James Rochfort Maguire
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James Rochfort Maguire
Family life and education
He was the second son of John Mullock Maguire, rector of Kilkeedy, co. Limerick, and his wife Anne Jane née Humphreys. He was educated at Cheltenham College and Merton College, Oxford, where he obtained first classes in mathematics and jurisprudence. He was elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 1878 and was called to the bar in 1883, although he never practised the law.
In Q2 1895, in St. George's, Hanover Square, London, he married
Career
While at Oxford, Maguire became friendly with Cecil Rhodes. In 1888, Rhodes sent him with Charles Rudd and Francis Thompson to negotiate a concession of land and mineral rights in Matabeleland from Chief Lobengula at Bulawayo. This was signed on 30 October. The British South Africa Company was chartered the following October and Maguire was associated with it for the rest of his life.
Meanwhile, in 1888, Rhodes had reached an agreement with Parnell, whom he admired. Rhodes supported
Maguire, who shared Rhodes' admiration for Parnell, became the main link between Rhodes and Parnell, and a seat was found for him at an uncontested by-election at North Donegal in June 1890. Less than six months later, however, the Irish Party split over Parnell's leadership. Maguire continued his support for Parnell, and, after Parnell's death in October 1891, for the embattled
His later career was almost entirely concerned with South and central Africa. He went through the Siege of Kimberley in the Boer War with Rhodes, accompanied by his wife. After Rhodes' death in 1902, Maguire carried on his work as a businessman, in the British South Africa Company, as a director of the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, and particularly in the development of the Rhodesian railway system of which he was chairman for many years.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1918 New Year Honours for his efforts during the First World War.[2]
According to The Times, among dozens of friends and associates from his imperial career who attended his funeral on 24 April 1925, there was only one representative of the Irish nationalist movement, namely his former Parnellite colleague John O'Connor.
Publications
- The pioneers of empire: Being a vindication of the principle and a short sketch of the history of chartered companies, with especial reference to the British South Africa Company, London, Methuen, 1896[3]
- Cecil Rhodes: A biography and appreciation (Macmillan's colonial library), 1897
- The case of Ireland: "The Times" proposal. My suggestions, 1919
- "Rhodesia," Journal of the African Society (continued as African Affairs), Vol.22 No.86, January 1923, pp. 81–95
References
- ^ https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl?start=1895&end=1895&sq=2&eq=2&type=Marriages&vol=1a&pgno=908&db=bmd_1689976433&jsexec=1&mono=0&v=MTY5MjkwNjY2NTowMzEzOTM3ZmJlYjIyMTUzYzZlNTRlY2IyYTYxZmZhMDcxOWZlNWYx&searchdef=sq%3D1%26eq%3D4%26given%3DJames%2520R%26surname%3DMaguire%26type%3DMarriages%26db%3Dbmd_1689976433&action=Find
- ^ "No. 30460". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 January 1918. p. 370.
- ^ Note: Amazon attributes the first two publications to James Rochfort Maguire, but the British Library catalogue indicates authorship only as by "An Imperialist."
Sources
- Irish Independent, 20 April 1925, pp. 6 and 7
- F. S. L. Lyons, Charles Stewart Parnell, London, Collins, 1977, pp. 442–4, 587–9
- Newbury, Colin (2008) [2004]. "Maguire, James Rochfort (1855–1925)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34832. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- The Times, 20 and 23 April 1925
- Brian M. Walker (ed.), Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922, Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, 1978
- Who Was Who 1916–1928
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by James Rochfort Maguire
- Portrait photo of James Rochford Maguire’s wife Julia, née Peel (National Portrait Gallery, London)
- Social network diagram for James Rochfort Maguire (based on shared entry on same pages) (Archive[dead link])
- Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. – via Wikisource. . . Dublin: