Thomas Johnson (Irish politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomas Johnson (1872–1963) was an Irish nationalist and Labour Party leader. He led the Irish Labour Party in the United Kingdom Parliament. Later, after Irish independence, he was elected a TD for Dublin County to the first Dáil Éireann (Irish parliament) in the 1922 general election and was the leader of the Labour Party until 1927. As such, he was Leader of the Opposition in the Dáil of the Irish Free State, as Sinn Féin refused to recognize the Dáil as constituted. He is the only Leader of the Opposition from the Labour Party, or indeed from any party other than Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

He lost his Dáil seat at the September 1927 general election, and the following year he was elected to Seanad Éireann, where he served until the Seanad's abolition in 1936.

Each Summer, the Labour Party holds the "Tom Johnson Summer School" to discuss various issues and campaigns.

[edit] Further reading

• Thomas Johnson, 1872 - 1963, John Anthony Gaughan, Kingdom Books, Dublin, 1980, ISBN 0-9506015-3-5

[edit] External links

• Thomas Johnson's electoral history (ElectionsIreland.org)

Preceded by Newly Created Position

Leader of the Opposition 1922–1927

Succeeded by Éamon de Valera

v • d • e Leaders of the Labour Party Thomas Johnson (1922–1927) • Thomas J. O'Connell (1927–1932) • William Norton (1932–1960) • Brendan Corish (1960–1977) • Frank Cluskey (1977–1981) • Michael O'Leary (1981–1982) • Dick Spring (1982–1997) • Ruairi Quinn (1997–2002) • Pat Rabbitte (2002–2007) • Eamon Gilmore (2007–)

This page incorporates information from the Oireachtas Members Database