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Patrick James Smyth

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Patrick James Smyth
Patrick James Smyth,c.1880s
Member of Parliament
In office
1871–1880
Preceded byWilliam Pollard-UrquhartandAlgernon Greville
Succeeded byTimothy Daniel SullivanandHenry Joseph Gill
ConstituencyWestmeath
In office
1885– January 1885
Preceded byStephen MooreandEdmund Dwyer Gray
Succeeded byJohn O'ConnorandThomas Mayne
ConstituencyTipperary
Personal details
Born1823/1826
Waterford,Ireland
Died12 January 1885
15 Belgrave Square East,Rathmines,Dublin,Ireland
Resting placeGlasnevin cemetery,Dublin,Ireland
Political partyHome Government Association
Home Rule League
Irish Parliamentary Party
AwardsLegion of Honour(Chevalier)

Patrick James Smyth(Irish nameO'GowanorMac Gabhainn;[1]1823/1826 – 12 January 1885), also known asNicaragua Smyth,was anIrishpolitician and journalist.[2]AYoung Irelanderin1848,and subsequently a journalist in American exile, from 1871 he was anIrish Home RuleMember of theUnited Kingdom ParliamentforWestmeathand from 1880 forTipperary.

Biography[edit]

Smyth was born inDublinin either 1823[3]or 1826,[2]the son of James Smyth, ofCounty Cavan,by Anne, daughter of Maurice Bruton of Portane,County Meath.[1]His father was a tanner in Dublin. Smyth was educated atClongowes Wood Collegewhere he became friends withThomas Francis Meagher,with whom he joinedDaniel O'Connell'sRepeal Associationin 1844, which sought to repeal theAct of Unionbetween the United Kingdom and Ireland which had, amongst other things, ended the autonomousParliament of Ireland.[4]

Young Ireland[edit]

Smyth left the Repeal Association when theYoung Irelandersseceded from the organisation to go their own way in July 1846. Smyth was named a member of the council of theIrish Confederationon its foundation in January 1847. During theYoung Irelander Rebellion of 1848,Smyth was assigned byWilliam Smith O'Briento organise insurrections in countiesDublin,Meath,andLouth,but his effort was for nought as the rebellion was generally a disaster.[5]

Exile[edit]

Following his involvement in the Young Irelander Rebellion, Smyth fled toNew York CityalongsideJohn Blake Dillon.Smyth would take up work as a journalist,[2]becoming political editor of theIrish Advocatein 1850 as well as becoming involved in theNew York Irish Directory.

Upon the death of his father Smyth inherited considerable property and wealth.[4]Smyth used this newfound fortune to fund a daring plan: To rescue fellow Young IrelanderJohn MitchelfromVan Diemen's Land(now Tasmania), where the British had banished him to for his part in the rebellion. Smyth funded the chartering of a ship and sailed on it personally in June 1853.[5]Not only did Symth successfully break Mitchel out of Van Diemen's Land, but Symth also met and married local woman Jeannie Regan during his time there.[2]Smyth's role in Mitchel's escape brought him fame and made him a hero in Irish-American circles, who held numerous banquets in his honour.

Return to Ireland[edit]

Smyth returned to Ireland in 1856, where he settled in Dublin and began studying the law. He was qualified as abarristerby 1858 but after just a short stint in the profession seemed to lose interest in it. In 1860 he became the owner and operator ofthe Irishman,a newspaper. Under Smyth's guidance, the paper adopted a pro-Union stance upon the outbreak of theAmerican Civil Warand criticised British support for theCSA.[5]

In September 1865 British authorities in Ireland suppressed and arrested anyone associated withthe Irish People,a newspaper with strong links to theIrish Republican Brotherhood,and Smyth fled Ireland for a time fearing a similar fate. By the late 1860s, following the failure of theFenian Rising of 1867,Smyth had lost faith in the belief of Irish Independence by violent rebellion. Nonetheless, he continued to support Irish Nationalists. He attempted to rally support for theManchester martyrs,who in 1867 was arrested and charged with murdering a British police officer when they rescued Irish Republican Brotherhood leadersThomas J. KellyandTimothy Deasyfrom imprisonment in England. Smyth even offered to represent them in the court, although the offer was turned down.[5]

