John Charles McQuaid
John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. (28 July 1895 – 7 April 1973), was the Catholic Primate of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin between December 1940 and January 1972. He was known for the unusual amount of influence he had over successive governments.
John Charles McQuaid
Dublin
1940–1972
29 June 1924
27 December 1940
28 July 1895
7 April 1973 (aged 77)
Loughlinstown, County Dublin, Ireland
Teacher
Early life and education[edit]
John Charles McQuaid was born in Cootehill, County Cavan, on 28 July 1895, to Eugene McQuaid and Jennie Corry. His mother died shortly after his birth. His father remarried and McQuaid's new wife raised John and his sister Helen as her own. It was not until his teenage years that John learned that his biological mother had died.[1]
McQuaid first attended Cootehill National School, the headmaster of which considered him to be an outstanding pupil. Thereafter, he attended St. Patrick's College in Cavan Town and then Blackrock College in Dublin, run by the Holy Ghost Fathers. In 1911, he entered Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare with his brother Eugene.[1]
In 1913, on completion of his secondary education, McQuaid entered the novitiate of the Holy Ghost Fathers in Kimmage, Dublin. The celebrations of the centenary of the birth of Thomas Davis, a well-known Protestant nationalist, occurred in that year; McQuaid referred at that time in his notebook to Davis's famous question: "What matter that at different shrines, we pray unto one God?" He noted: "Yes for a logical Protestant but No for Catholics. We must heed what is in the creed. [...] If a neutral nationality be set up, if Protestants are drawn in and not converted, is not the supernatural end missed?"
While serving his novitiate, McQuaid studied at University College Dublin, where he was awarded a first class honours BA in 1917 and MA in Ancient Classics in 1918. He was also awarded an honours Higher Diploma in Education in 1919, while acting as prefect in Blackrock College.
McQuaid was ordained a priest on 29 June 1924. He attended the Gregorian University in Rome, where he completed a doctorate in theology.
Appointment as Archbishop[edit]
McQuaid's appointment in 1940 to the Archdiocese of Dublin, the second most important and populous in the country, came at a more stable point in Irish politics, following the violence involving the IRA and the Blueshirts and the tensions caused by the Economic War with the UK in the 1930s. The beginning of "the Emergency" (Ireland's term for the Second World War), had produced a new mode of national consensus. Also McQuaid's relations with the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, were at that time excellent in contrast to most of the hierarchy who were distinctly cool towards him. de Valera later said that he had been impressed by McQuaid's social concerns at a time when the hardships of the war were particularly affecting the poor. The hierarchy and clergy of the Irish Church reflected the views of the strong and middling farmer class from which they were mostly drawn and were uncomprehending of urban life and poverty. McQuaid, as de Valera knew, was different and this was reflected in his first Lenten pastoral in 1941. "The very widespread yearning for social peace is itself proof of the grave need of social reform", McQuaid wrote. But he emphasised that "whatever shape the detailed reform of the social structure ultimately may take, the only lasting basis of reconstruction can be the true faith that we profess."[9]
David C. Sheehy, Dublin diocesan archivist, wrote in 2003 that McQuaid, whom he describes as being a prima donna, "saw the achievement of high office as the natural and appropriate outcome for someone of his background, education and talents."[10]
Social issues[edit]
National Teachers' Strike, 1946[edit]
The seven-month strike by the Irish National Teachers Organisation in 1946 strained the relationship between McQuaid and de Valera, who was Taoiseach at the time. Primary school teachers wanted a wage increase and parity with their secondary school colleagues. As former teachers (and de Valera had also been Minister for Education in 1939/1940), both men had a very high opinion of the teaching profession but the Government was facing severe financial constraints. De Valera acknowledged the national teachers' great responsibilities, but was not only unwilling to grant them parity with secondary teachers, but refused to meet their more modest pay demands. McQuaid eventually realised that his support for the teachers would not overcome de Valera's objections and he then persuaded them to end their strike.[23]
Italian communism, 1947–1948[edit]
McQuaid organised funds for post-war relief in various European countries, and notably for Italy. He also attempted to rally Irish public opinion to join in his, shared by the Irish government, regarding the spread of Communism in European countries. Aside from sending clothing, footwear and food, for which he arranged that shipping costs would be borne by the Irish government, he sent £20,000 for use against Communists in the 1948 Italian general election.[24]
Mother and Child Scheme, 1950–1951[edit]
In the early 1950s, Noel Browne, the First Inter-Party Government's Minister of Health – shocked by the absence of ante-natal care for pregnant women, and the resulting infant mortality rates in Ireland – proposed providing free access to health care for mothers and children in a new Mother and Child Scheme. The government of the time sought approval from the Catholic Church in relation to the scheme. McQuaid strongly criticised the scheme, claiming it was against the "moral teaching" of the Catholic Church. This criticism by McQuaid, in the context of his strong personal political influence, and that of the Catholic Church, resulted in the government withdrawing the scheme, and the resignation of Browne. Browne's resignation ignited a controversy as he passed on correspondence between the Bishop's house and his own department to the editor of the Irish Times, R. M. "Bertie" Smyllie. The letters revealed that McQuaid and the Church held what some would deem an inappropriate level of sway over the Irish government. This controversy sparked a debate amongst the Irish people about the relationship between the church and the state.[25][26]
Yugoslavian football match boycotts, 1952–1955[edit]
In the 1950s Yugoslavia was run by the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. Its courts had sent Cardinal Stepinac to prison for collaborating with the fascist Ustaše during the Second World War and he was released in 1951. The Catholic Church felt that it was still being discriminated against by the regime. McQuaid persuaded the Football Association of Ireland to cancel a match between Yugoslavia and the Republic of Ireland in 1952.[27] He then unsuccessfully called for a boycott when a similar match was arranged for October 1955.[28] McQuaid did however persuade the radio broadcaster Philip Greene not to commentate the match, which led to the memorable newspaper headline: "Reds turn Greene Yellow".[29][30]