Editing Seán MacEntee

{{Short description|Irish politician (1889–1984)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image          = Seán_MacEntee_portrait.jpg
| caption        = MacEntee circa 1920s
| office         = [[Tánaiste]]
| taoiseach      = [[Seán Lemass]]
| term_start     = 23 June 1959
| term_end       = 21 April 1965
| predecessor    = Seán Lemass
| successor      = [[Frank Aiken]]
| office1        = [[Minister for Social Protection|Minister for Social Welfare]]
| taoiseach1     = Seán Lemass
| term_start1    = 27 November 1957
| term_end1      = 12 October 1961
| predecessor1   = [[Patrick Smith (politician)|Paddy Smith]]
| successor1     = [[Kevin Boland]]
| office2        = [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health]]
| taoiseach2     = Seán Lemass
| term_start2    = 20 March 1957
| term_end2      = 21 April 1965
| predecessor2   = [[Tom O'Higgins]]
| successor2     = [[Donogh O'Malley]]
| office3        = [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister for Local Government and Public Health]]
| taoiseach3     = [[Éamon de Valera]]
| term_start3    = 18 August 1941
| term_end3      = 18 February 1948
| predecessor3   = Éamon de Valera
| successor3     = [[Timothy J. Murphy]]<br/>{{small|(Local Government)}}
| office4        = [[Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment|Minister for Industry and Commerce]]
| taoiseach4     = Éamon de Valera
| term_start4    = 16 September 1939
| term_end4      = 18 August 1941
| predecessor4   = Éamon de Valera
| successor4     = [[Timothy J. Murphy]]
| office5        = [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]]
| taoiseach5     = Éamon de Valera
| term_start5    = 13 June 1951
| term_end5      = 2 June 1954
| predecessor5   = [[Patrick McGilligan (Fine Gael politician)|Patrick McGilligan]]
| successor5     = [[Gerard Sweetman]]
| taoiseach6     = Éamon de Valera
| term_start6    = 9 March 1932
| term_end6      = 16 September 1939
| predecessor6   = [[Ernest Blythe]]
| successor6     = [[Seán T. O'Kelly]]
| office7        = [[Teachta Dála]]
| term_start7    = [[1948 Irish general election|February 1948]]
| term_end7      = [[1969 Irish general election|June 1969]]
| constituency7  = [[Dublin South-East (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-East]]
| term_start8    = [[1937 Irish general election|July 1937]]
| term_end8      = [[1948 Irish general election|February 1948]]
| constituency8  = [[Dublin Townships (Dáil constituency)|Dublin Townships]] 
| term_start9    = [[June 1927 Irish general election|June 1927]]
| term_end9      = [[1937 Irish general election|July 1937]]
| constituency9  = [[Dublin County (Dáil constituency)|Dublin County]] 
| term_start10   = [[1921 Irish elections|May 1921]]
| term_end10     = [[1922 Irish general election|June 1922]]
| constituency10 = [[Monaghan (Dáil constituency)|Monaghan]]
| term_start11   = [[1918 Irish general election|December 1918]]
| term_end11     = [[1921 Irish elections|May 1921]]
| constituency11 = [[South Monaghan (UK Parliament constituency)|Monaghan South]]
| birth_name     = John Francis McEntee
| birth_date     = {{birth date|1889|8|23|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Belfast]], Ireland
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1984|01|09|1889|08|22|df=y}}
| death_place    = [[Booterstown]], [[Dublin]], Ireland
| resting_place  = [[Glasnevin Cemetery]], Dublin, Ireland
| nationality    = [[Irish people|Irish]]
| party          = [[Fianna Fáil]]
| otherparty     = {{ubl|[[Sinn Féin]] {{small|(1918–26)}}|[[Irish Labour Party]]{{small|(1913–18)}}| |[[Socialist Party of Ireland (1904)|Socialist Party of Ireland]]{{small|(1904–13)}}|[[Irish Socialist Republican Party]]{{small|(1903–04)}} }}
| spouse         = {{marriage|Margaret Browne|1921|1976|end=d.}}
| children       = 3, including [[Máire Mhac an tSaoi|Máire]]
| education      = {{Ubl|[[St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast|St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School]]|[[St Malachy's College]]}}
| alma_mater     = {{Ubl|Belfast Municipal College of Technology}}
|}}
[[File:Piece 207-146; John McEntee (1922).pdf|right|thumb|page=7|alt=British Army intelligence file for John McEntee|British Army intelligence file for John McEntee]]
'''Seán Francis MacEntee''' ({{langx|ga|Seán Mac an tSaoi}}; 23 August 1889 – 9 January 1984) was an Irish [[Fianna Fáil]] politician who served as [[Tánaiste]] from 1959 to 1965, [[Minister for Social Protection|Minister for Social Welfare]] from 1957 to 1961, [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health]] from 1957 to 1965, [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister for Local Government and Public Health]] from 1941 to 1948, [[Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment|Minister for Industry and Commerce]] from 1939 to 1941, [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]] from 1932 to 1939 and 1951 to 1954. He served as a [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) from 1918 to 1969. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the [[First Dáil]].<ref name=oireachtas_db>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Se%C3%A1n-MacEntee.D.1919-01-21/|title=Seán MacEntee|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=13 February 2012|archive-date=30 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530062606/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Se%C3%A1n-MacEntee.D.1919-01-21/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Early life==
Born as John McEntee at 47 King Street, [[Belfast]] on 23 August 1889, the son of James McEntee, a publican, and his wife, Mary Owens, both of whom were from [[Monaghan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/details-civil/df1cd30424445|title=General Registrar's Office|website=IrishGenealogy.ie|access-date=22 August 2017|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922213032/https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/captcha.jsp|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1901 and 1911, the family's address was 49 King Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Smithfield/King_Street/973725/|title=National Archives: Census of Ireland, 1901|website=www.census.nationalarchives.ie|language=en|access-date=2017-08-23|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922213032/http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Smithfield/King_Street/973725/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Smithfield/King_Street/186223/|title=National Archives: Census of Ireland, 1911|website=www.census.nationalarchives.ie|language=en|access-date=2017-08-23|archive-date=6 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180506145112/http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Smithfield/King_Street/186223/|url-status=live}}</ref> James McEntee was a prominent Nationalist member of [[Belfast Corporation]] and a close friend of [[Joseph Devlin|Joe Devlin]] MP.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/06/16/news/how-unionist-politician-saved-1916-rebel-sean-mcentee-from-firing-squad-560408/|title=How Unionist politician saved 1916 rebel Sean McEntee from firing squad|website=The Irish News|date=16 June 2016|language=en|access-date=2017-08-22|archive-date=22 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822095219/http://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/06/16/news/how-unionist-politician-saved-1916-rebel-sean-mcentee-from-firing-squad-560408/|url-status=live}}</ref>

