Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin
Encyclopedia
Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, MBE
, TD
(30 July 1914 – 25 April 1999) was an Irish journalist
, author, sports official, the sixth president of the International Olympic Committee
(IOC). He succeeded his uncle as Baron Killanin
in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
in 1927, which allowed him to sit in the House of Lords
as Lord Killanin upon turning 21.
, son of Lieut-Col. the Hon. George Morris and Dora Wesley Hall. His father was killed in action near Villers-Cotterêts
, France, on 1 September 1914 while commanding the Irish Guards
. He was a member of one of the fourteen families making up the Tribes of Galway
. He was educated at Eton College
, the Sorbonne
in Paris and then Magdalene College, Cambridge
where he was President of the renowned Footlights
dramatic club. In the mid 1930s, he began his career as a journalist, working for the Daily Express
, the Daily Sketch
and subsequently the Daily Mail
. In 1937-38, he was war correspondent
during the Second Sino-Japanese War
.
, County Galway in 1945. She was the granddaughter of Henry Wallace Doveton Dunlop, who built Lansdowne Road sports stadium
in Dublin in 1872. Her father was Canon Douglas Dunlop, rector of Oughterard. Lord and Lady Killanin had three sons, George Redmond ("Red")
, Michael ("Mouse")
, and John, and a daughter, Deborah.
, where he was responsible for recruiting fellow journalists and friends who were musicians and actors. He reached the rank of Major
and took part in the planning of D-Day
and the Battle of Normandy in 1944, acting as Brigade Major for the 30th Armoured Brigade, part of the 79th Armoured Division
, receiving by the course of operations the Order of the British Empire
. After being demobilized, he went to Ireland
. He resigned his TA commission in 1951.
, and became his country's representative in the IOC in 1952. He climbed up to senior vice-president in 1968, and succeeded Avery Brundage
to the presidency of the IOC, being elected at the 73rd IOC Session in Munich, held prior to the 1972 Summer Olympics
- between 21 and 24 August 1972.
During his presidency, the Olympic movement experienced a difficult period, dealing with the financial flop of the 1976 Montréal Olympics
and the boycotts of the 1980 Moscow Olympics
. Seen from IOC's point of interest, worse decisions were taken. The cities of Lake Placid
and Los Angeles
were 'chosen' for 1980 Winter
and 1984 Summer Games
without any competing cities, resulting in a demanding position of the IOC - instead of a claiming one. He resigned just before the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and his position was taken over by Juan Antonio Samaranch
.
in Ireland from 1961 to 1984.
. He also produced films, including The Playboy of the Western World
and The Rising of the Moon
.
, County Galway
, he was buried in the family vault in the New Cemetery, Galway
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
(30 July 1914 – 25 April 1999) was an Irish journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, author, sports official, the sixth president of the International Olympic Committee
Presidents of the International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is a corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on 23 June 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees...
(IOC). He succeeded his uncle as Baron Killanin
Baron Killanin
Baron Killanin, of Galway in the County of Galway, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1900 for the Irish lawyer and politician Michael Morris, Baron Morris, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1887 to 1889 and a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1889 to 1900...
in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
in 1927, which allowed him to sit in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
as Lord Killanin upon turning 21.
Early life
Morris was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, son of Lieut-Col. the Hon. George Morris and Dora Wesley Hall. His father was killed in action near Villers-Cotterêts
Villers-Cotterêts
Villers-Cotterêts is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-Geography:It is located NE of Paris via the RN2 facing Laon...
, France, on 1 September 1914 while commanding the Irish Guards
Irish Guards
The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...
. He was a member of one of the fourteen families making up the Tribes of Galway
Tribes of Galway
The Tribes of Galway were fourteen merchant families who dominated the political, commercial, and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late-19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, D'Arcy, Deane, Font, Ffrench, Joyce, Kirwan,...
. He was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris and then Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
where he was President of the renowned Footlights
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University....
dramatic club. In the mid 1930s, he began his career as a journalist, working for the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, the Daily Sketch
Daily Sketch
The Daily Sketch was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton.It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers but in 1925 Rothermere offloaded it to William and Gomer Berry The Daily Sketch was a British national tabloid newspaper,...
and subsequently the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. In 1937-38, he was war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
.
Family
Lord Killanin married (Mary) Sheila Cathcart Dunlop (1918–2007) of OughterardOughterard
Oughterard is a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. The population of the town in 2006 was 1,305...
, County Galway in 1945. She was the granddaughter of Henry Wallace Doveton Dunlop, who built Lansdowne Road sports stadium
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
in Dublin in 1872. Her father was Canon Douglas Dunlop, rector of Oughterard. Lord and Lady Killanin had three sons, George Redmond ("Red")
Red Morris, 4th Baron Killanin
George Redmond Fitzpatrick Morris, 4th Baron Killanin is an Irish film producer.He is the son of the 3rd Baron Killanin, former President of the International Olympic Committee. He was educated at Gonzaga College Dublin, Ampleforth College and the University of Dublin...
