Timothy Daniel Sullivan

Timothy Daniel Sullivan MP
Lord Mayor of Dublin
In office 1886–1888
Preceded by	John O'Connor
Succeeded by	Thomas Sexton
Member of Parliament for Westmeath
In office 1880–1885
Preceded by	Patrick James Smyth Lord Robert Montagu
Succeeded by	Constituency divided
Member of Parliament for Dublin College Green
In office 1885–1892
Preceded by	New constituency
Succeeded by	Joseph Edward Kenny
Member of Parliament for West Donegal
In office 1892–1900
Preceded by	James Joseph Dalton
Succeeded by	James Boyle
Personal details
Born	May 29, 1827 Bantry, County Cork
Died	March 14, 1914(1914-03-14) (aged 86)
Political party	Irish Parliamentary Party Irish National Federation

Timothy Daniel Sullivan (29 May 1827 – 31 March 1914) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, politician and poet who wrote the Irish national hymn "God Save Ireland", in 1867. He was born at Bantry, County Cork.^[1]

Politician

Sullivan was a member of the Home Rule League, supporting Charles Stewart Parnell in the 1880 general election, being "convinced that without self-government there could never be peace, prosperity or contentment in Ireland". He joined the Irish Parliamentary Party when it was established in 1882. When the party split in 1891 he became an Anti-Parnellite until the Nationalist factions were reunited in 1900.

Sullivan represented a number of constituencies in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was elected from Westmeath in 1880 and served until 1885. He then became the first MP from Dublin College Green until he was defeated by a Pro-Parnellite in the 1892 general election. Four days later he was returned unopposed for West Donegal which he represented until he retired in 1900.^[1]

He was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1886 and 1887.^[1]

Publicist

He owned and edited a number of publications (The Nation, Dublin Weekly News and Young Ireland). In December 1887 he published reports of meetings by the National League. As a result, he was convicted and imprisoned for two months under the Crimes Act.^[1]

As well as writing the Irish national hymn "God Save Ireland", he wrote the adopted anthem of the All-for-Ireland League: "All for Ireland ! One for all ! and popular pieces such as "Song from the Backwoods" and "Michael Dwyer".^[2]

Family

A number of his descendants were people of outstanding distinction. His son Timothy was Chief Justice of Ireland from 1936 to 1946. His daughter Frances was an Irish-language activist in Craobh an Chéitinnigh, the Keating branch of the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaelige) and a lecturer in Irish. His daughter Anne (who had sixteen children) was the mother of politician Kevin O'Higgins, one of the dominant political figures of the 1920s. His great-grandson Tom O'Higgins was Chief Justice from 1974 to 1985.^[3]

His brother, Alexander, author of New Ireland and a fervant constitutional and cultural nationalist, was owner and editor of The Nation after Gavan Duffy, and prior to Timothy Daniel Sullivan.^[4]

Further reading

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Timothy Sullivan
• 1911 census return.
• Who's Who of British members of parliament: Vol. II 1886–1918, edited by M. Stenton & S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1978)
• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland 1801–1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)

Notes

References

Sullivan, T.D. (1905) Recollections of Troubled Times in Irish Politics. Dublin: Sealy, Bryers & Walker; M.H. Gills & Son, Ltd. Retrieved on 30 March 2011.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Timothy Daniel Sullivan
• Works by Timothy Daniel Sullivan at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Timothy Daniel Sullivan at Internet Archive
• Dunboy, and Other Poems by Timothy Daniel O'Sullivan. Fowler, Dublin. 1861
• Irish National Poems, Timothy Daniel O'Sullivan (Ed.) Gill & Sons, Dublin, 1911