Patrick James Smyth

Patrick James Smyth (Irish name O'Gowan or Mac Gabhainn;[1] 1826 – 12 January 1885), also known as Nicaragua Smyth, was an Irish politician and journalist.[2] He was M.P. for Westmeath from 1871 to 1880 and for Tipperary from 1880 until his death.

Patrick James Smyth

Biography

Smyth was born in Dublin in either 1823[3] or 1826,[2] the son of James Smyth, of County Cavan, by Anne, daughter of Maurice Bruton of Portane, County Meath.[1] His father was a tanner in Dublin, and Smyth inherited considerable property.[4] Smyth was educated at Clongowes Wood College where he became friends with Thomas Francis Meagher, with whom he joined the Repeal Association in 1844.[4] Following his involvement in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, Smyth fled to America where he worked as a journalist[2] and became involved in the New York Irish Directory. There he was persuaded to go to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) in 1853 to facilitate the escape to America of John Mitchel, the Irish activist.[2] Whilst there, he married a local girl Jeannie Regan. Smyth was nicknamed Nicaragua by Mitchel on account of the former's support for railway projects in that country.[5]

On his return to Ireland, Smyth was elected a Home Rule Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmeath at a by-election on 17 June 1871,[6] and was reelected in 1874.[7] At the 1880 general election, he did not seek re-election in Westmeath, but stood instead in Tipperary, where he was elected unopposed.[8] He left the House of Commons at the end of 1884, when he was appointed as Secretary to the Irish Loan Fund Board.[9]

In 1871, Smyth was made chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.[2]

Notes

1. "Death of Mr. P. J. Smith". Northern Whig. 13 January 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
2. "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. Retrieved 22 July 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. Mair, Robert Henry (1882). Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench. Dean and Son. p. 206. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
4. "Death of Mr. P. J. Smith". The Irishman. 17 January 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
5. "Young Irelanders". Retrieved 11 December 2012.
6. Brian M. Walker, ed. (1978). Parliamentary election results in Ireland 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. p. 114. ISBN 0-901714-12-7.
7. Walker, op. cit., page 119
8. Walker, op. cit., page 126
9. Walker, op. cit., page 129

References

• Michael Doheny, The Felon's Track. History of the Attempted Outbreak in Ireland, Embracing the Leading Events in the Irish Struggle From the Year 1843 to the Close of 1848

Books by Young Irelanders (Irish Confederation)

Additional reading

• The Politics of Irish Literature: from Thomas Davis to W.B. Yeats, Malcolm Brown, Allen & Unwin, 1973.
• John Mitchel, A Cause Too Many, Aidan Hegarty, Camlane Press.
• Thomas Davis, The Thinker and Teacher, Arthur Griffith, M.H. Gill & Son 1922.
• Brigadier-General Thomas Francis Meagher His Political and Military Career,Capt. W. F. Lyons, Burns Oates & Washbourne Limited 1869
• Young Ireland and 1848, Dennis Gwynn, Cork University Press 1949.
• Daniel O'Connell The Irish Liberator, Dennis Gwynn, Hutchinson & Co, Ltd.
• O'Connell Davis and the Colleges Bill, Dennis Gwynn, Cork University Press 1948.
• Smith O’Brien And The "Secession", Dennis Gwynn,Cork University Press
• Meagher of The Sword, Edited By Arthur Griffith, M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd. 1916.
• Young Irelander Abroad The Diary of Charles Hart, Edited by Brendan O'Cathaoir, University Press.
• John Mitchel First Felon for Ireland, Edited By Brian O'Higgins, Brian O'Higgins 1947.
• Rossa's Recollections 1838 to 1898, Intro by Sean O'Luing, The Lyons Press 2004.
• Labour in Ireland, James Connolly, Fleet Street 1910.
• The Re-Conquest of Ireland, James Connolly, Fleet Street 1915.
• John Mitchel Noted Irish Lives, Louis J. Walsh, The Talbot Press Ltd 1934.
• Thomas Davis: Essays and Poems, Centenary Memoir, M. H Gill, M.H. Gill & Son, Ltd MCMXLV.
• Life of John Martin, P. A. Sillard, James Duffy & Co., Ltd 1901.
• Life of John Mitchel, P. A. Sillard, James Duffy and Co., Ltd 1908.
• John Mitchel, P. S. O'Hegarty, Maunsel & Company, Ltd 1917.
• The Fenians in Context Irish Politics & Society 1848–82, R. V. Comerford, Wolfhound Press 1998
• William Smith O'Brien and the Young Ireland Rebellion of 1848, Robert Sloan, Four Courts Press 2000
• Irish Mitchel, Seamus MacCall, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd 1938.
• Ireland Her Own, T. A. Jackson, Lawrence & Wishart Ltd 1976.
• Life and Times of Daniel O'Connell, T. C. Luby, Cameron & Ferguson.
• Young Ireland, T. F. O'Sullivan, The Kerryman Ltd. 1945.
• Irish Rebel John Devoy and America's Fight for Irish Freedom, Terry Golway, St. Martin's Griffin 1998.
• Paddy's Lament Ireland 1846-1847 Prelude to Hatred, Thomas Gallagher, Poolbeg 1994.
• The Great Shame, Thomas Keneally, Anchor Books 1999.
• James Fintan Lalor, Thomas, P. O'Neill, Golden Publications 2003.
• Charles Gavan Duffy: Conversations With Carlyle (1892), with Introduction, Stray Thoughts On Young Ireland, by Brendan Clifford, Athol Books, Belfast, ISBN 0-85034-114-0. (Pg. 32 Titled, Foster's account Of Young Ireland.)
• Envoi, Taking Leave Of Roy Foster, by Brendan Clifford and Julianne Herlihy, Aubane Historical Society, Cork.
• The Falcon Family, or, Young Ireland, by M. W. Savage, London, 1845. (An Gorta Mor)Quinnipiac University

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Patrick James Smyth