John Joe Rice
John Joe Rice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office March 1957 – October 1961 | |
| Constituency | Kerry South |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1893 Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 1 June 1970 (aged 77) Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Irish Volunteers Irish Republican Army Anti-Treaty IRA |
| Rank | Officer commanding |
| Battles/wars | Irish War of Independence Irish Civil War |
John Joe Rice (1 January 1893 – 1 July 1970) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry South constituency from 1957 to 1961.
Early Life[]
Born in Cork in 1893, but raised in the town land of Kilmurry near Kenmare, County Kerry.
Revolution and Civil War[]
Rice was a railway worker who joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913. At the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence, he became Officer Commanding of the 5th Battalion of the Kerry No. 2 Brigade, a unit he would also command during the Irish Civil War, where they fought as part of the Anti-Treaty IRA.[1]
TD for Kerry South[]
He was elected as a Sinn Féin TD for the Kerry South constituency at the 1957 general election.[2] He did not take his seat in the Dáil. This was due to the Sinn Féin party policy of Abstentionism. He was one of four Sinn Féin TDs elected at the 1957 general election, the others being Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, John Joe McGirl and Eighneachán Ó hAnnluain. During his time as a TD, he campaigned against the Special Powers Act, which granted the Irish state extra abilities to deal with and punish suspected members of the IRA.[1] He was defeated at the 1961 general election.[3]
Expulsion from Sinn Fein[]
In 1966, he and fellow Kerry Republican John Joe Sheehy were expelled from Sinn Féin, as were many others, by the new Marxist-Leninist party leadership that had recently come into power. This move both foreshadowed and fuelled the split in 1969/1970 of both the IRA and Sinn Féin, which led to the creation of the Marxist-Leninist Official IRA and the more traditional but still left-wing Provisional IRA, and in parallel Sinn Féin - The Workers' Party and "Provisional" Sinn Féin. Rice gave his support to the Provisionals.[1]
Family[]
His sister, Rosalie Rice, was a member of Cumann na mBan during the 1916 Easter Rising and was arrested for sending a telegram alerting the IRB in America to the rising. His cousins Eugene and Timothy Ring were members of the IRB and were also involved with the telegram. His grandfather, Timothy Ring, was a Fenian who fought in the uprising. 2 of his cousins were members of the Royal Irish Constabulary who would both later help the republican side during the Irish Revolution.
He died on 1 July 1970.
References[]
- ^ a b c O'Shea, Owen; O'Revington, Gordon (1 October 2018). A Century of Politics in the Kingdom: A County Kerry Compendium. Merrion Press. ISBN 978-1785372018.
- ^ "John J. Rice". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
- ^ "John Joe Rice". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
- 1893 births
- 1970 deaths
- Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members
- Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members
- Members of the 16th Dáil
- Politicians from County Kerry
- Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923)