Editing John A. Costello

{{Short description|Taoiseach (1948–1951, 1954–1957)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = John A. Costello
| image         = John A. Costello, 1948.png
| caption       = Costello in 1948
| office        = [[Taoiseach]]
| president     = [[Seán T. O'Kelly]]
| 1blankname    = [[Tánaiste]]
| 1namedata     = [[William Norton]]
| term_start    = 2 June 1954
| term_end      = 20 March 1957
| predecessor   = [[Éamon de Valera]]
| successor     = Éamon de Valera
| president1    = Seán T. O'Kelly
| 1blankname1   = Tánaiste
| 1namedata1    = William Norton
| term_start1   = 18 February 1948
| term_end1     = 13 June 1951
| predecessor1  = Éamon de Valera
| successor1    = Éamon de Valera
| office2       = [[Leader of the Opposition (Ireland)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| president2    = Seán T. O'Kelly
| taoiseach2    = Éamon de Valera
| term_start2   = 20 March 1957 
| term_end2     = 21 October 1959 
| predecessor2  = Éamon de Valera
| successor2    = [[James Dillon (Fine Gael politician)|James Dillon]]
| president3    = Seán T. O'Kelly
| taoiseach3    = Éamon de Valera
| term_start3   = 13 June 1951
| term_end3     = 2 June 1954
| predecessor3  = Éamon de Valera
| successor3    = Éamon de Valera
| office4       = [[Attorney General of Ireland]]
| president4    = [[W. T. Cosgrave]]
| term_start4   = 9 January 1926
| term_end4     = 9 March 1932
| predecessor4  = [[John O'Byrne]]
| successor4    = [[Conor Maguire (judge)|Conor Maguire]]
| office5       = [[Teachta Dála]]
| term_start5   = [[1948 Irish general election|February 1948]]
| term_end5     = [[1969 Irish general election|June 1969]]
| constituency5 = [[Dublin South-East (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-East]]
| term_start6   = [[1944 Irish general election|May 1944]]
| term_end6     = [[1948 Irish general election|February 1948]]
| term_start7   = [[1937 Irish general election|July 1937]]
| term_end7     = [[1943 Irish general election|June 1943]]
| constituency7 = [[Dublin Townships (Dáil constituency)|Dublin Townships]]
| term_start8   = [[1933 Irish general election|January 1933]]
| term_end8     = [[1937 Irish general election|July 1937]]
| constituency8 = [[Dublin County (Dáil constituency)|Dublin County]] 
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1891|6|20|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Fairview, Dublin]], Ireland
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1976|1|5|1891|6|20|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Ranelagh]], Dublin, Ireland
| resting_place = [[Deans Grange Cemetery]], Dublin, Ireland
| nationality   = [[Irish people|Irish]]  
| party         = [[Fine Gael]]
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[Ida Mary O'Malley]]|1919|1956|end=died}}
| children      = 4, including [[Declan Costello|Declan]]
| relations     = [[Caroline Costello]] (granddaughter)
| education     = {{Ubl|[[St Joseph's, Fairview]]|[[O'Connell School]]}}
| alma_mater    = {{Ubl|[[University College Dublin]]|[[King's Inns]]}}
|}}
'''John Aloysius Costello''' (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish [[Fine Gael]] politician who served as [[Taoiseach]] from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957. He was [[Leader of the Opposition (Ireland)|leader of the opposition]] from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959 and [[Attorney General of Ireland|attorney general]] from 1926 to 1932. He served as a [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) from 1933 to 1943 and from 1944 to 1969.<ref name=oireachtas_db>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/John-Aloysius-Costello.D.1933-02-08/|title=John Aloysius Costello|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=19 January 2019|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107225009/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/John-Aloysius-Costello.D.1933-02-08|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Early life==
Costello was born on 20 June 1891, in [[Fairview, Dublin]]. He was the younger son of John Costello senior, a civil servant, and Rose Callaghan.<ref name=dib>{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/costello-john-aloysius-a2080|title=Costello, John Aloysius|work=[[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]|last=Lysaght|first=Charles|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref> He was educated at [[St Joseph's, Fairview]] and then moved to [[O'Connell School]] for senior classes. He later attended [[University College Dublin]], where he graduated with a degree in modern languages and law. He studied at [[King's Inns]] to become a barrister, winning the Victoria Prize there in 1913 and 1914.

