Michael Staines | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Staines in 1918 | |
| 1st Garda Commissioner | |
| In office April 1922 – September 1922 | |
| Deputy | Patrick Walsh |
| Succeeded by | Eoin O'Duffy |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office May 1921 – August 1923 | |
| Constituency | Dublin North-West |
| In office December 1918 – May 1921 | |
| Constituency | Dublin St Michan's |
| Senator | |
| In office 12 December 1928 – 29 May 1936 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1885-04-01)1 April 1885 Newport, County Mayo, Ireland |
| Died | 26 October 1955(1955-10-26) (aged 70) Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 9 |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | |
| Battles/wars | |
Michael Joseph Staines (1 May 1885 – 26 October 1955) was anIrish republican, politician andGarda.[1]
Staines was born inNewport, County Mayo, his mother Margaret's home village, and where his father Edward was serving as aRoyal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officer.
Staines was a member of theIrish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and on its Supreme Council from 1921 to 1922. He served as Quartermaster General in theGPO during the 1916Easter Rising and was later interned with his fellow insurgents atFrongoch internment camp.[2] These men were served with internment orders under theDefence of the Realm Act 1914, which stated that they were "suspected of having honoured, promoted or assisted an armed insurrection against His Majesty".[3] This meant that there were no charges, no court appearances and no pleas.[4] Staines was elected Commandant of the prisoners after the former Commandant J. J. O'Connell was sent toReading Gaol on 30 June.[5]W.J. Brennan-Whitmore described Staines as: "a highly efficient officer who earned the love and respect of every individual prisoner."[6] The attempts to conscript men in Frongoch to theBritish Army proved to be a serious source of disagreement between the prisoners and the camp authorities. The prisoners felt that it was ludicrous to expect Irish rebels to fight for Britain and the Crown. In addition, they were concerned that acceptance ofconscription in Frongoch might be a prelude to the introduction of conscription in Ireland. Roughly sixty men in Frongoch had lived in Great Britain before the Rising and they were accordingly deemed liable for conscription.[7] Staines, whom W. J. Brennan-Whitmore describes as maintaining "a very difficult position with remarkable efficiency and tact" throughout the conscription troubles which took place in Frongoch, took up a very resolute attitude on the question of identification. He asked Colonel F.A. Heygate-Lambert, Camp Commandant if he expected the prisoner leaders to identify comrades of theirs for military service in the British Army. To this Heygate-Lambert replied that it was the leaders' duty to identify men for all purposes. Staines retorted that by identifying the men for military service they would be lowering themselves to the level of spies and informers.[8]
On his release from internment in Frongoch, he collaborated withÉamon de Valera,James Ryan,Eamonn Duggan and others in founding theNew Ireland Assurance Collecting Society, in furtherance of theSinn Féin policy of investment in Ireland. He was elected Director for Supply for Sinn Féin on 27 October 1917. He was also elected as aSinn FéinMP for theDublin St Michan's constituency at the1918 general election.[9] He attendedDáil Éireann, working closely with the legal side of government. At the1920 Dublin Corporation election, he was elected as analderman. He was re-elected in 1921 and 1922 for theDublin North-West constituency.[10]
He was on theGrangegorman Psychiatric Hospital Board.
Staines was the first-ever commissioner of theGarda Síochána. Upon his appointment, Staines stated:
The Garda Síochána will succeed not by force of arms or numbers, but on their moral authority as servants of the people.
— Michael Staines[11]
Appointed in April 1922, it was Staines who became the first active recruitment of Gardai in Ireland, and it was Staines who chose the badge and name for the new force.[2] Under pressure to bring law and order to the newly created Irish state, Staines recruited former members of theRoyal Irish Constabulary to senior positions, including appointed former RIC man Patrick Walsh as the first Deputy Commissioner.[2] These decisions were not popular and Staines was forced to retreat from theKildare Depot during the Civic Guard Mutiny by recruits the following month.[12] Preceding the forthcomingIrish Civil War by a few short months, it was not until mid-July that Staines was able to regain control of the Kildare Deport on condition an inquiry be set up. Staines' authority over the Gardai was never fully restored and Staines was replaced as commissioner byEoin O'Duffy in September 1922. Prior to the formation of the Garda, Staines and O'Duffy had acted as liaisons between the RIC and theIrish Republican Police during the Truce which preceded theAnglo-Irish Treaty.[13] Staines was able to try and save face over this replacement by stating the inquiry had recommended the Gardai be divorced from politics, and that Staines recent election to the Dáil thus precluded him from being their main authority.[2]
Staines did not contest the1923 Irish general election but remained in politics, serving as a member ofDublin Corporation. In December 1928 Staines joined theFree State Seanad. In the late 1930s he attempted to rejoin national politics and contested the1937,1938, and1943 general elections in theDublin North-West constituency, but was unsuccessful each time.[2]
Although involved in an insurance company and for a time the operator of a warehouse, in his later life Staines struggled to hold down employment. In 1939 members ofFine Gael had to fundraise for him. In 1941 he found some work as a "temporary clerk" in theGreat Southern Railways company.[2]
Staines died in his Dublin home on 27 October 1955, leaving a wife and 9 children behind.[2]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forDublin St Michan's 1918–1922 | Constituency abolished |
| Oireachtas | ||
| New constituency | Teachta Dála forDublin St Michan's 1918–1921 | Constituency abolished |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
