Timothy J. Murphy (died 29 April 1949) 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...

 Labour Party

Labour Party (Ireland)

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

 politician.

A native of Dunmanway

Dunmanway

Dunmanway is a town in County Cork, in the southwest of Ireland. It is the geographical centre of the region known as West Cork. It is probably best known as the birthplace of Sam Maguire, an Irish Protestant republican, for whom the trophy of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is...

, he was first 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...

 at the 1923 general election

Irish general election, 1923

The Irish general election of 1923 was held on 27 August 1923. The newly elected members of the 4th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 19 September when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed. The election was held just after the end...

 as a TD

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...

 for Cork West

Cork West (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Cork West was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1923 to 1961...

. He was re-elected at the next nine general elections, but remained on the opposition benches of the Dáil until 1948 when the Labour Party joined the First Inter-Party Government. The Taoiseach

Taoiseach

The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 John A. Costello

John A. Costello

John Aloysius Costello , a successful barrister, was one of the main legal advisors to the government of the Irish Free State after independence, Attorney General of Ireland from 1926–1932 and Taoiseach from 1948–1951 and 1954–1957....

 then appointed him as Minister for Local Government.

Murphy died suddenly in 1949, little more than a year into his tenure as a Cabinet Minister. The by-election for his seat in the Dáil was held on 15 June 1949, and won for the Labour Party by William J. Murphy

William J. Murphy (Labour politician)

William J. Murphy is a former Irish Labour Party politician.He was elected as a Labour Party Teachta Dála for the Cork West constituency at the 1949 by-election on 15 June. Aged just 21 years and 29 days at the time, he is the youngest ever TD, the next youngest being Lorcan Allen...

.

His brief time as minister had seen him initiate a comprehensive house-building programme, designed to tackle the country's considerable housing shortage. By 1951, some 12,000 new houses had been constructed.

An area of Murphy's home town of Dunmanway today bears the name "T.J. Murphy Place".

External links

• Timothy J. Murphy's electoral history (ElectionsIreland.org)