Costello was called to the [[Irish Bar]] in 1914 and practised as a barrister until 1922.<ref name=dib/>

==Irish Free State==
In 1922, Costello joined the staff at the office of the attorney general in the newly established [[Irish Free State]]. Three years later he was called to the inner bar, and the following year, 1926, he became attorney general upon the formation of the [[Cumann na nGaedheal]] government led by [[W. T. Cosgrave]]. While serving in this position he represented the Free State at [[Imperial Conferences]] and [[League of Nations]] meetings.<ref>Anthony Jordan (2007). ''J. John A. Costello 1891-1976 Compromise Taoiseach'' ( Westport Books), p, 22.</ref>

He was also elected a bencher of the Honourable Society of King's Inns. Costello lost his position as attorney general when [[Fianna Fáil]] came to power in 1932. The following year, however, he was elected to [[Dáil Éireann]] as a Cumann na nGaedheal TD. His party soon merged with other parties to form [[Fine Gael]].<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web |url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=1837 |title=John A. Costello |work=ElectionsIreland.org |access-date=1 June 2009 |archive-date=27 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827084146/http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=1837 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Blueshirts speech===
On 28 February 1934, a Dáil debate was held on a bill to outlaw the wearing of uniforms (specifically designed to curtail the [[Blueshirts]], a uniformed movement then associated with Fine Gael and formed to defend their candidates, meeting and rallies from IRA attack). Costello made a speech opposing the bill that has generated controversy ever since. In response to an assertion by [[Minister for Justice (Ireland)|minister for justice]] [[P. J. Ruttledge]], that the Blueshirts had fascist leanings like the Italian [[Blackshirts]] and German [[Brownshirts]], and that other European nations had taken similar actions against similar organisations, Costello stated:

{{cquote|The Minister gave extracts from various laws on the Continent, but he carefully refrained from drawing attention to the fact that the Blackshirts were victorious in Italy and that the Hitler Shirts were victorious in Germany, as, assuredly, in spite of this Bill [..] the Blueshirts will be victorious in the Irish Free State.<ref name=Oireachtas>{{cite book |title=Dáil Éireann – Volume 50 – 28 February 1934 |publisher=Oireachtas |location=Dublin |page=15 |url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0050/D.0050.193402280015.html |access-date=17 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925204515/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0050/D.0050.193402280015.html |archive-date=25 September 2012}}</ref>}}

The remark was a small part of a much longer speech whose main point was that the bill was an unconstitutional overreaction by the Fianna Fáil government and an unfair scapegoating of the Blueshirts movement.<ref name=Oireachtas /> However, the quote has since been the subject of much debate regarding the extent to which the Blueshirts, and by extension Fine Gael – and Costello himself – had ties to European fascist movements.<ref>{{cite book |title=Opposing fascism: community, authority and resistance in Europe |url=https://archive.org/details/opposingfascismc00kirk |url-access=limited |last=Kirk |first=Tim |author2=Anthony McElligott |year=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/opposingfascismc00kirk/page/n102 91]|isbn=9780521483094 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=International solidarity with the Spanish Republic, 1936–1939 |author=Anonymous |year=1974 |publisher=Progress Publishers |location=Moscow |page=191}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Reluctant Taoiseach: A Biography of John A. Costello |last=McCullagh |first=David |year=2010 |publisher=Gill & Macmillan |location=Dublin |isbn=978-0-7171-4646-8 |pages=536}}</ref>

===Other Dáil activity===
During the Dáil debate on the [[Emergency Powers Act 1939]], Costello was highly critical of the act's arrogation of powers, stating: {{cquote|We are asked not merely to give a blank cheque, but, to give an uncrossed cheque to the Government.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ó Longaigh |first=Seosamh |editor-last1=Keogh |editor-first1=Dermot |editor-last2=O'Driscoll |editor-first2=Mervyn |title=Emergency Law in Action, 1939–1945 (Ireland in World War II: Diplomacy and Survival) |publisher=Mercier Press |year=2004 |location=Cork |pages=64 |isbn=1-85635-445-8}}</ref>}} He lost his seat at the [[1943 Irish general election|general election of 1943]] but regained it when de Valera called a [[1944 Irish general election|snap election in 1944]]. From 1944 to 1948, he was Fine Gael front-bench spokesman on External Affairs.

===1948 general election===
{{main|1948 Irish general election}}

In 1948, Fianna Fáil had been in power for sixteen consecutive years and had been blamed for a downturn in the economy following [[World War II]]. The [[1948 Irish general election|general election]] results showed Fianna Fáil short of a majority, but still by far the largest party and appearing to be headed for a seventh term in government.

