Clongownians of Distinction

Page 52

I

Clongowes 1895-1902 Patrick ‘P.J.’ Little Patrick ‘P.J.’ Little (1884-1963), minister for posts and telegraphs and first director of the Arts Council, was a native of Dublin who attended Clongowes in 1895-1902. He studied law at UCD, where he was a prominent debater and managed St Stephen’s magazine. This gave him a taste for journalism, and he edited a succession of Sinn Féin newspapers in 1915-26, including New Ireland, Éire and An Phoblacht. He also practised as a solicitor. He was on the Sinn Féin executive in 1917-22 and was narrowly defeated in the 1918 general election, when he stood for Sinn Féin in Rathmines. Subsequently he went to South America and South Africa as a diplomatic representative of Dáil Éireann. He opposed the AngloIrish treaty and fought with the Four Courts garrison in the civil war. He was a founding member of Fianna Fáil in 1926. Elected TD for East Waterford in 1927, he held his Dáil seat until his retirement in 1954. He was parliamentary secretary to Éamon de Valera and government chief whip, until his appointment as minister for posts and telegraphs in 1939-48. His brief included broadcasting, which he believed should not be under direct state control. He supported both traditional and classical music, and was responsible for the establishment of the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra in 1947. He championed the establishment of a national concert hall and sought the establishment of a council for national culture. His ideas largely underlay the inter-party government’s Arts Act of 1951, which established the Arts Council. When Fianna Fáil returned to office soon afterwards, Little was appointed the Arts Council’s first director by de Valera, who had long relied on him for advice on artistic matters. He was an energetic director, and as effective as the limited available finances allowed. He established specialist panels to advise on particular aspects of the arts and also promoted local advisory committees, an initiative that ultimately petered out. He was twice a member of the Council of State. For many years he worked with the sick at Lourdes.

Clongownians of Distinction

51


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James Lynch

1hr
pages 54-122

Enoch Louis Lowe

1min
page 53

Matthew Lawless

1min
page 51

Patrick ‘P.J.’ Little

1min
page 52

Thomas Lane

1min
page 50

Thomas ‘Tom’ Kettle

1min
page 48

Sir Gilbert Laithwaite

1min
page 49

James Fitzgerald-Kenney

1min
page 47

James Joyce

1min
page 46

James Hogan

1min
page 43

Sir Andrew Horne

1min
page 45

John Vincent Holland

1min
page 44

George Hodnett

1min
page 42

James Hanlon

1min
page 40

Richard James ‘Jim’ Hayes

1min
page 41

William Hackett, SJ

1min
page 39

Hugh Geoghegan

1min
page 35

Thomas Finlay

1min
page 34

Aubrey Gwynn, SJ

1min
page 37

Oliver St John Gogarty

1min
page 36

Francis Hackett

1min
page 38

Thomas Esmonde

1min
page 33

Eugene Esmonde

1min
page 32

William Doolin

1min
page 31

Andrew Devane

1min
page 30

Patrick Cunningham

1min
page 27

Joseph Dalton, SJ

1min
page 28

James Deeny

1min
page 29

James Cullen, SJ

1min
page 26

George Crosbie

1min
page 24

Sir Francis Cruise

1min
page 25

Thomas Crean

1min
page 23

James Corboy, SJ

1min
page 19

John Conmee, SJ

1min
page 18

Timothy Corcoran, SJ

1min
page 20

Michael Courtney

1min
page 21

Edward Coyne, SJ

1min
page 22

Sir William Butler

1min
page 17

James Bayley Butler

1min
page 16

James Aloysius Burke/ Séamus de Búrca

1min
page 15

Introduction

3min
pages 6-7

Frederick Boland

1min
page 11

Thomas Bodkin

1min
page 10

Joseph Brennan

1min
page 12

Stephen Brown, SJ

0
page 13

John Bruton

1min
page 14

Alfred Aylward

1min
page 8

Daniel Binchy

1min
page 9
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