MacEntee was educated at [[St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast|St Mary's Christian Brothers School]], [[St Malachy's College]] and the Belfast Municipal College of Technology where he qualified as an electrical engineer.<ref name=dib>{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/macentee-sean-john-francis-a5202|title=MacEntee, Sean (John) Francis|work=[[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]|last=McMahon|first=Deirdre|access-date=8 January 2022}}</ref> His early political involvement was with the [[Irish Socialist Republican Party]] in Belfast city. He quickly rose through the ranks of the trade union movement becoming junior representative in the city's shipyards. Following his education MacEntee worked as an engineer in [[Dundalk]], [[County Louth]], and was involved in the establishment of a local corps of the [[Irish Volunteers]] in the town. He mobilised in Dundalk and fought in the [[General Post Office, Dublin|General Post Office]] Garrison in the [[Easter Rising]] in 1916. He was sentenced to death for his part in the rising.  This sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. MacEntee was released in the general amnesty in 1917 and was later elected a member of the National Executives of both [[Sinn Féin]] and the Irish Volunteers in October 1917. MacEntee was later elected Sinn Féin [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[South Monaghan (UK Parliament constituency)|Monaghan South]] at the [[1918 Irish general election|1918 general election]].

==Rebellion years==
An attempt to develop his career as a consulting engineer in [[Belfast]] was interrupted by the [[Irish War of Independence|War of Independence]] in 1919. MacEntee served as Vice-Commandant of the Belfast Brigade of the [[Irish Republican Army]]. He was also a member of the Volunteer Executive, ''a sort of Cabinet and Directory for the Minister for Defence and the HQ Staff''<ref>Kevin B Nolan, 'Dail Eireann and the Army:  Unity and Division 1919–21, in Williams (ed.), "Irish Struggle", p.271, cited in Townshend, p.87.</ref> But MacEntee remained one of the few Sinn Féiners from the north.<ref>Others were Eoin Macneill and Ernest Blythe. William Forbes Patterson, a Canadian protestant convert to Sein Finn was commissioned by Dublin to investigate. He found that Republicans faced a pogrom in [[Ulster]]. Townshend, "The Republic", pp.172–3.</ref> On 6 August 1920, MacEntee presented 'a Memorial' lecture to the Dáil from the Belfast Corporation. He told the Dáil it was the ''only custodian of public order'', and that a Nationalist pogrom was taking place, he advised them ''to fight Belfast''.<ref>Dáil Debates, 6 Aug 1920, as cited by Townshend, p.176.</ref> The Dáil government's policy was dubbed<ref>Bureau of Military History (Ireland) WS 1096 ( J J Murray), citing in Townshend, p.376-7.</ref>''Hibernia Irredenta'' or 'Greening Ireland'. Sean MacEntee was asked to resign his South Monaghan seat, after voting against a bunting celebration in Lurgan to mark the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.{{Citation needed|date=June 2016}}

