Christopher Stephen "Todd" Andrews (6 October 1901 – 11 October 1985) was an Irish political activist and public servant. He participated in the Irish War of Independence and Civil War as a political and military activist in the Irish Republican movement. Todd Andrews never ran for election and was never a government minister. He was a supporter, though not a member, of Fianna Fáil.
Contents |
Andrews was born in Dublin, but soon acquired the nickname "Todd", because of his perceived resemblance to an English comic strip hero. He was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, and at University College Dublin.
He joined the Irish Volunteers at the age of fifteen and had an active role in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1920, however he was released after ten days on hunger strike. He was interned at the Curragh in 1921 but he escaped. Andrews took the Republican side during the Irish Civil War. He was interned by the government of the Irish Free State until 1924. He then continued with his studies and graduated with a Commerce degree.
He got a job with the Irish Tourist Association and later with Electricity Supply Board. When the Fianna Fáil government came to power in 1932 Andrews was put in charge of turf development. He advocated the setting up of a properly managed commercial enterprise. In 1946 Bord na Móna was set up with Andrews as managing director.
In 1958 he was appointed chairman of the Irish transport company, Córas Iompair Éireann. Aping the widescale closures in Britain (the Beeching Axe), he presided over closure of significant sections of the rail network which by 1962 included
In 1966 Todd Andrew was appointed chairman of the RTÉ Authority. Asked the difference between his new job as director of RTÉ and his old job as head of the national transport system, he is reputed to have declared, "RTÉ carries more passengers" (though this was a fairly common joke among Dubliners at that time).[1] He resigned in 1970 when his son, David Andrews was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach.
He was the recipient of several honorary doctorates and degrees from various universities. He published his autobiography in two volumes in 1979 and 1982, under the titles of Dublin Made Me and Man of No Property.
Andrews died in Dublin at the age of 84.
Two of his sons, Niall Andrews and David Andrews became TDs, with David Andrews becoming Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Todd's grandson, Ryan Tubridy, is a radio presenter and television chatshow host on RTÉ, while grandsons Barry Andrews and Chris Andrews were Fianna Fáil TDs. In May 2009, Ryan Tubridy was appointed by RTÉ to succeed Pat Kenny as host of the television station's long-running chat show The Late Late Show, whose legendary first host (and producer) was Gay Byrne until Kenny took over in 1999. Ironically, Byrne, in his memoir The Time of My Life, relates how Andrews, when appointed chairman of the RTÉ Authority, phoned the Director-General of RTÉ and ordered him to "sack that fucker Byrne". The management politely declined.