Eamonn Duggan
Eamonn Seán Duggan was an Irish lawyer and politician who served as Government Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence from 1927 to 1932, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance from 1926 to 1927, Parliamentary Secretary to the Executive Council from 1922 to 1926, Minister without portfolio September 1922 to December 1922 and Minister for Home Affairs January 1922 to September 1922. He served as a Teachta Dála from 1918 to 1933. He was a Senator from 1933 to 1936.
Early life
Edmund John Duggan was born in Richhill, County Armagh, in 1878, the son of William Duggan, a Royal Irish Constabulary officer, and Margaret Dunne. His parents had met when his father, a native of County Wicklow, was stationed in Longwood, County Meath, where they married on 19 October 1874. William was transferred to County Armagh the following year as officers could not serve in their wife's native county.In 1911, Duggan was living with his parents on St. Brigid's Road Upper in Drumcondra, Dublin. His siblings, William, Margaret and James, were also living there. There were six children born but only four survived by 1911.
After his school education, Duggan began work as a law clerk. During his early years, he became heavily involved in politics after he qualified as a solicitor and set up a practice at 66 Dame Street in Dublin. Duggan was married to Evelyn Kavanagh and together they had one son.
As a keen supporter of Irish independence, Duggan fought in the 1916 Easter Rising; however, following its failure he was subject to court-martial and was sentenced to three years penal servitude. Under the general amnesty of 1917, he was released after 14 months in prison, and returned to Dublin where he went back to studying law. For a period, Duggan also served as Irish Republican Army Director of Intelligence.
Duggan was a cousin of revolutionaries Thomas Burke and Christopher Burke through his mother Margaret Dunne.
1916 Easter Rising
In 1916, Duggan was part of Commandant Daly and therefore was serving in the North Dublin Union in the days approaching the 1916 Rising and afterwards Father Matthew Hall. One of Duggan's close friends Thomas Allen was shot while Duggan was at the Four Courts. Duggan's efforts to get medical assistance were unsuccessful at Richmond Hospital as the British officer who responded to the call declined the message and didn't allow it to go through. Eventually medical assistance was received but it was too late for Allen. In Duggan's region, the volunteers suffered very few injuries with the most violent fighting taking place on Friday night and Saturday morning.Duggan suffered the consequences and was then sentenced to penal servitude which lasted three years. He was interned in Maidstone, Portland and Lewes prisons. Éamon de Valera and Duggan's attempts at Lewes to fight the authorities and collapse the prison system proved to be victorious as in June 1917, they were both released and Duggan finally got to go back to Dublin and followed his previous roots in law and continued his career as a solicitor.
After 1916
When Duggan was released in 1917, he continued his career in law. Duggan was elected to the First Dáil Éireann as a Sinn Féin TD for Meath South following the 1918 United Kingdom [general election in Ireland|1918 general election]. The Drogheda Independent reported "Never before was a successful candidate accorded such a princely reception".Duggan engaged in the War of Independence and his role in this was the IRA's Director of Intelligence, this came to an end in November 1920 when he was imprisoned again and was not released until the Anglo-Irish Truce of July 1921. When the truce concluded, Duggan was authorised as one out of the five envoys to discuss and finalise the treaty with the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. He signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty at 22 Hans Place, London.
Duggan retained numerous ministerial posts in the Cumann na nGaedheal government. In 1921, Duggan played a role in the Irish delegation throughout the Anglo-Irish discussions, he then played a dominant role in liaising with British officials.
Involvement in politics
After the post-treaty government, Duggan was appointed as Minister for Home Affairs and shortly afterwards he became the Parliamentary Secretary for the executive council and the Minister for Defence. Duggan continued in various roles as a TD until 1933. These included Government Chief Whip from 1927 to 1932.Until 1933, Duggan was a Cumann na nGaedheal TD for Meath. In 1933, Duggan declined to contest the general election but was elected to Seanad in April 1933. He also was involved in local politics in Dún Laoghaire as the chairman of the borough council until he died in 1936.