===Path to civil war===
From April 1921, when MacEntee was transferred to [[Dublin]] to direct a special anti-partition campaign in connection with the May general election. It remained Collins's policy, he declared, that the largely Protestant shipyard workers of Belfast were being directed by the British, urging all Irishmen to rejoin the Republic.<ref>Coogan, Tim Pat, "Michael Collins", p.357, cited by Townshend, p.378.</ref> Correspondingly the Ulster Unionist Council rejected the call for a review of the boundary commission decision made on Northern Ireland. But when Ulstermen chose [[James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon|James Craig]] as Premier, Collins denounced democracy in the north as a sham.<ref>Collins and Craig had a meeting at the Colonial Office, London, on 21 January 1922.</ref> It was on the partition of Ireland issue that MacEntee voted against the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]] of 1921.<ref>[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/DT/D.T.192112220002.html Dáil Éireann – Volume 3 – 22 December 1921, Debate on Treaty] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607134016/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/DT/D.T.192112220002.html |date=7 June 2011 }}</ref> During the subsequent [[Irish Civil War|Civil War]] MacEntee commanded the IRA unit in Marlboro Street Post Office in Dublin. He later fought with [[Cathal Brugha]] in the Hamman Hotel and was subsequently interned in [[Kilmainham]] and [[Gormanston Camp|Gormanstown]] until December 1923.

===Politician in the Free State===
After his release from prison, MacEntee devoted himself more fully to his engineering practice, although he unsuccessfully contested [[Dublin County (Dáil constituency)|Dublin County by-election of 1924]]. He became a founder-member of [[Fianna Fáil]] in 1926 and was eventually elected a [[Teachta Dála|TD]] for Dublin County at the [[June 1927 Irish general election|1927 general election]].<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=1232|title=Seán MacEntee|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=13 February 2012|archive-date=12 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412053507/http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=1232|url-status=live}}</ref>

MacEntee founded the Association of Patent Agents in 1929, having gained his interest in Patents when he worked as an assistant engineer in Dundalk Urban District Council.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aptma.ie/history.htm|title=Association of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys – APTMA Ireland|website=www.aptma.ie|access-date=13 February 2012|archive-date=12 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512025033/http://www.aptma.ie/history.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> On MacEntee's appointment as Minister for Finance in 1932, his colleague, Francis Litton who was acting as Secretary of the Association, circulated the members with a notice to the effect that the Association was "suspended" until MacEntee could return as he now had to devote his energies to the affairs of the State. However, the other members decided to carry on. MacEntee must have valued his status as a Patent Agent since he maintained his name on the Register for over 30 years while he held Ministerial rank in the Irish Government, although he is not thought to have taken any active part in the patent business, which was carried on by his business partners.

==In the first Fianna Fáil government (1932–1948)==
In 1932, Fianna Fáil came to power for the very first time, with MacEntee becoming Minister for Finance. In keeping with the party's [[protectionist]] economic policies, his first budget in March of that year saw the introduction of new duties on forty-three imports, many of them coming from [[UK|Britain]]. This saw retaliation from the [[British government]], which in turn provoked a response from the [[Irish government]]. This was the beginning of the ''[[Economic War]]'' between the two nations, however, a treaty in 1938, signed by MacEntee and other senior members brought an end to the issue.

