Henry Leo Barniville 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...

 independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 politician and surgeon.

He was educated at Rockwell College

Rockwell College

Rockwell College, founded in 1864, is a private Catholic secondary school near Cashel, South Tipperary in Ireland. It offers day as well as full boarding. Rockwell is run by the Holy Ghost Fathers.-Politics:...

, County Tipperary

County Tipperary

County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...

 and studied medicine at the National University of Ireland

National University of Ireland

The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...

. After graduation in 1916, he worked as house surgeon at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin, eventually becoming senior surgeon at the hospital. He was professor of surgery at University College Dublin

University College Dublin

University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

 from 1928 to 1958.

He was elected to the new Irish 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

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...

 in 1922 for 3 years. He was re-elected in 1925 for a 12 year term and served until the Free State Seanad was abolished in 1936. When the new Seanad Éireann

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...

 was established in 1937, he was elected by the National University of Ireland constituency

National University of Ireland (constituency)

National University of Ireland is a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, through which graduates of the National University of Ireland have elected members of various legislative bodies including currently Seanad Éireann.-Summary:...

. He was re-elected at each subsequent election and served until his death in office in 1960.