Electoral Politics[edit]

Smyth stood for election to the British Parliament as an independent nationalist candidate for Wexford in 1870, and lost by just 8 votes. Following the outbreak of theFranco-Prussian Warthat same year, Smyth helped organise an Irish ambulance unit for the French army. Smyth also suggested to the French government that they should form an Irish brigade, given how many Irish veterans of the American Civil War were available. In recognition of this effort on behalf of France during the war, Smyth was madechevalierof theLégion d'honneurin 1871.[2][5]

Smyth was a founding member ofIsaac Butt'sHome Government Associationin May 1870 and was elected under their banner as aMember of Parliament(MP) forWestmeathat aby-electionon 17 June 1871,[6]and was reelected in1874.[7]At the1880 general election,he did not seek re-election in Westmeath, but stood instead inTipperary,where he was elected unopposed.[8]During his time as a MP Smyth is described as having been "an entertaining, if not always effective, orator". Over time Smyth became disenchanted with Butt's approach of simply seeking home rule for Ireland and began to advocate for outright repeal of theAct of Union.In early 1874 Smyth formed the ’82 clubs, a breakaway movement from theHome Rule League(established in November 1873 as a successor to the Home Government Association), to agitate for repeal. The '82 clubs enjoyed the support of the Irish Republican Brotherhood but failed to make much headway outside of the Dublin area. In June 1876 Smyth decried home rule as a "vile conspiracy against the life of the Irish nation". In the 1880 general election Smyth stood in Tipperary on behalf of theIrish Parliamentary Partyand won, however Smyth became uneasy within the party upon the election ofCharles Stewart Parnellas Chairman in May 1880. Smyth disliked what he viewed as Parnell's autocratic style and, as theLand warintensified, he denounced theLand Leagueas the ‘League of Hell’. By January 1881 he formally seceded from the party, which resulted in the party mounting a vigorous campaign to force him to resign his seat. In late 1881Michael Davittdescribed Smyth as "Our Irish National Don Quixote; eccentric, rhetorical and most thoroughly impracticable". He left theHouse of Commonsat the end of 1884, when he was appointed as Secretary to theIrish Loan Fund Board.[9]This made Smyth the last Irish MP who had been elected as a nationalist to accept a place in government, and it further eroded Smyth's popularity.[5]

Smyth died only weeks after his appointment, on 12 January 1885, at his home at 15 Belgrave Square East,Rathmines,Dublin, and was buried inGlasnevin cemetery.[5]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ab"Death of Mr. P. J. Smith".Northern Whig.13 January 1885. p. 5.Retrieved22 July2018.
  2. ^abcde"Smyth, Patrick James (c. 1823–1885), politician and journalist | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25956.Retrieved22 July2018.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  3. ^Mair, Robert Henry (1882).Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench.Dean and Son. p. 206.Retrieved22 July2018.
  4. ^ab"Death of Mr. P. J. Smith".The Irishman.17 January 1885. p. 2.Retrieved22 July2018.
  5. ^abcdefgMurphy, David; McGee, Owen."Smyth, Patrick James".Dictionary of Irish Biography.Retrieved1 December2021.
  6. ^Brian M. Walker, ed. (1978).Parliamentary election results in Ireland 1801–1922.Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. p. 114.ISBN0-901714-12-7.
  7. ^Walker, op. cit., page 119
  8. ^Walker, op. cit., page 126
  9. ^Walker, op. cit., page 129

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforWestmeath
1871 –1880
With:Algernon Greville1871–1874
Lord Robert Montagu1874–1880 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforTipperary
1880– January 1885
With:John Dillonto 1883
Thomas Maynefrom 1883 		Succeeded by
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