Neal Blaney | |
|---|---|
 Blaney in 1927 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office June 1943 – 30 October 1948 | |
| In office July 1937 – June 1938 | |
| Constituency | Donegal East |
| In office June 1927 – July 1937 | |
| Constituency | Donegal |
| Senator | |
| In office 7 September 1938 – 23 June 1943 | |
| Constituency | Agricultural Panel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1889-11-05)5 November 1889 Rosnakill,County Donegal, Ireland |
| Died | 30 October 1948(1948-10-30) (aged 58) County Donegal, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse | Nora Sweeney |
| Children | 11, includingNeil andHarry |
| Relatives | Niall Blaney (grandson) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Years of service | 1919–1923 |
| Battles/wars | |
Neal Blaney (5 November 1889 – 30 October 1948) was anIrishFianna Fáil politician, and long-serving member of theOireachtas.[1]
Neal Blaney was born in Rosnakill,County Donegal, the fifth of six children of William Blaney, a small farmer, and Anna Blaney (née Sweeney).[2] In 1913 Blaney joined theIrish Volunteers in Rosnakill and in 1914 was appointed company captain. He was the first president of the Rosnakill branch ofSinn Féin (founded 1916), and was active inJoseph O'Doherty's 1918 general election campaign. In 1920 he was appointed officer in charge of theFanad Battalion, 1st Northern Division of theIrish Republican Army.[2] Arrested on 18 March 1921, Blaney was sentenced to seven years penal servitude and imprisoned at Durham Prison, England until his release in January 1922 following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. During theIrish Civil War, Blaney was second-in-command ofAnti-Treaty IRA Donegal no. 2 Brigade before being captured by Free State forces in December 1922. His death sentence for possession of a firearm was commuted after the ceasefire order, and he was released in June 1924.[2] Blaney applied to the Irish government for a service pension under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934 and was awarded 7 and 23/24 years service in 1937 at Grade C for his service with the Irish Volunteers and the IRA between 1 April 1917 and 30 September 1923.[3]
He was first elected as aTeachta Dála (TD) to the5th Dáil for theDonegal constituency at theJune 1927 general election. He retained his seat at subsequent general elections until it was abolished in boundary changes for the1937 general election when he was returned for the newDonegal East constituency. He lost his seat at the1938 general election, and was elected to the3rd Seanad on theAgricultural Panel, serving until 1943.[4]
He returned to11th Dáil at the1943 general election, and was re-elected at the1944 general election. In early October 1948 he was diagnosed as suffering from cancer, and died on 30 October 1948, after being returned to the13th Dáil at the1948 general election. In the resultingby-election on 7 December 1948, his sonNeil Blaney was elected as the new TD forDonegal East.
Blaney was a director of the Milford Bakery Company, and also of the Donegal Bacon Company, Letterkenny, which he was instrumental in founding.[2]
Another son,Harry Blaney, and Harry's sonNiall Blaney, were later elected as TDs for theDonegal North-East constituency.