Frank C. J. MacDermot was an 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...

 barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 and politician.

MacDermot was born in Dublin, the seventh and youngest son of Hugh Hyacinth O'Rorke MacDermot

Hugh Hyacinth O'Rorke MacDermot

Hugh Hyacinth O'Rorke MacDermot, Prince of Coolavin PC, JP, DL, QC , was an Irish lawyer.-Background:MacDermot was the eldest son of Charles Joseph MacDermot by his wife Arabella Mary, only child of Hyacinth O'Rorke, representative of the House of O'Rorke of Breffny...

, Prince of Coolavin

Prince of Coolavin

Prince of Coolavin was a title first applied by popular usage to Charles MacDermot, 1707–1758, then head of the MacDermot family of Moylurg. Up to the late 16th century the head of the family were still Kings of Moylurg, but had lost their lands due to confiscation.The adoption of the term...

. He was educated at Downside School

Downside School

Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent school for children aged 11 to 18, located in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, between Norton Radstock and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, south west England. It is attached to Downside Abbey...

 and the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 and qualified as a barrister. He was commissioned into the Army Service Corps during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and ended the war as a Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. He later emigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and became a banker in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 from 1919–27. He returned to Ireland in the late 1920s and stood unsuccessfully as an Independent Republican

Independent Republican (Ireland)

Independent Republican was a political title frequently used by Irish republicans when contesting elections in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland since the 1920s....

 candidate for Belfast West

Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)

Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries:The seat was restored in 1922 when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...

 in the 1929 United Kingdom general election

United Kingdom general election, 1929

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...

. An Anglophile

Anglophilia

An Anglophile is a person who is fond of English culture or, more broadly, British culture. Its antonym is Anglophobe.-Definition:The word comes from Latin Anglus "English" via French, and is ultimately derived from Old English Englisc "English" + Ancient Greek φίλος - philos, "friend"...

 he was elected to Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

 in the 1932 Irish general election

Irish general election, 1932

The Irish general election of 1932 was held on 16 February 1932, just over two weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 29 January. The newly elected 153 members of the 7th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 9 March 1932 when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of...

 as an Independent Teachta Dála

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 (TD) for Roscommon

Roscommon (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Roscommon was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1923 to 1969 and from 1981 to 1992...

. He founded the National Centre Party

National Centre Party (Ireland)

The National Centre Party, initially known as the National Farmers and Ratepayers League, was a short-lived political party in the Irish Free State...

 that year with James Dillon and became the party’s leader.

He was a persistent critic of Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 and Éamon de Valera

Éamon de Valera

Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...

. He criticised the abolition of the oath of allegiance, the abolition of the Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

 Seanad Éireann

Seanad Éireann (Irish Free State)

Seanad Éireann was the upper house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State from 1922–1936. It has also been known simply as the Senate, or as the First Seanad. The Senate was established under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State but a number of constitutional amendments were...

, the abolition of the Governor-General

Governor-General of the Irish Free State

The Governor-General was the representative of the King in the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. Until 1927 he was also the agent of the British government in the Irish state. By convention the office of Governor-General was largely ceremonial...

 and the introduction of the Constitution of Ireland

Constitution of Ireland

The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...

 in 1937 arguing each time that these actions would copper-fasten partition

Partition of Ireland

The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...

 and arguing of the need for rapprochement

Rapprochement

In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word rapprocher , is a re-establishment of cordial relations, as between two countries...

 with the government of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 and the wider Unionist

Unionism in Ireland

Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...

 Community. He continually stated that partition could only be addressed when Dublin-London relationships were normalised. He was widely regarded as one of the best speakers in the Dáil.

In 1933 he led the National Centre Party to merge with Cumann na nGaedheal and the Blueshirts to form Fine Gael

Fine Gael

Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 and MacDermot became a Vice-President of the party. He did not seek re-election in 1937 but surprisingly joined Fianna Fáil that year. He had had personal differences with his Fine Gael colleagues on issues such as the degree of emphasis to be given to Ireland's membership of the Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

. De Valera appointed him to the re-established Seanad

Seanad Éireann

Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...

 as a Senator in 1938. He remained in the Seanad until 1943. During World War II, he was a critic of Irish neutrality throughout his time in the upper house, arguing that Ireland should be fighting with the allies. He subsequently became the U.S. and Paris correspondent for The Irish Times

The Irish Times

The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...

newspaper.