Seán Lemass

Seán Francis Lemass (Irish: Seán Proinsias Lemass, 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966. A veteran of the 1916 Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War, Lemass was first elected as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South constituency in a by-election on 18 November 1924 and was returned at each election until the cons... more

Seán Francis Lemass (Irish: Seán Proinsias Lemass, 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966. A veteran of the 1916 Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War, Lemass was first elected as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South constituency in a by-election on 18 November 1924 and was returned at each election until the constituency was abolished in 1948, when he was re-elected for Dublin South Central until his retirement in 1969. He was a founder-member of Fianna Fáil in 1926, and served as Minister for Industry and Commerce, Minister for Supplies, and Tánaiste in successive Fianna Fáil governments. Lemass is remembered for putting in place innovations to develop Irish industry and for forging new links between the Republic and Northern Ireland in the 1960s. John Francis Lemass was born in Ballybrack, Co. Dublin. He was the second of seven children born to John... less