Ned Cronin

Ned Cronin was a leader of the Blueshirts and a senior member of Fine Gael.

Personal life

He was the son of John and Johanna Cronin. One of his children, Noel died in 1930 aged 10 months.[1]

Biography

He supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty and joined the Free state army, he was made a Commandant.[2]

He was a founding member of the Blueshirts and was made its General secretary.[3] It was Cronin who suggested that they adopt the now iconic blue uniform so that they could recognise each other during riots.[4]

He was co-Vice president of Fine Gael along with W. T. Cosgrave and James Dillon.[5]

When Eoin O'Duffy, the former leader of the Blueshirts resigned as leader of Fine Gael he attempted to retake his old position. Cronin refused to accept this and the Blueshirts split into two factions, the pro-Cronin faction and the pro-O’Duffy faction.[6][7]

He emigrated to England after financial problems caused by his involvement in the Blueshirts. The Taoiseach John A. Costello invited him back to serve as an adviser to the government but he died on the trip over.[5] He was buried in Shandrum, Newtownshandrum, County Cork.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ned Cronin Grave | Shandrum, CO-SHAN-0205". historicgraves.com.
  2. ↑ Coogan, Tim Pat (2002). The IRA. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 69. ISBN 9780312294168.
  3. ↑ Cronin, M.; Regan, J. (2000). Ireland: The Politics of Independence, 1922-49. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 65. ISBN 9780230535695.
  4. ↑ Lee, Joseph (19 October 1989). Ireland, 1912-1985: Politics and Society. Cambridge University Press – via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 Coogan, Tim Pat (1 December 2009). Ireland In The 20th Century. Random House – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Eoin O'Duffy's Blueshirts and the Abyssinian crisis". History Ireland. 12 February 2013.
  7. ↑ Broderick, Eugene (2010). Intellectuals and the Ideological Hijacking of Fine Gael, 1932-1938. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 82. ISBN 9781443818803.
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