Kevin O'Higgins

The title of this article is ambiguous. For additional meanings, see Kevin O'Higgins (disambiguation) .

Kevin O'Higgins

Kevin Christopher O'Higgins ( Irish Caoimhín Críostóir Ó hUiginn , born June 7, 1892 in Stradbally , County Laois , † July 10, 1927 in Booterstown ) was an Irish politician .

Life

O'Higgins was born in 1892 to Thomas Francis Higgins († 1923) and Anne Sullivan († 1953), the daughter of Timothy Daniel Sullivan . He was the fourth of 15 children. O'Higgins attended Clongowes Wood College and studied at University College Dublin , where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1915 and his Bachelor of Laws in 1919 . In 1915 he joined the Irish Volunteers . At the beginning of the Easter Rising , O'Higgins was in Laois and immediately after learning of the uprising, he set out to join the rebels. However, he had to give up this project in Athy , as young men were no longer allowed to enter the capital. In 1918 he was among those arrested by the British government on the pretext of the "German Plot" . During his time in prison he was elected to the House of Commons. In 1919 he sat for Sinn Féin as Teachta Dála in Dáil Éireann and was Assistant Minister for Local Government under William Thomas Cosgrave . When he was imprisoned in 1920, he took his place and proved himself to be a capable politician.

O'Higgins was a strong advocate of the Anglo-Irish Treaty , which ultimately led to the creation of the Irish Free State . When both Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith died in quick succession in August 1922 , Cosgrave became both President of the Dáil Éireann and chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland. When the new Irish Free State was officially created on December 6, 1922, Cosgrave was its first Prime Minister - the official title was President of the Executive Council. O'Higgins became Minister for Home Affairs , and in 1924 the office was renamed Minister of Justice and Vice President. He held these two offices until his death. As Attorney General, he sought stability and took a hard line during the Irish Civil War . Among other things, he signed the execution warrant for Rory O'Connor , who had been his best man less than a year earlier. A total of 77 executions took place during the civil war . In retaliation, O'Higgin's father was murdered. In 1923 O'Higgins founded the Garda Síochána as an unarmed police force, which is remarkable in the situation at the time.

On July 10, 1927, in Booterstown, O'Higgins was shot dead by three IRA members, Timothy Coughlin , Bill Gannon and Archie Doyle , while on his way from his home to a fair . He received a state funeral and was buried on July 13 in Glasnevin Cemetery .

O'Higgins brother Thomas F. O'Higgins senior , as well as his nephews Thomas F. O'Higgins and Michael O'Higgins later also worked as a politician.

Web links

• Biography (English)
• Biography on the website of the UCD Archives (English)