Frederick Basil Chubb was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 political scientist

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

, author

Author

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 and broadcaster

Presenter

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.

Chubb was the first chair

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of the new Department of Political Science at Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

, and was responsible for numerous publications which became standard works for those wishing to gain insight into Irish government and politics, most notably his The Government and Politics of Ireland, which was published in four editions. He was described as the "Father of political science in Ireland" and the "virtual inventor of Irish political science".

Early life, military service and education

Basil Chubb was born in Branksome

Branksome, Dorset

Branksome is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The area consists of mainly residential properties but also has a small commercial area. It borders Parkstone, another small Poole suburb, to the west and north, Branksome Park to the south and Westbourne to the east.Until the early part of the...

, Poole

Poole

Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...

, Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, the second eldest of five children. The family moved to Ludgershall, Wiltshire when he was still a child and he attended Bishop Wordsworth's School

Bishop Wordsworth's School

Bishop Wordsworth's School is a Church of England boys' day grammar school located in Salisbury, England. In 2010, there were 748 pupils aged between 11 and 18. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2011 was the top school performer for the English...

. He attended Merton College, Oxford

Merton College, Oxford

Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...

, but his education was interrupted by the onset of World War II. He joined the RAF, but was shot down and captured during a bombing raid over Leipzig

Leipzig

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 on 19 February 1944. He spent 15 months as a prisoner at Stalag Luft III

Stalag Luft III

Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...

, a German air force prisoner of war camp which is best known for two escapes which took place there. Basil was not one of the escapees, although he had to witness the repercussions of the various escape efforts once discovered.

Before joining the RAF, Basil had met Margaret (Margot) Rafther at Oxford, and she sent him letters and books via the Red Cross to enable him to continue his studies whilst prisoner. They would marry in 1946, following the end of the war. Also in that year, he completed his first degree in Modern History at Oxford, with a Masters from Trinity College, Dublin, Doctorate from Oxford and Doctor of Letters

Doctor of Letters

Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...

 from Trinity College, Dublin to follow. Chubb and Rafther were friends with George Orwell

George Orwell

Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...

.

Chubb became an Irish citizen

Irish nationality law

Irish nationality law is the law of the Republic of Ireland governing citizenship. A person may be an Irish citizen through birth, descent, marriage to an Irish citizen or through naturalisation. Irish nationality law is currently contained in the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship...

 in the early 1970s.

Career

His first appointment was as Political Science Lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin. This was the first full time appointment in political science at a time when Irish politics were not openly discussed. When the department of Political Science was founded in 1960 at TCD, Basil Chubb became its first chair, a post which he held until his retirement in 1991.

During his career, he produced a number of texts, including The Government and Politics of Ireland, which the Irish Times described as "the secular equivalent of an Irish political bible". He also held a number of public office posts, including chair of the Employer Labour conference (which played a crucial role in national economic policy) and chair of Comhairle na Ospidal (the Hospitals Council) from 1972 to 1979. He was a frequent broadcaster in the coverage of Irish political campaigns and helped demystify the topic for the general public through his television appearances during the Irish elections.

His wife Margot died in 1984, he subsequently married Orla Sheehan and had a daughter, Katie. He died on 8 May 2002, aged 80.

Books

He was the author of the following publications:

• The control of public expenditure: Financial committees of the House of Commons (1952)
• A Source Book of Irish Government (1964)
• The Government and Politics of Ireland (1970)
• The Constitution and Constitutional Change in Ireland (1978)
• The Politics of the Irish Constitution (1991)
• FIE 50: Federation of Irish Employers, 1942-92 (1992)

He also contributed to the following:

• Economic Development and Planning Readings in Irish Public Administration: Volume 1 (1969), as editor
• Parish Pump: Study of Democratic Efficiency and Local Government in Ireland (with Myles Tierney)

Legacy

The Political Studies Association of Ireland has established an annual award to recognise the best PhD thesis in honour of Basil's memory.

A Festschrift

Festschrift

In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...

 was assembled to mark the occasion of his retirement. Modern Irish Democracy: Essays in Honour of Basil Chubb by Ronald J Hill and Michael Marsh, was published in 1993.

See also

• Stalag Luft III
  Stalag Luft III
  Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
  
  
• Robin Neillands, ed. 2004 The Bomber War ISBN 9780719562419
• Trinity College website
• Basil Chubb, ed. 1982 The Government and Politics of Ireland ISBN 9780804711159
• Tony Rennell and John Nichol The Last Escape - The Untold Story Of Allied POWs 1944-45 ISBN 9780670032129