Tom O'Higgins
Tom O'Higgins | |
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Supreme Court | |
In office 14 May 1974 – 1 October 1985 | |
Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
Appointed by | Erskine H. Childers |
Judge of the High Court | |
In office 30 July 1973 – 14 May 1974 | |
Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
Appointed by | Erskine H. Childers |
Deputy leader of Fine Gael | |
In office 20 April 1972 – 14 September 1977 | |
Leader | Liam Cosgrave |
Preceded by | New office |
Succeeded by | Peter Barry |
Minister for Health | |
In office 2 June 1954 – 20 March 1957 | |
Taoiseach | John A. Costello |
Preceded by | James Ryan |
Succeeded by | Seán MacEntee |
Teachta Dála | |
In office June 1969 – February 1973 | |
Constituency | Dublin County South |
In office February 1948 – June 1969 | |
Constituency | Laois-Offaly |
Personal details | |
Born | Cork, Ireland | 23 July 1916
Died | 25 February 2003 Dublin, Ireland | (aged 86)
Resting place | Shanganagh Cemetery, Shankill, Dublin, Ireland |
Political party | Fine Gael |
Spouse |
Therese Keane (m. 1940) |
Children | 7 |
Parent |
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Relatives |
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Education | |
Alma mater | |
Thomas Francis O'Higgins (23 July 1916 – 25 February 2003) was an Irish
Part of a new generation of Fine Gael leaders who emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, O'Higgins worked alongside
In 1973, O'Higgins became a
Early life and education
O'Higgins was born in
Despite this background, O'Higgins never embraced bitterness or anti-republicanism, and instead espoused a forward-looking politics which sought to advance Irish politics beyond the wounds of the Irish Civil War.[2] Nonetheless, he would always defend his father's membership of the Blueshirts as a requirement for upholding free speech and democracy in Ireland.[2]
O'Higgins was educated at St Mary's College, Dublin, Clongowes Wood College and University College Dublin, where he became auditor of the Literary and Historical Society. He later attended King's Inns. In 1938, he qualified as a barrister and was called to the Bar. In 1954, he was called to the Inner Bar.
Political career
O'Higgins political career began during the 1943 Irish general election when he unsuccessfully stood on behalf of Fine Gael in the Dublin City South constituency. O'Higgins did not stand in the snap general election of 1944, instead choosing to campaign on behalf of his father. However, at this time he founded the "Central Branch" of Fine Gael which gathered younger members of the party together. Additionally, O'Higgins also began to write for the policy review magazine The Forum.[2]
O'Higgins first's successful campaign saw him securing the Leix–Offaly constituency at the 1948 general election, an area once previously represented by his father.[5] On the same day his brother, Michael O'Higgins, was also elected a TD.[2]
In 1950, O'Higgins was one of eight members of the Oireachtas chosen to represent Ireland on the Council of Europe; it was the start of a lifetime interest in European politics.[2]
Minister for Health
In the
During his period as Minister for Health, he introduced the Voluntary Health Insurance Board (VHI), which brought state-controlled health insurance to Ireland.[2]
Ideological reformer
In 1956, O'Higgins began to advocate internally in Fine Gael that the party needed to move away from the
Nonetheless, in the years afterwards, O'Higgins began closely working with fellow second-generation Fine Gael members Garret FitzGerald and Declan Costello to shift Fine Gael ideologically leftwards.[2] The culmination of this was Costello producing a document entitled Towards a Just Society which advocated that Fine Gael adopt
When Liam Cosgrave succeeded James Dillon as leader of Fine Gael in April 1965, O'Higgins was promoted to party spokesman on finance and economic affairs, replacing the conservative Sweetman.[2] Although the left-wing of the party was not in control of the party, O'Higgins move up the ranks represented that their influence was growing.
Presidential candidate
1966 presidential election
In 1966, Ireland was due to hold a presidential election. The election was due to be one of significance, as 1966 marked the 50th anniversary of the
Having campaigned so hard on the idea that someone must challenge de Valera, eventually party members turned the question back on O'Higgins and suggested he himself run. He eventually agreed.[2]
O'Higgins' campaign was met with immediate difficulty when, at the outset, de Valera declared that he would not conduct a campaign himself, believing that the office of President should be above party politics. In response, RTÉ decided it could not (or would not), cover O'Higgins campaigning as this would be unbalanced in their view. Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrove responded by arguing that this was unjust, as although de Valera was not formally campaigning, he regularly appeared on RTÉ radio and television in his capacity as president. RTÉ, however, did not change its position.