During the Dáil debates on the [[Constitution of Ireland]] in 1937, MacEntee described it as 'the Constitution of a Catholic State'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1937-05-11/29|title=Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Dara Céim. – Dáil Éireann (8th Dáil) – Tuesday, 11 May 1937 – Houses of the Oireachtas|first=Houses of the|last=Oireachtas|date=11 May 1937|website=www.oireachtas.ie|access-date=22 June 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517064207/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1937-05-11/29/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1939, [[World War II]] broke out and a cabinet reshuffle resulted in MacEntee being appointed as Minister for Industry and Commerce, taking over from his rival [[Seán Lemass]]. During his tenure at this department, MacEntee introduced the important Trade Union Act (1941). In 1941, another reshuffle of ministers took place, with MacEntee becoming Minister for Local Government and Public Health. The Health portfolio was transferred to a new [[Department of Health (Ireland)|Department of Health]] in 1947. Following the [[1948 Irish general election|1948 general election]], Fianna Fáil returned to the opposition benches for the first time in sixteen years.

==Later Fianna Fáil governments (1951–1954, 1957–1965)==
In 1951, Fianna Fáil were back in government, although in minority status, depending on independent deputies for survival. MacEntee once again returned to the position of Minister for Finance where he felt it was vital to deal with the balance of payments deficit. He brought in a harsh budget in 1951 which raised income tax and tariffs on imports. His chief aim was to cut spending and reduce imports, however, this came at a cost as unemployment increased sharply. The increases were retained in his next two budgets in 1952 and 1953. It is often said that it was MacEntee's performance during this period that cost Fianna Fáil the [[1954 Irish general election|general election in 1954]]. The poor grasp of economics also did his political career tremendous damage as up to that point he was seen as a likely successor as [[Taoiseach]].  Now, however, [[Seán Lemass]] was firmly seen as the "heir apparent".

In 1957, Fianna Fáil returned to power with an overall majority with MacEntee being appointed Minister for Health. The financial and economic portfolios were dominated by Lemass and other like-minded ministers who wanted to move away from protection to free trade. He is credited during this period with the reorganisation of the health services, the establishment of separate departments of health and social welfare, and the fluoridation of water supplies in Ireland. In 1959, MacEntee became [[Tánaiste]] when Seán Lemass was elected Taoiseach.

==Retirement and death==
Following the [[1965 Irish general election|1965 general election]], MacEntee was 76 years old and retired from the government. This did not mean that he went quietly to the backbenches. He re-emerged in 1966 to launch a verbal attack on Seán Lemass for deciding to step down as party leader and Taoiseach. The two men, however, patched up their differences shortly afterwards. MacEntee retired from Dáil Éireann in 1969 at the age of 80, making him the oldest TD in Irish history.

He had a negative view of the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBv1xB-r-EY|title=The Good Old IRA comment on the Provisional IRA|via=www.youtube.com|access-date=29 January 2017|archive-date=8 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208015116/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBv1xB-r-EY|url-status=live}}</ref>

MacEntee served in the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]] and repeatedly proposed amendments that would have watered down resolutions against the [[Greek junta]] (see [[Greek case]]).<ref>{{cite journal|first=Howard D.|last=Coleman|title=Greece and the Council of Europe: The international legal protection of human rights by the political process|issue=2|date=1972|journal=Israeli Yearbook of Human Rights|pages=121–|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zx8ElGllOH8C&pg=PA121|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=0792303520|oclc=1078033270|access-date=8 September 2020|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922213032/https://books.google.com/books?id=zx8ElGllOH8C&pg=PA121|url-status=live}}</ref>

MacEntee died in [[Dublin]] on 9 January 1984, at the age of 94.<ref name=MilitaryArchives-01a>{{cite web|url=http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/detail.aspx?parentpriref=|title=Seán MacEntee|access-date=27 November 2017|publisher=Military Archives, Defence Forces of Ireland|quote=File Reference SP34REF16538<br />Name Seán MacEntee <br />Date of birth 1889<br />Date of death 1984-01-09<br />Civilian occupation Politician<br />Military Service Pensions Acts 1934 Yes <br />Grade A <br />Notes Awarded 14 years service for pension purposes.|archive-date=16 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516032123/http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/detail.aspx?parentpriref=|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=IT-1984-01-10a>Irish Times. 10 January 1984. This states that he died the previous day.</ref><ref name=EB-1985-01a>{{cite book|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britannica-Book-Year-1985-Events/dp/B000KZ0JA6|title=Britannica Book of the Year 1985: Events of 1984|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|year=1985|page=136|isbn=9780852294284 |access-date=28 November 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042347/https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britannica-Book-Year-1985-Events/dp/B000KZ0JA6|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Feeney-2009-01a>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1P8LAQAAMAAJ|title=Seán MacEntee: a political life|author=Tom Feeney|publisher=Irish Academic Press|year=2009|isbn=9780716529125|page=223|quote=He died in Dublin on 9 January 1984, at ninety-four years of age.[140]|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922213032/https://books.google.com/books?id=1P8LAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} Note 140 on page 226 says "See Irish Times, 10 January 1984, for obituary". Original from the [[University of Michigan]]. Digitized 30 June 2010</ref>

