P. J. Ruttledge
Ruttledge in 1933
Minister for Local Government and Public Health
In office
8 September 1939 – 14 August 1941
PresidentÉamon de Valera
Preceded bySeán T. O'Kelly
Succeeded bySeán MacEntee
Minister for Justice
In office
8 February 1933 – 8 September 1939
PresidentÉamon de Valera
Preceded byJames Geoghegan
Succeeded byGerald Boland
Minister for Lands and Fisheries
In office
9 March 1932 – 8 February 1933
PresidentÉamon de Valera
Preceded byFionán Lynch
Succeeded byJoseph Connolly
Vice President of Sinn Féin
In office
11 July 1923 – 16 May 1926
LeaderÉamon de Valera
Preceded byArthur Griffith
Succeeded byJohn Madden
Teachta Dála
In office
August 1923 – 8 May 1952
ConstituencyMayo North
In office
May 1921 – August 1923
ConstituencyMayo North and West
Personal details
Born(1892-01-01)1 January 1892
Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland
Died8 May 1952(1952-05-08) (aged 60)
Galway, Ireland
Political party
Spouse
Helena Roddy
​
​
(m. 1920; died 1951)​
Children4
Education
Alma materTrinity College Dublin
Military service
Branch/service
Battles/wars

Patrick Joseph Ruttledge (1 January 1892 – 8 May 1952) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Local Government and Public Health from 1939 to 1941, Minister for Justice from 1933 to 1939, Minister for Lands and Fisheries from 1932 to 1933 and Vice President of Sinn Féin from 1923 to 1926. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1921 to 1951.[1]

Born in Ballina, County Mayo, in 1892.[2] He was educated at St Muredach's College and later at St. Enda's School, Rathfarnham, Dublin, run by Patrick Pearse. After studying at Trinity College Dublin, he qualified as a solicitor in 1918 and built up a practice in his home town.[3]

During the Irish War of Independence he was active in the Irish Republican Army. He was a close friend of Seán Mac Diarmada, with whom he lived for some time.[3] He also took part in local politics, becoming chair of Ballina Urban Council from 1919 to 1932 and chair of Mayo County Council from 1922 to 1926.

He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1921 as a Sinn Féin TD for Mayo North and West.[4] He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and joined the Republican forces and was seriously injured during the Civil War.[3] He was re-elected to the Dáil again in 1923 for Mayo North and in a further ten elections until 1951. In 1926, Ruttledge was a founder-member of Fianna Fáil.

He joined the cabinet of Éamon de Valera in 1932, serving as Minister for Lands and Fisheries, Minister for Justice and Minister for Local Government and Public Health, resigning in 1941 for the officially stated reason of "ill health". However, it is speculated by some historians that his actual motivation for the resignation was that he morally objected to the execution of IRA members by the Fianna Fáil government.[5] During Ruttledge's tenure as Minister for Justice, he had executed three men for IRA activity but commuted the death sentences of eight other men.[6] Ruttledge continued to work as TD for over a decade after his resignation despite his "ill health".

Ruttledge died in 1952 while still a member of the Dáil. He was described by the Irish Times as 'a gentle, kind and upright man'. He married Helena Roddy in 1920, and they had one son who died young and three daughters. A horsebreeder, he was a member of the Turf Club and won the Irish Derby with Mondragon in 1939.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Patrick Ruttledge". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  2. ↑ Coleman, Marie. "Ruttledge, Patrick Joseph". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Obituary: Mr P. J. Ruttledge, T. D.", Irish Times, 9 May 1952.
  4. ↑ "Patrick J. Ruttledge". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Ó Beacháin, Donnacha (12 November 2010). Destiny of the Soldiers – Fianna Fáil, Irish Republicanism and the IRA, 1926–1973: The History of Ireland's Largest and Most Successful Political Party. Gill Books. ISBN 9780717151660. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  6. ↑ O'Donnell, Ian (9 November 2017). Justice, Mercy, and Caprice: Clemency and the Death Penalty in Ireland. OUP Oxford. p. 146. ISBN 9780198798477. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
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