However, the other parties in the Dáil realised that between them, they had only one seat fewer than Fianna Fáil; if they banded together, they would be able to form a government with the support of seven Independent deputies. Fine Gael, the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]], the [[National Labour Party (Ireland)|National Labour Party]], [[Clann na Poblachta]] and [[Clann na Talmhan]] joined to form the first [[Coalition government|inter-party]] [[Government of the 13th Dáil|government]] in the history of the Irish state.<ref>McCullagh pp.157–165</ref>

==Taoiseach (1948–1951)==
[[File:"Ireland's New Premier" - John Costello elected Taoiseach, February 1948.webm|thumb|left|240px|[[British Movietone]] newsreel reporting upon Costello's ascension to the office of Taoiseach]]
Since [[Fine Gael]] was the largest party in the coalition government, it had the task of providing a suitable candidate for [[Taoiseach]]. The Fine Gael leader, [[Richard Mulcahy]], was unacceptable to [[Clann na Poblachta]] and its deeply republican leader, [[Seán MacBride]]. This was due to Mulcahy's record during the [[Irish Civil War]].<ref>McCullagh p.159</ref> Instead, Fine Gael and Clann na Poblachta agreed on Costello as a compromise candidate. Costello had never held a ministerial position nor was he involved in the Civil War. When told by Mulcahy of his nomination Costello was appalled, being content with his life as a barrister and as a part-time politician. He was persuaded to accept the nomination as Taoiseach by close non-political friends.<ref>John A. Costello, Compromise Taoiseach, Anthony J. Jordan, Westport Books, 2007, pp. 9–13. {{ISBN|978-0-9524447-8-7}}.</ref>

===Declaration of the republic ===
During the campaign, Clann na Poblachta had promised to repeal the [[Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936|External Relations Act]] of 1936 but did not make an issue of this when the government was being formed. However, Costello and his [[Tánaiste]], [[William Norton]] of the Labour Party, also disliked the act. During the summer of 1948, the cabinet discussed repealing the act; however, no firm decision was made.

In September 1948, Costello was on an official visit to [[Canada]] when a reporter asked him about the possibility of Ireland leaving the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]]. Costello, for the first time, declared publicly that the Irish government was indeed going to repeal the External Relations Act and declare Ireland a republic.<ref>McCullagh p.209</ref> It has been suggested that this was a reaction to offence caused by the [[Governor General of Canada]] at the time, [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|the Earl Alexander of Tunis]], who was of Northern Irish descent and who allegedly arranged to have placed symbols of Northern Ireland—notably a replica of the famous [[Roaring Meg (cannon)|Roaring Meg]] cannon used in the [[Siege of Derry]]—in front of Costello at an official dinner.<ref>McCullagh p.210</ref> Costello made no mention of these aspects on the second reading of the Republic of Ireland Bill on 24 November and,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0113/D.0113.194811240051.html |title=Dáil Éireann – Volume 113 – 24 November 1948 – the Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Second Stage |access-date=2012-08-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912171258/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0113/D.0113.194811240051.html |archive-date=12 September 2012}} Dáil Éireann – Volume 113 – 24 November 1948 The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Second Stage</ref> in his memoirs, claimed that Alexander's behaviour had been perfectly civil and could have had no bearing on a decision which had already been made.<ref>McCullagh pp.207–212</ref>

The news took the [[Government of the United Kingdom]] and even some of Costello's ministers by surprise. The former had not been consulted and, following the declaration of the Republic in 1949, the UK passed the [[Ireland Act 1949|Ireland Act]] that year. This recognised the Republic of Ireland and guaranteed the position of [[Northern Ireland]] within the United Kingdom for so long as a majority there wanted to remain in the United Kingdom. It also granted full rights to any citizens of the republic living in the United Kingdom. Ireland left the Commonwealth on 18 April 1949, when the [[Republic of Ireland Act 1948]] came into force. [[Frederick Henry Boland]], Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, said caustically that the affair demonstrated that "the Taoiseach has as much notion of diplomacy as I have of astrology."<ref>McCullagh p.197</ref> The British envoy [[John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby|Lord Rugby]] was equally critical of what he called a "slipshod and amateur" move.