==Family==
In June 1921, he married a strongly nationalistic woman from [[County Tipperary]], Margaret Browne (1893–1976), who later taught Irish at [[Alexandra College]] and then at [[University College Dublin|UCD]]. Among Margaret's brothers were [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]] [[Michael Browne (cardinal)|Michael Browne]], poet and academic [[Monsignor]] [[Pádraig de Brún]], and author Monsignor [[Maurice Browne (author)|Maurice Browne]]. One of Seán and Margaret's daughters was the Irish poet [[Máire Mhac an tSaoi]] (1922 - 2021).<ref>{{Cite news|date=19 October 2021|title=RIP.ie|url=https://rip.ie/death-notice/m%C3%A1ire-cruise-o-brien--dublin/473328|access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref> She was married to the politician [[Conor Cruise O'Brien]] until his death. Their other daughter was Barbara MacEntee-Biggar (1928–1995), who was married to Irish Ambassador Frank Biggar (1917–1974);<ref name=NYT-1984-01-12a/><ref name=Ferriter2010-01a>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXa7m8wG84MC&pg=PA576|title=The Transformation Of Ireland 1900–2000|author=Diarmaid Ferriter|author-link=Diarmaid Ferriter|publisher=[[Profile Books]]|isbn=9781847650818|year=2010|access-date=22 March 2018|page=576|quote=... the Irish ambassador to the Common Market, Frank Biggar, was also Irish ambassador to Belgium and non-resident ambassador to Luxembourg.|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922213032/https://books.google.com/books?id=lXa7m8wG84MC&pg=PA576|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Zircon1973-01a>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re8pAQAAMAAJ|title=Who's who, what's what and where in Ireland|author=Zircon Publishing|publisher=Macmillan Information|year=1973|access-date=22 March 2018|page=27|isbn=9780225658873|quote=BIGGAR. Frank. Ambassador. Grande Croix de la Couronne (Belgium) Grande Croix du Chane (Luxembourg) lrish Ambassador to Switzerland. b. Dublin 29 May 1917. ... m. 1951 Barbara. 2nd daughter of Sean MacEntee and Margaret (nee Browne). Children John 1952 ...|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922213033/https://books.google.com/books?id=Re8pAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} Original from the [[University of Michigan]], Digitized 6 Sep 2011</ref><ref name=Ancestry01a/> Barbara and Frank's eldest son is former Irish ambassador John Biggar (1952–).<ref name=Zircon1973-01a/><ref name=Ancestry01a/><ref name=DFA-JB01a>{{cite web|url=https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/bulgaria/about-us/the-embassys-history/|title=Embassy of Ireland, Bulgaria|publisher=[[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ireland)|Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]]|access-date=22 March 2018|quote=Irish resident Ambassadors to Bulgaria ... John Biggar 2013-to 2015 (also accredited to Armenia and Georgia)|archive-date=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322143315/https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/bulgaria/about-us/the-embassys-history/|url-status=live}}</ref> Barbara and Frank's third son was Maurice Biggar (1956–2023), a "young star of [[Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)|L&H]] debates, diplomat, barrister, gaeilgeoir, linguist and poet".<ref name=Indo2023-04-02a>{{cite web|last1=De Bréadún|first1=Deaglán|authorlink=Deaglán de Bréadún|title=Obituary: Maurice Biggar, young star of L&H debates, diplomat, barrister, gaeilgeoir, linguist and poet|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/obituary-maurice-biggar-young-star-of-l-and-h-debates-diplomat-barrister-gaeilgeoir-linguist-and-poet-42414393.html|publisher=[[Irish Independent]]|date=2 April 2023|access-date=3 April 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230403095005/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/obituary-maurice-biggar-young-star-of-l-and-h-debates-diplomat-barrister-gaeilgeoir-linguist-and-poet-42414393.html|archive-date=3 April 2023|quote=}} ([[Microsoft Network|MSN]] also have a (currently free) backup copy of this article [https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/obituary-maurice-biggar-young-star-of-l-h-debates-diplomat-barrister-gaeilgeoir-linguist-and-poet/ar-AA19mGdH here]).</ref> Seán and Margaret also had a son, Seamus MacEntee (1924–2000), who lived mostly in England, working as a psychiatrist, as well as being an artist painting under the name Sagesson ("[[Sage (philosophy)|Sage]]'s son" is an English translation of the name MacEntee, which is an [[anglicisation]] of the [[Irish language|Irish]] Mac an tSaoi, meaning "Son of the wise man"<ref name=Saoi-01a>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tearma.ie/q/Saoi/|title="Saoi"|website=téarma.ie}}</ref>).<ref name=NYT-1984-01-12a>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/12/obituaries/sean-mcentee-94-founding-figure-irish-republic-dublin-jan-11-ap-sean-macentee.html|title=Obituaries: SEAN MCENTEE, 94; A FOUNDING FIGURE OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC DUBLIN, Jan. 11 (AP)|date=12 January 1984|access-date=26 November 2017|author=Associated Press (AP)|work=New York Times|quote=Mr. MacEntee is survived by his son, Seamus, and two daughters, Barbara and Maire, a Gaelic-language scholar married to former Posts and Telegraphs Minister Conor Cruise O'Brien. Mr. MacEntee's wife, Margaret, died in 1976.|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031854/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/12/obituaries/sean-mcentee-94-founding-figure-irish-republic-dublin-jan-11-ap-sean-macentee.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Ancestry01a>Biggar-Donnellan Ancestry Tree at Ancestry.com</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliographical sources==
* Beaslai, Piaras, ''Michael Collins and the Making of a New Ireland'' 2 vols, (Dublin 1926)
* Boyce, George D & Alan O' Day (eds.) ''The Ulster Crisis 1885–1921'' (Basingstoke 2006)
* Coogan, Tim Pat, ''Michael Collins: A biography'' (London 1990)
* Costello, Francis, ''Enduring the Most: The Life and Death of Terence MacSwiney'' (Dingle 1995)
* Curran, Joseph, ''The Birth of the Irish Free State'' (Tuscaloosa, Ala, USA 1980)
* Doherty, Gabriel & Dermot Keogh (eds) ''Michael Collins and the Making of the Irish State'' (Cork 1998)
* Farrell, Brian, ''Creation of the Dail'' (Dublin 1994)
*{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1P8LAQAAMAAJ|title=Seán MacEntee: a political life|author=Feeney, Tom|publisher=Irish Academic Press|year=2009|isbn=9780716529125}} Original from the [[University of Michigan]]. Digitized 30 Jun 2010
* Foy, Michael T., ''Michael Collins' Intelligence War: The Struggle between the British and the IRA 1919–1921'' (Stroud 2006)
* Lynch, Robert, ''The Northern IRA and the Early Years of Partition, 1920–1922'' (Dublin 2006)
* McDermott, Jim, ''Northern Divisions: The Old IRA and the Belfast Pogroms 1920–22'' (Belfast 2001)
* Morgan, Austen, ''Labour and Partition: The Belfast Working Class 1905–23'' (London 1990)
* Phoenix, Eamon, ''Northern Nationalism: Nationalist Politics, Partition and the Catholic Minority in Northern Ireland, 1890–1940'' (Belfast 1994)

