the process of appointing an assistant architect, a draughtsman, an assistant engineer and a foreman. Concurrently, Monahan had decided to build other houses by contract so that the corporation could then decide if one method was superior to the other. A deputation of the Cork Regional Branch of the Federation of Builders, Contractors and Allied Employers of Ireland appeared before the meeting to protest this direct labour policy, but the Corporation agreed to proceed with the project as outlined by the City Manager.^[17]

Death

Murphy died suddenly in 1949,^[18]while speaking at an Inter-Party public meeting at Pearse Square,Fermoy,^[6]fourteen months into his tenure as a cabinet minister.^[19]He was buried in Dunmanway Cemetery.^[6]Theby-electionfor his seat in the Dáil was held on 15 June 1949, and won for the Labour Party by his son,William J. Murphy.^[20]

Legacy

An area of Murphy's home town of Dunmanway today bears the name "T.J. Murphy Place".

References

^"Thirty First Annual Report 1924–1925"(PDF).Irish Labour Party and Trade Union Congress.August 1925.
^"Timothy J. Murphy".Oireachtas Members Database.Retrieved9 May2012.
^"Gov.ie - Thirteenth Dáil".www.gov.ie.Retrieved16 March2020.
^Books, Better World."Buy New & Used Books Online with Free Shipping".Better World Books.Retrieved16 March2020.
^"Labour Party Special Report | Magill".magill.ie.Retrieved16 March2020.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱCadogan, Tim & Falvey, Jeremiah:A Biographical Dictionary of Cork,Four Courts Press (2006),ISBN 978-1-84682-030-4
^Coleman, Marie."Murphy, Timothy Joseph".Dictionary of Irish Biography.Retrieved15 July2021.
^"Dunmanway TJ's devotion to the people was a real labour of love".The Southern Star.Retrieved15 July2021.
^"Timothy J. Murphy".ElectionsIreland.org.Retrieved9 May2012.
^O'Day, Alan; Fleming, Neil (11 June 2014).Longman Handbook of Modern Irish History Since 1800.Routledge.ISBN 978-1-317-89710-1.
^Donnelly, Seán (2012).Elections 2011.Lulu.com.ISBN 978-0-9520197-8-7.
^Gallagher, Michael (4 June 2019).Irish Elections 1948-77: Results and Analysis: Sources for the Study of Irish Politics 2.Routledge.ISBN 978-1-135-99772-4.
^"Cork West: 1933 general election Results, Counts, Transfers".irelandelection.com.Retrieved16 March2020.
^"Page 31 - complete1930directory".www.corkpastandpresent.ie.Retrieved16 March2020.
^O'Sullivan, Gearoid (18 February 2021). "Recalling the Working Men's Clubs of West Cork".The Southern Star.
^O'Brien, Thomas (1994).Strong Words Brave Deeds: The Poetry, Life and Times of Thomas O'Brien, Volunteer in the Spanish Civil War.Dufour Editions.ISBN 978-0-86278-376-1.
^Quinlivan, Aodh (2006).Philip Monahan: A Man Apart: the Life and Times of Ireland's First Local Authority Manager.Institute of Public Administration.ISBN 978-1-904541-35-6.
^Walker, Brian Mercer; Academy, Royal Irish; Studies, Queen's University of Belfast Institute of Irish (1992).Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918-92.Royal Irish Academy.ISBN 978-0-901714-96-1.
^Ferriter, Diarmaid."Class and ideology have always dominated Irish housing policy".The Irish Times.Retrieved16 March2020.
^"1949 in Ireland".irishhistorian.com.Retrieved16 March2020.

Political offices
Preceded by Seán MacEntee	Minister for Local Government 1948–1949	Succeeded by William Norton

[1] "Thirty First Annual Report 1924–1925"(PDF).Irish Labour Party and Trade Union Congress.August 1925.

[oireachtas_db-2] "Timothy J. Murphy".Oireachtas Members Database.Retrieved9 May2012.

[3] "Gov.ie - Thirteenth Dáil".www.gov.ie.Retrieved16 March2020.

[4] Books, Better World."Buy New & Used Books Online with Free Shipping".Better World Books.Retrieved16 March2020.

[5] "Labour Party Special Report | Magill".magill.ie.Retrieved16 March2020.

[cadogen-6] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱCadogan, Tim & Falvey, Jeremiah:A Biographical Dictionary of Cork,Four Courts Press (2006),ISBN 978-1-84682-030-4

[dib-7] Coleman, Marie."Murphy, Timothy Joseph".Dictionary of Irish Biography.Retrieved15 July2021.

[8] "Dunmanway TJ's devotion to the people was a real labour of love".The Southern Star.Retrieved15 July2021.

[elecs_irl-9] "Timothy J. Murphy".ElectionsIreland.org.Retrieved9 May2012.

[10] O'Day, Alan; Fleming, Neil (11 June 2014).Longman Handbook of Modern Irish History Since 1800.Routledge.ISBN 978-1-317-89710-1.

[11] Donnelly, Seán (2012).Elections 2011.Lulu.com.ISBN 978-0-9520197-8-7.

[12] Gallagher, Michael (4 June 2019).Irish Elections 1948-77: Results and Analysis: Sources for the Study of Irish Politics 2.Routledge.ISBN 978-1-135-99772-4.

[13] "Cork West: 1933 general election Results, Counts, Transfers".irelandelection.com.Retrieved16 March2020.

[14] "Page 31 - complete1930directory".www.corkpastandpresent.ie.Retrieved16 March2020.

[:1-15] O'Sullivan, Gearoid (18 February 2021). "Recalling the Working Men's Clubs of West Cork".The Southern Star.

[16] O'Brien, Thomas (1994).Strong Words Brave Deeds: The Poetry, Life and Times of Thomas O'Brien, Volunteer in the Spanish Civil War.Dufour Editions.ISBN 978-0-86278-376-1.

[17] Quinlivan, Aodh (2006).Philip Monahan: A Man Apart: the Life and Times of Ireland's First Local Authority Manager.Institute of Public Administration.ISBN 978-1-904541-35-6.

[18] Walker, Brian Mercer; Academy, Royal Irish; Studies, Queen's University of Belfast Institute of Irish (1992).Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918-92.Royal Irish Academy.ISBN 978-0-901714-96-1.

[19] Ferriter, Diarmaid."Class and ideology have always dominated Irish housing policy".The Irish Times.Retrieved16 March2020.

[20] "1949 in Ireland".irishhistorian.com.Retrieved16 March2020.

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