John James McShane
Encyclopedia
John James McShane was a British
school teacher and Labour
politician.
, Lanarkshire
, Scotland
, and was the son of Philip McShane, a coalminer, and his wife Bridget. Both his parents were born in Ireland
. He was educated at St Ignatius School, Wishaw.
in the English Black Country
, where he was the headmaster of the St Mary's the Mount Catholic School.
In 1929
he was selected as the Labour Party's candidate to contest the Walsall parliamentary constituency
. He succeeded in taking the seat, ousting the sitting Conservative
MP William Preston
and beating the former Liberal
cabinet minister T J Macnamara
into third place. McShane was only in parliament for two years, losing his seat to Joseph Leckie
of the Liberals at the 1931 general election
.
McShane returned to teaching. He was the first headmaster of the Joseph Leckie Secondary Modern School, named after his successor in parliament, which opened in 1939.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
school teacher and Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician.
Early life
He was born in WishawWishaw
Wishaw is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow....
, Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and was the son of Philip McShane, a coalminer, and his wife Bridget. Both his parents were born in Ireland
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...
. He was educated at St Ignatius School, Wishaw.
Career
In 1909 McShane became a schoolmaster, and subsequently moved to WalsallWalsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
in the English Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
, where he was the headmaster of the St Mary's the Mount Catholic School.
In 1929
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
he was selected as the Labour Party's candidate to contest the Walsall parliamentary constituency
Walsall (UK Parliament constituency)
Walsall was a borough constituency centred on the town of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
. He succeeded in taking the seat, ousting the sitting Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP William Preston
William Preston (UK politician)
William Preston was a British industrialist and Conservative politician.Born in 1874, Preston was educated at Walsall Grammar School and Weston School, Bath. In 1907 he married Lilly Swinton Sanders, and he became managing director of William Sanders & Co Limited, a major manufacturer of...
and beating the former Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
cabinet minister T J Macnamara
Thomas James Macnamara
Thomas James Macnamara PC , was a British teacher, educationalist and Liberal politician.-Education:Macnamara was born in Montreal, Canada, the son of a soldier originally from County Clare in Ireland. His family returned to Britain in 1869 and Macnamara was educated first at the Depot School in...
into third place. McShane was only in parliament for two years, losing his seat to Joseph Leckie
Joseph Leckie
Joseph Alexander Leckie was a British Liberal, later Liberal National politician and leather manufacturer.-Education and business life:...
of the Liberals at the 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
.
McShane returned to teaching. He was the first headmaster of the Joseph Leckie Secondary Modern School, named after his successor in parliament, which opened in 1939.