James G. Douglas Explained

Office:Leas-Chathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann
Term Start:12 December 1922
Term End:9 December 1925
Predecessor:Office created
Successor:Thomas Westropp Bennett
Office1:Senator
Term Start1:22 July 1954
Term End1:16 September 1954
Term Start2:21 April 1948
Term End2:14 August 1951
Constituency2:Nominated by the Taoiseach
Term Start3:14 August 1951
Term End3:22 July 1954
Term Start4:18 August 1944
Term End4:21 April 1948
Term Start5:27 April 1938
Term End5:8 September 1943
Constituency5:Industrial and Commercial Panel
Office6:Senator
Term Start6:11 December 1922
Term End6:29 May 1936
Birth Date:11 July 1887
Birth Place:Dublin, Ireland
Party:Independent
Children:2, including John

James Green Douglas (11 July 1887 – 16 September 1954) was an Irish businessman and politician.[1] In 1922 Douglas served as the first-ever Leas-Chathaoirleach (deputy chairperson) of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the newly independent Irish parliament. Douglas would go on to serve in the Senead for 30 years.

Family

He was the eldest of nine children of John Douglas (1861–1931), originally of Grange, County Tyrone, and his wife, Emily (1864–1933), daughter of John and Mary Mitton of Gortin, Coalisland, County Tyrone.[2] The genealogy of the Douglas family to which he belonged can be traced to Samuel Douglas of Coolhill, Killyman, County Tyrone.[3]

On 14 February 1911, Douglas married Georgina (Ena) Culley (1883–1959), originally of Tirsogue, Lurgan, County Armagh. Their children were John Douglas, who replaced his father as senator, and James Arthur Douglas (1915–1990).[2]

Political career

Douglas was an Irish nationalist Quaker who managed the Irish White Cross from 1920 to 1922. He was appointed by Michael Collins as chair of the committee to draft the Constitution of the Irish Free State following the Irish War of Independence.

Douglas went on to become a very active member of Seanad Éireann between 1922 and 1936 under the constitution he had helped to prepare. In 1922 he was elected as the first deputy chair of the Senate.[4] The Senate was abolished in 1936 and re-established under the terms of the 1937 Constitution; he was again an active Senator between 1938 and 1943, and from 1944 to 1954.[5] The topics most associated with him during his work as Senator were international refugees and the League of Nations.

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: James Green Douglas. Oireachtas Members Database. 31 May 2010.
  2. Web site: Douglas, James Green. Dictionary of Irish Biography. Gaughan. J. Anthony. 4 January 2023.
  3. Memoirs of Senator James G. Douglas (1887–1954), concerned citizen
  4. Web site: Election of Vice-Chairman . Seanad Éireann - Volume 1 . 12 December 1922 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120925205316/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0001/S.0001.192212120006.html . 25 September 2012 .
  5. Web site: James Green Douglas. ElectionsIreland.org. 31 May 2010.