Justin McCarthy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Justin McCarthy (22 November 1830 – 1912) was an Irish politician, historian and novelist.
He was born in Cork, and was educated at a school there. He began his career as a journalist, aged 18, in Cork. From 1853 to 1859 he was in Liverpool, on the staff of the Northern Daily Times, during which period he married (in March 1855) Charlotte Ailman.
In 1860 he moved to London, as parliamentary reporter to The Morning Star, of which he became editor in 1864.
He gave up his post in 1868, and, after a lecturing tour in the United States, joined the staff of the Daily News as leader-writer in 1870. In this capacity he became one of the most useful and respected upholders of the liberal politics of the time. He lectured again in America in 1870-1871, and again in 1886-1887.
He represented County Longford in Parliament as a Liberal and Home Ruler from 1879 to 1885; North Longford, 1885-1886; Londonderry City, 1886-1892; and North Longford from 1892 to 1900. He was chairman of the Irish National Federation or Anti-Parnellite wing of the Irish Parliamentary Party after the fall of Charles Stewart Parnell for a year in 1891-1892; but his nationalism was of a temperate and orderly kind, and though his personal distinction singled him out for the chairmanship during the party dissensions of this period, he was in no active sense the political leader.
His real bent was towards literature. His earliest publications were novels, some of which, such as A Fair Saxon (1873), Dear Lady Disdain (1875), Miss Misanthrope (1878), Donna Quixote (1879), attained considerable popularity. His most important work is his History of Our Own Times (vols. i.iv., 1879-1880; vol. v., 1897),which treats of the period between Queen Victoria's accession and her Diamond Jubilee. Easily and delightfully written, and on the whole eminently sane and moderate, these volumes form a brilliant piece of narrative from a Liberal standpoint. He also began a History of the Four Georges (1884 1901), of which the latter half was written by his son, Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859-1936).
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
| Preceded by Charles Edward Lewis |
Member of Parliament for Londonderry City 1886–1892 |
Succeeded by John Ross |
Categories: Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica | 1830 births | 1912 deaths | Anti-Parnellite MPs | Historians | Irish Parliamentary Party MPs | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from Irish constituencies (1801-1922) | People from County Cork | UK MPs 1874-1880 | UK MPs 1880-1885 | UK MPs 1885-1886 | UK MPs 1886-1892 | UK MPs 1892-1895 | UK MPs 1895-1900
