Richard Anthony (politician)

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For other people with the same name, see Richard Anthony.

Richard Anthony
Teachta Dála
In office
June 1927 – June 1938
ConstituencyCork Borough
In office
June 1943 – February 1948
ConstituencyCork Borough
Senator
In office
1948–1957
ConstituencyLabour Panel
Lord Mayor of Cork
In office
1942–1943
Personal details
Born
Richard Sidney Anthony

1875
Died1962 (aged 86–87)
Political partyLabour Party
Independent

Richard Sidney Anthony (1875–1962) was an Irish politician. A linotype operator by profession, Anthony stood unsuccessfully for election at the 1923 general election. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork Borough constituency at the June 1927 general election.[1] He was re-elected as a Labour Party TD at the September 1927 general election.

In 1931, Morrissey defied the Labour whip and supported the Constitution (Amendment No. 17) Bill, a measure proposed by the government of W. T. Cosgrave against the Irish Republican Army. The Executive Council sought to establish military courts that were empowered to impose sentences – including capital punishment, without appeal – in response to IRA violence. Alongside Daniel Morrissey, Anthony broke ranks with Labour, who thought the measures too authoritarian, and voted for the bill, and both of them were expelled from the party.[2][3]

Anthony was elected as an independent TD at the 1932 general election. He was re-elected as an independent TD at the 1933 and 1937 general elections.[4]

Richard Anthony was well known for his anti-communist views. In August 1939 he told the forty-fifth Irish Trade Union Congress that he would prefer fascism to a "dictatorship of the proletariat". Earlier that same year, back in April, Anthony had proposed a motion at Cork City Corporation congratulating General Franco on "concluding his war against communism and anarchy in Spain".[5]

He lost his seat at the 1938 general election but was re-elected at the 1943 and 1944 general elections. He again lost his Dáil seat at the 1948 general election but was elected to the 6th Seanad on the Labour Panel at the subsequent Seanad election in 1948. He stood at the 1951 general election but was not elected. He did not contest the 1951 Seanad election but was elected to the 8th Seanad in 1954, again on the Labour Panel. He did not contest the 1957 Seanad election and retired from politics. He served as Lord Mayor of Cork from 1942 to 1943.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Richard Anthony". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  2. ^ Weeks, Liam (15 May 2017). Independents in Irish party democracy. ISBN 9781526116383.
  3. ^ "Two Just Men". The Irish Times. 26 October 1931. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Richard Anthony". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  5. ^ a b Dempsey, Pauric J. "Anthony, Richard Sydney". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
Civic offices
Preceded by
James Allen
 Lord Mayor of Cork
1942–1943 		Succeeded by
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