Sir John Esmonde, 14th Baronet

Sir John Lymbrick Esmonde, 14th Baronet, SC (5 February 1893 – 6 July 1958) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1915 to 1918 and later as a Teachta Dála (TD) in Dáil Éireann from 1937 to 1944, and again from 1948 to 1951.

Sir John Esmonde, 14th Baronet
CrestOut of a mural crown Gules a head in profile wearing a helmet all Proper.
BlazonErmine on a chief Gules three mullets Argent.
MottoMalo Mori Quam Foedari (Had Rather Die Than Be Dishonoured)[1]

Early life

Esmonde was the son of Dr John Joseph Esmonde MP (1862–1915), of Drominagh, Borrisokane, County Tipperary. On the death of his father in 1915 during service with the Royal Army Medical Corps in World War I, he was elected in his place (opposed by two nationalist contenders) as Irish Parliamentary Party MP for North Tipperary while also serving in the war with the Leinster Regiment, then as Captain with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers with the Intelligence Corps. He was an engineer.[2]

World War I service

He was one of five Irish MPs who served with Irish regiments in World War I, the others Stephen Gwynn, Willie Redmond, William Redmond and D. D. Sheehan as well as former MP Tom Kettle. John Lymbrick Esmonde served with the forces that put down the Easter Rising.

He studied at the King's Inns, qualifying as a barrister, and was called to the Bar of Ireland. He was called to the inner bar as Senior Counsel in 1942, and was elected as a Bencher of the King's Inns in 1948.

Political career

He did not defend his seat at the 1918 general election. He inherited the Esmonde Baronetcy when the senior male line died out in 1943. He subsequently served as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency, where he won a seat at the 1937 general election.[3] He was re-elected at the 1938 and 1943 elections, but lost his Dáil seat at the 1944 general election.[4] He was re-elected as a TD for Wexford at the 1948 general election. In 1948, before the formation of the First Inter-Party Government, he was suggested as possible Taoiseach by Seán MacBride, on the grounds that he had no link to either side in the Civil War, a position that went to John A. Costello.[5]

In July 1950, he resigned from Fine Gael, although he kept his resignation private until September, after the 1950 local elections.[6] On 1 May 1951, he resigned from the Dáil, shortly before the 1951 general election.[7]

He was one of the few people who served as a Members of Parliament in the House of Commons as well as a Teachta Dála of Dáil Éireann, the lower House of the Irish parliament.

Notable family

His younger brother Lt. Geoffrey Esmonde (1897–1916) aged 19 was killed in action in World War I serving with the 4th Tyneside Irish Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers. His second younger brother was Sir Anthony Esmonde, 15th Baronet (1899–1981). His half-brother Eugene Esmonde was awarded a Victoria Cross posthumously in 1942 during World War II.

See also

References
  1. Debrett's Peerage. 1878.
  2. Thom's Directory, 1918
  3. "John Lymbrick Esmonde". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  4. "Sir John Esmonde". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  5. Maume, Patrick (1999). The Long Gestation, Irish Nationalist Life 1891-1918. pp. 153, 227. ISBN 0-7171-2744-3.
  6. "Fine Gael TD leaves party". The Irish Times. 21 September 1950. p. 1.
  7. "Resignation of Deputy – Dáil Éireann (13th Dáil) – Vol. 125 No. 12". Houses of the Oireachtas. 1 May 1951. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
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