‘We always vote Redmond in this house’

In 1966 Dr Garret Fitzgerald learned at first hand the intricacies of Waterford city politics. While canvassing for Eddie Collins, the Fine Gael candidate in a by-election, he was told repeatedly at the door steps “you need not worry sir, we always vote Redmond in this house”. That response fascinated him – the use of the present tense though the last of the name to represent Waterford, Bridget Redmond had died in 1952 and the obvious pride in the Redmond legacy even though that year was the golden jubilee of the 1916 Rising when John Redmond hardly merited a mention.

The ongoing devotion to the Redmond family had been forged in bitter election battles in the 1890s and again in 1918. John Redmond, described memorably by Michael Laffan as “shy, aloof, formal and ponderous, ….an English style country squire devoted to hunting and shooting”, had contested the Cork city by-election after the death of his friend and hero, Parnell, in October 1891.

He was subject to the full fury of the anti-Parnell clerical storm – “a vote for Redmond is a vote for Parnell; a vote for Parnell is a vote for adultery; adultery is a mortal sin; therefore a vote for Redmond is a mortal sin of the deepest dye”, and was soundly beaten at the polls. It seemed that he was finished electorally but in politics where there is death there is hope. Another opportunity, possibly his last chance, presented itself when the MP for Waterford city died.

In Waterford Redmond secured the backing of the Ballybricken Pig Buyers Association the economic and political heartbeat of the city. Described by the Freeman’s Journal as “porter filled rowdies from Ballybricken” they won both the street battles and the electoral poll against no less an opponent than Michael Davitt, who himself was struck by a stick and injured during an affray.

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Even members of the Roman Catholic clergy were not immune from violence, being “forced to defend themselves with their umbrellas from attacks by drunken Redmond supporters”. The same mix of violence and the electoral triumph of John Redmond marked the general elections of 1892 and 1895 in Waterford city. After 1895 he was never again opposed.

In turn Redmond repaid his debt to the constituency. He supported the pig buyers in a bitter dispute with the factory owners when they successfully went on strike to preserve their monopoly. The city benefitted from his attention most notably in a new bridge across the river Suir, the first toll-free crossing of the river Suir. That support never wavered in his hour of triumph with the Home Rule Bill 1912-1914, during the World War or as national support deserted him after the Easter 1916 Rising.

In October 1916, “a broken man” in the eyes of one observer, he made what was to be his last visit to Waterford where he spoke of “Waterford’s tradition of fidelity to a leader in trouble”. When a few Sinn Féin supporters started to sing “Who fears to speak of Easter Week” they were speedily and muscularly dealt with by Ballybricken men, a comment presumably on their political views not their musical ability.

Less than 18 months later John Redmond was dead. Many of his supporters believed that he had died of a broken heart, his life’s work undone by a resurgent Sinn Féin. In a last display of the unbreakable bond between John Redmond and Waterford the pall bearers at his funeral in Wexford were not fellow MPs from the Irish Parliamentary Party or members of the Redmond family but 10 members of the Ballybricken Pig Buyers Association.

The loyalty of the people of Waterford to the Redmonds was most spectacularly demonstrated in the by-election and general election of 1918. On both occasions John Redmond’s son, William Archer, won the seat amid scenes of street violence reminiscent of his father’s battles in the 1890s. De Valera himself was roughed up when he attempted to canvass in the city and was lucky to reach the safety of the Sinn Féin election rooms with his hat, coat and ego, all in tatters! Local legend has it that Dev never forgave Waterford city for his treatment at the hands of the citizens.

Waterford loved the Redmonds and in return they served the people of the city and county well

William Redmond stood as an independent in the 1923 general election, winning a seat in the Dáil, a seat he retained until his untimely death in April 1932. In 1926 he founded and let a new party, the National League which sought to build on the remnants of the old Irish Parliamentary Party. His party won eight seats in the general election of June 1927. For one week, in August 1927, he had the power to make or to break the government. Instead he broke his party. In an ill-advised move he supported a vote of no confidence in the house, a vote which was lost when one of his TDs, John Jinks was absent from the vote, allegedly having been plied with drink by government supporters who then put him on a train to Sligo! The general election of September 1927 wiped out the National League though Redmond held his seat. A few years later he was probably lucky to be acquitted when tried for manslaughter following a road accident when he was suspected of driving under the influence. He joined the government party, Cumann na nGaedheal, in 1931 but collapsed and died in April 1932. To many it seemed at the time that his death marked the end of the Redmond political dynasty in Waterford.

William Redmond had married Bridget Mallick from Newbridge in November 1930. When her husband died there was no expectation that she would contest the vacancy. In the Ireland of the 1930s both church and state believed that a woman’s place was in the home. It was a surprise to many that Bridget, young and with no experience of public life, agreed to let her name go forward. She threw herself into public life with enthusiasm, winning a seat in 1933 and at each election subsequently until her death, aged 48, in 1952. She was instrumental in leading the Blueshirt movement in Waterford and in organising Fine Gael in the city and in county. In the Dáil she was not a frequent contributor but when she spoke on issues such as education, the place of women in the 1937 constitution and on the declaration of an Irish republic in 1948 her contributions were measured and well researched.

In contrast to her husband and father-in-law she did not have a national profile but her very presence in the Dáil was important for the cause of women’s representation. She was not a feminist but in her own way she proved that a woman could be as effective a TD as any man.

Redmondism in Waterford was more a personal attachment to the family than a political philosophy. In the elections from 1891 to 1951 policies were rarely discussed: the focus was on the candidate. Waterford loved the Redmonds and in return they served the people of the city and county well. With that support John, William and Bridget Redmond were able to play their parts on the national stage.

The Redmonds and Waterford, A Political Dynasty 1891-1952 by Pat McCarthy is published by Four Courts Press