Many [[Irish nationalism|nationalists]] now saw [[Partition of Ireland|partition]] as the last obstacle on the road to total national independence. Costello tabled a motion of protest against partition on 10 May 1949, without result.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0115/D.0115.194905100042.html |title=Dáil Éireann – Volume 115 – 10 May, 1949 – Protest Against Partition—Motion |access-date=2010-02-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606110800/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0115/D.0115.194905100042.html |archive-date= 6 June 2011 }} Dáil Éireann – Volume 115 – 10 May 1949 Protest Against Partition—Motion.</ref>

===Mother and Child Scheme===
In 1950, the independent-minded [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health]], [[Noel Browne]], introduced the [[Mother and Child Scheme]]. The scheme would provide mothers with free maternity treatment and their children with free medical care up to the age of sixteen, which was the normal provision in other parts of Europe at that time. The bill was opposed by doctors, who feared a loss of income, and [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] bishops, who opposed the lack of means testing envisaged and feared the scheme could lead to birth control and abortion. The cabinet was divided over the issue, many feeling that the state could not afford such a scheme priced at IR£2,000,000 annually. Costello and others in the cabinet made it clear that in the face of such opposition, they would not support the Minister. Browne resigned from the government on 11 April 1951, and the scheme was dropped. He immediately published his correspondence with Costello and the bishops, something which had hitherto not been done. Derivatives of the Mother and Child Scheme would be introduced in the Public Health Acts of 1954, 1957 and 1970.

Costello took the opportunity to reconfirm his beliefs in Catholicism on 12 April 1951, in his speech on Dr. Browne's resignation: {{cquote|I have no hesitation in saying that we, as a Government, representing a people, the overwhelming majority of whom are of the one faith, who have a special position in the Constitution, when we are given advice or warnings by the authoritative people in the Catholic Church, on matters strictly confined to faith and morals, so long as I am here—and I am sure I speak for my colleagues—will give to their directions, given within that scope—and I have no doubt that they do not desire in the slightest to go one fraction of an inch outside the sphere of faith and morals—our complete obedience and allegiance." ... "I am an Irishman second, I am a Catholic first, and I accept without qualification in all respects the teaching of the hierarchy and the church to which I belong.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0722/1224301128686.html |title="Irish Times" timeline, 22 July 2011 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=11 August 2011 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725065150/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0722/1224301128686.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0125/D.0125.195104120043.html Dáil Éireann – Volume 125 – 12 April 1951 Adjournment Debate—Resignation of Minister; seen on 11 December 2011] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016233243/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0125/D.0125.195104120043.html |date=16 October 2013 }}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oireachtas |first=Houses of the |date=1951-04-12 |title=Adjournment Debate—Resignation of Minister. – Dáil Éireann (13th Dáil) – Thursday, 12 Apr 1951 – Houses of the Oireachtas |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1951-04-12/43 |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=oireachtas.ie}}</ref>

===Coalition achievements===
The Costello government had several noteworthy achievements. A new record was set in housebuilding, the [[IDA Ireland|Industrial Development Authority]] and Córas Tráchtála were established, and the Minister for Health, Noel Browne, with the then new [[Streptomycin]], brought about an advance in the treatment of tuberculosis.<ref>McCullagh p.236</ref> Ireland also joined a number of organisations such as the [[Organization for European Economic Co-operation]] and the [[Council of Europe]]. However, the government refused to join [[NATO]], allegedly because the British remained in [[Northern Ireland]]. The scheme to supply electricity to even the remotest parts of Ireland was also accelerated.

===Election defeat===
[[File:They're Peelers not Sojers.jpg|thumb|An Taoiseach John A. Costello inspects ranks of An Gárda Síochána in Glenties during the 1951 election campaign]]
While the "Mother and Child" incident did destabilise the government to some extent, it did not lead to its collapse as is generally thought. The government continued; however, prices were rising, a balance of payments crisis was looming, and two TDs withdrew their support for the government. These incidents added to the pressure on Costello and so he decided to call a [[1951 Irish general election|general election]] for June 1951. The result was inconclusive but Fianna Fáil returned to power. Costello resigned as Taoiseach. It was at this election that Costello's son [[Declan Costello|Declan]] was elected to the Dáil.<ref>McCullagh p.256</ref>

Over the next three years while Fianna Fáil was in power a dual-leadership role of Fine Gael was taking place. While Richard Mulcahy was the leader of the party, Costello, who had proved his skill as Taoiseach, remained as parliamentary leader of the party. He resumed his practice at the Bar; what is arguably his most celebrated case, the successful defence of ''The Leader'' against a libel action brought by the poet [[Patrick Kavanagh]], dates from this period.<ref>McCullagh pp.272–274</ref> Kavanagh generously praised Costello's forensic skill, and the two men became friends.<ref>McCullagh p.274</ref>