Undeterred, O'Higgins carried out a dogged grassroots campaign that saw him attend over 130 public meetings across the Republic of Ireland, covering an estimated 22,000 miles around the country over a span of 5 weeks, reportedly attending as many as 3 rallies a night.
An example of the O'Higgins attempting to emulate modern American politics could be seen on 28 May 1966, when a small light aircraft dropped ballons with Fine Gael slogans on them down onto the city of Limerick during an O'Higgins motorcade procession. Observing these new tactics, the journalist John Healy of the Irish Times observed "The Fine Gael tail is up. It is running as it has not run for a long time. It will be an interesting finish indeed".[6]
Polling was not yet a feature of Irish politics in 1966; instead parties still generally relied on their constituency branches to provide a sense of grassroots sentiment. When Fianna Fáil received feedback from their branches about the O'Higgins campaign, they were quickly panicked. Although de Valera remained officially committed to not campaigning, he began to make several public appearances on the pretence of commemorating 1916. De Valera's campaign manager was then Minister for Agriculture and future leader of Fianna Fáil Charles Haughey. Responding to the momentum of the O'Higgins campaign, Haughey announced £5.5 million in spending targeted at farmers just five days before polling began.[6]
The results of the election were agonisingly close; by a margin of just 10,718 votes (1% of the total vote), de Valera managed to etch out a victory. Years later, O'Higgins would remark in his autobiography that he felt he had conducted himself well in the race and was glad he was able to maintain his dignity and that of his family. Paraphrasing
, the result of the 1966 contest remains the tightest margin of any Irish presidential election.Deputy leader of Fine Gael
Although not victorious in the 1966 election, O'Higgins' image had been greatly enhanced by the contest; at the 1969 Irish general election O'Higgins moved from the Laois-Offaly constituency to the newly created Dublin County South, where he topped the poll.[7] In April 1972, O'Higgins was named the first-ever deputy leader of Fine Gael. In this role, O'Higgins was looked at by some in Fine Gael as an intermediary between the liberal and conservative wings of the party. As deputy leader, O'Higgins made a number of trips to Northern Ireland in the face of the emerging Troubles, and was one of the Fine Gael representatives at the funerals of those killed on Bloody Sunday in 1972.[2]
Anticipating running for president again in May 1973, O'Higgins did not contest the earlier 1973 Irish general election that February. In the aftermath of the general election, his diplomatic skills were once again called upon, as he looked to as a broker between Fine Gael and the Labour party as they attempted to form a governing coalition, which was ultimately successful.[2]
1973 presidential election
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In 1973, O'Higgins was again chosen once again as the Fine Gael candidate in the presidential election. This time he faced former Fianna Fáil Tánaiste and Minister, Erskine H. Childers. Childers was elected by 52% to 48%.
Judicial career
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Shortly afterwards O'Higgins was appointed a Judge of the High Court. In 1974, after the sudden death of Chief Justice William FitzGerald, O'Higgins, although the most junior High Court judge, was chosen to replace him as Chief Justice of Ireland in the Supreme Court and a judge of the Supreme Court.
After the sudden death of Erskine H. Childers, O'Higgins, in his role as Chief Justice swore in Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh as President of Ireland. He was Chief Justice until 1985, when he was appointed a Judge of the European Court of Justice. He remained there until 1991.
O'Higgins died on 25 February 2003, at the age of 86.
See also
- List of members of the European Court of Justice
- Families in the Oireachtas
- Norris v. Attorney General
- Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion SA
References
- ^ "Thomas O'Higgins". Oireachtas Members Database. 13 December 1972. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Maume, Patrick; Costello, Kevin (June 2010). "O'Higgins, Thomas Francis". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "A Life of Service". The Irish Times. 26 February 2003. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
Regarded as a radical politician within conservative-leaning Fine Gael, he supported the Just Society policies published by Mr Justice Declan Costello in the mid-1960s and made common cause with Dr Garret FitzGerald and others who sought to modernise the party.
- ^ White, Lawrence William (August 2012). "O'Higgins, Thomas Francis". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ "Tom O'Higgins". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Ryan, Ray (20 August 2018). "How Dev almost lost the 1966 presidential election". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ "Dublin County South results 1969". Elections Ireland. Retrieved 7 December 2022.