Austin Stack
Encyclopedia
Austin Stack was an Irish
revolutionary and politician.
. He was educated at the Christian Brothers
School in Tralee. At the age of fourteen he left school and became a clerk in a solicitor's office. A gifted Gaelic football
er, he captained the Kerry team to All-Ireland
victory in 1904. He also served as President of the Kerry Gaelic Athletic Association
County Board.
. In 1916, as commandant of the Kerry Brigade of the Irish Volunteers
, he made preparations for the landing of arms by Roger Casement
. Although he was made aware that Casement was arrested on Easter Saturday and was being held in Tralee, he made no attempt to rescue him from Ballymullen Barracks. District Inspector Kearney of the Royal Irish Constabulary
treated Casement very well and made sure Stack was aware that Casement could have been rescued, yet he refused to act as his orders were to rise later.
Stack was arrested and sentenced to death for his involvement in the Rising, however, this was later commuted to penal servitude for life. He was released under general amnesty in June 1917 and was elected as an abstentionist Sinn Féin
Member of Parliament
for Kerry West
in the 1918 Westminster election
, becoming a member of the 1st Dáil
. He was automatically elected as an abstentionist member of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and a member of the 2nd Dáil
as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála
for Kerry–Limerick West at the 1921 elections
.
He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty
of 1921, and took part in the subsequent Civil War
. He was captured in 1923 and went on hunger strike
for forty-one days before being released in July 1924.
and subsequent elections as an Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin
TD for the Kerry constituency
. When Éamon de Valera
founded Fianna Fáil
in 1926, Stack remained with Sinn Féin
being re-elected to the Dáil at the June 1927 general election. He did not contest the September 1927 general election
Stack's health never recovered after his hunger strike
and he died in a Dublin hospital on 27 April 1929, aged 49.
Austin Stack Park
in his home town of Tralee, one of the Gaelic Athletic Association
's stadiums, is named in his honour, as is the Austin Stacks
Hurling
and Gaelic football
club.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
revolutionary and politician.
Early life
Stack was born in Ballymullen, Tralee, County KerryCounty Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. He was educated at the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
School in Tralee. At the age of fourteen he left school and became a clerk in a solicitor's office. A gifted Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
er, he captained the Kerry team to All-Ireland
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...
victory in 1904. He also served as President of the Kerry Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
County Board.
Activism
He became politically active in 1908 when he joined the Irish Republican BrotherhoodIrish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
. In 1916, as commandant of the Kerry Brigade of the Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
, he made preparations for the landing of arms by Roger Casement
Roger Casement
Roger David Casement —Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and shortly before his execution for treason, when he was stripped of his British honours—was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary, and nationalist....
. Although he was made aware that Casement was arrested on Easter Saturday and was being held in Tralee, he made no attempt to rescue him from Ballymullen Barracks. District Inspector Kearney of the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
treated Casement very well and made sure Stack was aware that Casement could have been rescued, yet he refused to act as his orders were to rise later.
Stack was arrested and sentenced to death for his involvement in the Rising, however, this was later commuted to penal servitude for life. He was released under general amnesty in June 1917 and was elected as an abstentionist Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Kerry West
West Kerry (UK Parliament constituency)
West Kerry was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1885 to 1922 it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland....
in the 1918 Westminster election
Irish (UK) general election, 1918
The Irish general election of 1918 was that part of the 1918 United Kingdom general election that took place in Ireland. It is seen as a key moment in modern Irish history...
, becoming a member of the 1st Dáil
Members of the 1st Dáil
This is a list of the 105 MPs who were elected for Irish seats at the 1918 United Kingdom general election. Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party, but refused to attend the British House of Commons in Westminster...
. He was automatically elected as an abstentionist member of the House of Commons of Southern Ireland and a member of the 2nd Dáil
Members of the 2nd Dáil
There were two elections in Ireland on 24 May 1921, as a result of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to establish the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The election was used by Irish republicans as the basis of membership of the 2nd Dáil. The 2nd...
as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
for Kerry–Limerick West at the 1921 elections
Irish elections, 1921
Two elections in Ireland took place in 1921, as a result of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 to establish the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. The election was used by Irish Republicans as the basis of membership of the Second Dáil...
.
He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
of 1921, and took part in the subsequent Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
. He was captured in 1923 and went on hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
for forty-one days before being released in July 1924.
Dáil
He was elected to the 3rd Dáil at the 1922 general electionIrish general election, 1922
The Irish general election of 1922 took place in Southern Ireland on 16 June 1922, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State...
and subsequent elections as an Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
TD for the Kerry constituency
Kerry (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Kerry was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1923 to 1937. The constituency elected 7 deputies to the Dáil, using the single transferable vote form of proportional representation .- History and boundaries :The...
. When Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
founded Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
in 1926, Stack remained with Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
being re-elected to the Dáil at the June 1927 general election. He did not contest the September 1927 general election
Stack's health never recovered after his hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
and he died in a Dublin hospital on 27 April 1929, aged 49.
Austin Stack Park
Austin Stack Park
Austin Stack Park is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is one of the main grounds of Kerry GAA's Gaelic football and hurling teams. The first game in Kerry GAA played under floodlights took place here in November 2001...
in his home town of Tralee, one of the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
's stadiums, is named in his honour, as is the Austin Stacks
Austin Stacks
Austin Stacks is a hurling and Gaelic football club based in Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland. It has more All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals and GAA All-Stars than any other GAA club in Ireland...
Hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
and Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
club.