He was elected as a Cumann na nGaedhealTD for the National University at a by-election held on 3 November 1923.[1] His time in Government was marked by economic retrenchment and a focus on low taxation. At the beginning of his time in office he declared that "People may have to die in this country and may have to die of starvation".[5] Between 1924 and 1932, McGilligan served as Minister for Industry and Commerce, notably pushing through the Shannon hydroelectric scheme, then the largest hydroelectricity project in the world. In 1927, he set up the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), and also the Agricultural Credit Corporation.[3]
Minister for External Affairs
Request page of Irish Free State passport (issued 1930). "We, Patrick McGilligan, Esquire, Minister for External Affairs of the Irish Free State, Request and require, in the name of His Majesty George V. King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely etc."
Following the 1932 general election, Cumann na nGaedhael were sent into opposition for the first time as Fianna Fáil took over as the government. Tensions between the two parties ratcheted up as both sides began to turn towards paramilitaries. The Irish Republican Army began to disrupt Cumann na nGaedhael public meetings, and in turn, a pro-Cumann na nGaedhael paramilitary called the Army Comrades Association (later better known as the Blueshirts) was created to counteract the IRA and disrupt Fianna Fáil meetings. As the links between the Blueshirts and Cumann na nGaedhael rapidly developed, sitting CnaG Teachta Dála Thomas F. O'Higgins became the leader of the ACA. He was joined by a number of other CnaG TDs including McGilligan. Cumann na nGaedhael, The National Centre Party and the Blueshirts would eventually merge into one new party called Fine Gael in the aftermath of the 1933 general election and the banning of the Blueshirts. Despite their combination of strength, they failed to make much of an impact in the 1934 local elections either. In fact, Fine Gael would remain in opposition until the 1948 general election.[6]
During this period in opposition from 1932 to 1948, McGilligan built up a law practice and became professor of constitutional and international law at University College Dublin. When the National University Dáil constituency was abolished in 1937 (before being recreated in the Seanad in 1938), McGilligan was elected as TD for Dublin North-West.[1]
Inter-Party governments
In 1948, McGilligan was appointed Minister for Finance in the first Inter-Party Government. As Minister, he undertook some major reforms. He instigated a new approach where the government invested radically in capital projects.[clarification needed] Colleagues however complained of his frequent absence from cabinet and the difficulty of contacting him at the Department of Finance. Between 1954 and 1957, he served as Attorney General, a job in which, as he himself admitted, he felt far more at home in than as Minister for Finance. He retired from Dáil Éireann at the 1965 general election, having served for over 40 years.[3]
Death and legacy
Patrick McGilligan died in Dublin on 15 November 1979; at the age of ninety. A later Attorney General, John M. Kelly in the preface to his definitive text, The Irish Constitution (1980), noted the remarkable number of senior judges who were former students of McGilligan and suggested that given his own firm belief in the value of judicial review he deserves much of the credit for the remarkable development of Irish law in this field since the early 1960s.[3]
References
^ abc"Patrick McGilligan". Oireachtas Members database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