, Michael ("Mouse")
Mouse Morris
Michael 'Mouse' Morris is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey.As a jockey he rode Skymas to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1976 and 1977 and Billycan to win the 1977 Irish Grand National, while his most notable successes as a trainer have come with Buck House in the 1983 Supreme...
, and John, and a daughter, Deborah.
Military career
In November 1938, Morris was commissioned into the Queen's Westminsters a territorial unit of the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, where he was responsible for recruiting fellow journalists and friends who were musicians and actors. He reached the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and took part in the planning of D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
and the Battle of Normandy in 1944, acting as Brigade Major for the 30th Armoured Brigade, part of the 79th Armoured Division
79th Armoured Division
The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist British Army armoured formation created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944...
, receiving by the course of operations the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. After being demobilized, he went to Ireland
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...
. He resigned his TA commission in 1951.
President of the IOC
In 1950, Morris became the head of the Olympic Council of IrelandOlympic Council of Ireland
The Olympic Council of Ireland or OCI is the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Ireland. Its mission is "to develop and protect the Olympic Movement in Ireland, in accordance with the International Olympic Committee’s guiding document — the Olympic Charter."-History:After the First...
, and became his country's representative in the IOC in 1952. He climbed up to senior vice-president in 1968, and succeeded Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage was an American amateur athlete, sports official, art collector, and philanthropist. Brundage competed in the 1912 Olympics and was the US national all-around athlete in 1914, 1916 and 1918...
to the presidency of the IOC, being elected at the 73rd IOC Session in Munich, held prior to the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
- between 21 and 24 August 1972.
During his presidency, the Olympic movement experienced a difficult period, dealing with the financial flop of the 1976 Montréal Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
and the boycotts of the 1980 Moscow Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
. Seen from IOC's point of interest, worse decisions were taken. The cities of Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
were 'chosen' for 1980 Winter
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
and 1984 Summer Games
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
without any competing cities, resulting in a demanding position of the IOC - instead of a claiming one. He resigned just before the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and his position was taken over by Juan Antonio Samaranch
Juan Antonio Samaranch
Don Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquis of Samaranch, Grandee of Spain , known in Catalan as Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló , was a Catalan Spanish sports administrator who served as the seventh President of the International Olympic Committee from 1980 to 2001...
.
Other positions
Morris served as Honorary Consul-General of MonacoMonaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
in Ireland from 1961 to 1984.
Film
Morris was also a director of many companies and dabbled in the film industry, collaborating with his lifelong friend, John Ford, on The Quiet ManThe Quiet Man
The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
. He also produced films, including The Playboy of the Western World
The Playboy of the Western World
The Playboy of the Western World is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on January 26, 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo during the early 1900s...
and The Rising of the Moon
The Rising of the Moon
"The Rising of the Moon" is an Irish ballad recounting a battle between the United Irishmen and the British Army during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.-Description:...
.
Death
Morris died at his home in Dublin aged 84 and, following a bilingual funeral Mass at St Enda's Church in SpiddalSpiddal
Spiddal is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway in Ireland. It is west of Galway city on the R336 road. Spiddal is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht near Connemara, and is a tourist centre with a scenic beach, harbour, and shore fishing.-The village:The Mac...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, he was buried in the family vault in the New Cemetery, Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
.
Selected works
- Four days, an account of the 1938 Munich crisis, edited by Lord Killanin. London, W. Heinemann, Ltd. (1938).
- Sir Godfrey Kneller & His Times, by Lord Killanin. B. T. Batsford Ltd., (England) (1948).
- Olympic Games, by Lord Killanin. MacMillan Publishing Company (1 Feb 1976), ISBN 0029757304.
- Shell Guide to Ireland, by Lord Killanin, M.V. Duignan, Peter Harbison (Editor). Macmillan; 3Rev Ed edition (May 1989). ISBN 0333469577.
- The Fitzroy: The Autobiography of a London Tavern, by Lord Killanin, Sally Fiber, and Clive Powell-Williams. Temple House; 1st edition (21 Aug 1995). ISBN 1857760239.
- My Olympic Years, by Lord Killanin. Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd; First Edition edition (9 May 1983). ISBN 0436233401.
- My Ireland: A Personal Impression, by Lord Killanin. Gallery Books (Nov 1987). ISBN 0831762861.
Resources
- Lord Killanin. GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
obituary. Retrieved: 2010-10-23. - Lord Killanin, Olympic Leader, Dies at 84 by Richard Goldstein (two pages). New York Times obituary, April 26, 1999. Retrieved: 2010-10-23.
- An Irishman and his family: Lord Morris and Killanin, by Maud Wynne. Publisher: J. Murray (1937).
- Lord Killanin (1914-1999), Maire Boran, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical SocietyGalway Archaeological and Historical SocietyThe Galway Archaeological and Historical Society was founded on the 21 March 1900, at the Railway Hotel, Galway. It promotes the study of the archaeology and history of the west of Ireland. Since 1900, the Society has published 60 volumes of the Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical...
, Volume 53, 2001, 218-19.