==Taoiseach (1954–1957)==
At the [[1954 Irish general election|1954 general election]] Fianna Fáil lost power. A campaign dominated by economic issues resulted in a Fine Gael-Labour Party-[[Clann na Talmhan]] government coming to power. Costello was elected Taoiseach for the second time.<ref>McCullagh p.285</ref>

The government could do little to change the ailing nature of Ireland's economy, with emigration and unemployment remaining high, and external problems such as the [[Suez Crisis]] compounding the difficulty. Measures to expand the Irish economy such as export profits tax relief introduced in 1956 would take years to have a sizable impact.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barry |first=Frank |last2=Daly |first2=Mary |title=Mr. Whitaker and Industry: Setting the Record Straight |url=http://www.tara.tcd.ie/bitstream/handle/2262/58446/03%20Barry%20article_ESRI%20Vol%2042-2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |journal=Economic & Social Review |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=159–68}}</ref> Costello's government did have some success with Ireland becoming a member of the [[United Nations]] in 1955, and a highly successful visit to the [[United States]] in 1956, which began the custom by which the Taoiseach visits the [[White House]] each [[Saint Patrick's Day]] to present the [[US President]] with a bowl of [[shamrock]].<ref>McCullagh p.331</ref> Although the government had a comfortable majority and seemed set for a full term in office, a resumption of [[Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)|IRA]] activity in Northern Ireland and [[Great Britain]] caused internal strains (see [[Border Campaign (Irish Republican Army)|Border Campaign]]). The [[Irish Government|government]] took strong action against the [[Irish republicanism|republicans]].

Despite supporting the government from the backbenches, Seán MacBride, the leader of [[Clann na Poblachta]], tabled a [[motion of no confidence]], based on the weakening state of the economy and in opposition to the government's stance on the IRA. Fianna Fáil also tabled its motion of no confidence, and, rather than face almost certain defeat, Costello again asked [[President of Ireland|President]] [[Seán T. O'Kelly]] to dissolve the [[Oireachtas]]. The [[1957 Irish general election|general election]] which followed in 1957 gave Fianna Fáil an overall majority and started another sixteen years of unbroken rule for the party. Some of his colleagues questioned the wisdom of Costello's decision to call an election; the view was expressed that he was tired of politics, and depressed by his wife's sudden death the previous year.<ref>McCullagh p.366</ref>

==Retirement==
Following the defeat of his government, Costello returned to the bar. In 1959, when Richard Mulcahy resigned the leadership of Fine Gael to [[James Dillon (Fine Gael politician)|James Dillon]], Costello retired to the backbenches. Costello could have become party leader had he been willing to act in a full-time capacity.<ref>John A. Costello, Compromise Taoiseach, Anthony J. Jordan, Westport Books, 2007, pp. 163–64, {{ISBN|978-0-9524447-8-7}}.</ref> He remained as a TD until 1969, when he retired from politics, being succeeded as Fine Gael TD for [[Dublin South-East (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-East]] by [[Garret FitzGerald]], who himself went on to become [[Taoiseach]] in a Fine Gael-led government.

During his career, he was presented with several awards from many universities in the United States. He was also a member of the [[Royal Irish Academy]] from 1948. In March 1975, he was made a freeman of the city of Dublin, along with his old political opponent Éamon de Valera. He practised at the bar until a short time before his death, in Dublin, on 5 January 1976, at the age of 84.

==Governments==
The following governments were led by Costello:
*[[Government of the 13th Dáil#5th government of Ireland|5th government of Ireland]] (February 1948 – June 1951)
*[[Government of the 15th Dáil#7th government of Ireland|7th government of Ireland]] (June 1954 – March 1957)

==See also==
*[[List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland]]

==Further reading==
*''John A. Costello 1891-1976 Compromise Taoiseach'', [[Anthony J. Jordan]], Westport Books 2007. 
*''The Reluctant Taoiseach'', 2010 book, [[David McCullagh]].<ref name=McCullagh>[http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1014/cosgravel.html "''The Reluctant Taoiseach''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016233818/http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1014/cosgravel.html |date=16 October 2010 }}. [[RTÉ News and Current Affairs]]. 15 October 2010.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{PM20|FID=pe/003498}}

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