Erskine Childers

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Erskine Childers was the name of three generations of Irish men notable for their involvement in 20th century politics:

• Robert Erskine Childers was an Irish author and nationalist, who served as secretary-general of the Irish delegation that negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921. He opposed to the final draft of the agreement, leading to his arrest execution by firing squad under the Free State’s Emergency Powers legislation.
• His son Erskine Hamilton Childers, was a Fianna Fáil minister who became President of Ireland.
• In turn, his son Erskine Childers (1929-1996) was a UN civil servant from 1967-1989, retiring as a Senior Adviser to the UN Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation. He later became Secretary General of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (March-August 1996) before his sudden death.