==External links==
* {{cite TIWW |article=Macentee, John Francis |page=150 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before = [[John McKean (politician)|John McKean]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[South Monaghan (UK Parliament constituency)|Monaghan South]]
       |years  = 1918–1922}}
{{s-non|reason  = Constituency abolished}}

{{s-par|ie/oi}}
{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Teachta Dála]] for [[South Monaghan (UK Parliament constituency)|Monaghan South]]
       |years  = 1918–1921}}
{{s-non|reason  = Constituency abolished}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Ernest Blythe]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]]
       |years  = 1932–1939}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Seán T. O'Kelly]]}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Seán Lemass]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment|Minister for Industry and Commerce]]
       |years  = 1939–1941}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Seán Lemass]]}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Éamon de Valera]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister for Local Government and Public Health]]
       |years  = 1941–1948}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Timothy J. Murphy]]
       |as     = Minister for Local Government}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Patrick McGilligan (Fine Gael politician)|Patrick McGilligan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister for Finance (Ireland)|Minister for Finance]]
       |years  = 1951–1954}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Gerard Sweetman]]}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Tom O'Higgins]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health]]
       |years  = 1957–1965}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Donogh O'Malley]]}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Patrick Smith (politician)|Paddy Smith]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister for Social Protection|Minister for Social Welfare]]
       |years  = 1957–1961}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Kevin Boland]]}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Seán Lemass]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Tánaiste]]
       |years  = 1959–1965}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Frank Aiken]]}}
{{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:MacEntee, Sean}}
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