Martin McDonogh

Martin McDonogh
Teachta Dála
In office June 1927 – November 1934
Constituency	Galway
Personal details
Born	(1860-01-01)1 January 1860 Connemara, Galway, Ireland
Died	24 November 1934(1934-11-24) (aged 74) Galway, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Cumann na nGaedheal

Martin McDonogh (1860 – 24 November 1934) was an Irish politician.

Early life

Born in Gorumna, Connemara, to Thomas McDonogh and Honoria Hernon, McDonogh was the second son of six children who survived to adulthood. He was a cousin of the writer and journalist, Pádraic Ó Conaire. He was educated at the Jesuits’ St Ignatius College and later at the order’s St Stanislaus College in Tullabeg in County Offaly, and briefly studied law at what is now NUI Galway.

Business career

McDonogh inherited his father's company, Thomas McDonogh & Sons, and expanded it to become one of the biggest employers in the province of Connacht. At its height, the company employed 700 people in an array of business ventures from a fertilizer factory to farming and electricity generation. A strict teetotaller, he never married.

Martin McDonogh was the leader of the Galway merchants during the lockout of 1912 and the five-week general strike of 1913.

McDonogh was known for being violently opposed to trade unions. He was the leader of the Galway Employers’ Federation during the city's major workers strike in 1913.

Political career

McDonogh was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway constituency at the June 1927 general election.^[1] He was re-elected at the September 1927 general election but lost his seat at the 1932 general election.^[2] He re-gained his seat at the 1933 general election, but died during the 8th Dáil in 1934. The by-election caused by his death was held on 19 June 1935 and was won by Eamon Corbett of Fianna Fáil.

Further reading

• Jackie Uí Chionna, He was Galway: Máirtín Mór McDonogh, 1860 -1934, Four Courts Press.

References