Eamon Kissane | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary Secretary | |
| 1943–1948 | Government Chief Whip |
| 1943–1948 | Defence |
| 1943 | Lands |
| Senator | |
| In office 22 July 1954 – 23 June 1965 | |
| Constituency | Cultural and Educational Panel |
| In office 14 August 1951 – 22 July 1954 | |
| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office July 1937 – May 1951 | |
| Constituency | Kerry North |
| In office February 1932 – July 1937 | |
| Constituency | Kerry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1899-01-13)13 January 1899 Moyvane,County Kerry, Ireland |
| Died | 20 May 1979(1979-05-20) (aged 80) New Ross,County Wexford, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | |
Eamon Kissane (13 January 1899 – 20 May 1979) was an IrishFianna Fáil politician who served asParliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach andParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence from 1943 to 1948, andParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands from February 1943 to July 1943. He served as aSenator from 1951 to 1965 and aTeachta Dála (TD) from 1932 to 1951.[1]
A member of a prosperous farming family in Newtownsandes (nowMoyvane) in northCounty Kerry, he joined theIrish Volunteers and was elected toKerry County Council at the age of 21. He fought in theIrish War of Independence and on theAnti-Treaty side in theIrish Civil War. He was imprisoned byIrish Free State authorities from 1922 to 1923.[2]
Deeply interested in Irish culture, Kissane was a member ofConradh na Gaeilge and worked as a teacher of theIrish language until his election to the Dáil.[3][4]
Kissane was elected toDáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for theKerry constituency at the1932 general election which began sixteen years of unbroken rule forÉamon de Valera's Fianna Fáil.[5] In the last months of the10th Dáil, Kissane got his first promotion, asParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands, from February to June 1943. After Fianna Fáil's victory at the1944 general election, Kissane was appointed asParliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach (GovernmentChief Whip) and asParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence. He served in that position until when Fianna Fáil was defeated at the1948 general election, when theFirst Inter-Party Government took office.
Fianna Fáil won the1951 general election, but Kissane lost his Dáil seat inKerry North. By now living inNew Ross,County Wexford, Kissane was unexpectedly defeated byJohn Lynch ofFine Gael. He stood again in Kerry North at the1954 general election, but was not successful.[6]
After his defeat in 1951, Kissane wasnominated by the Taoiseach to the7th Seanad, and in 1954, he was elected by theCultural and Educational Panel to the8th Seanad. The panel returned him to the next two Seanads, but he did not contest the 1965 election to the11th Seanad, and retired from politics.
In September 1935 he married Anne Kehoe at the church ofSt Andrew, Westland Row.[7] He took a law degree late in life, and wascalled to the bar in 1938.[3][4]
Kissane was a talented fiddle and flute player and was a founder ofComhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.[3]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Government Chief Whip 1943–1948 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence 1943–1948 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands Feb.–Jul. 1943 | Succeeded by |