Dáil loans

"Dáil funds case" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Sinn Féin Funds case.

The Dáil loans were bonds issued in 1919–21 by the Dáil (parliament) of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic to raise the Dáil funds or Republican funds, used to fund the state apparatus the Republic was attempting to establish in opposition to the Dublin Castle administration of the internationally recognised United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The subscribers were Irish nationalists, in Ireland for the Internal Loan and in the United States for the External Loan.

Raising of loans

When Michael Collins was appointed Minister for Finance in the Dáil Ministry on 2 April 1919, the First Dáil authorised him to use anti-conscription funds raised in 1917–18, "Republican Bonds", and other funding.[1][2] The Dáil approved the First Dáil Loan on 19 June 1919.[3] This was for £500,000, half in an Internal Loan raised in Ireland, half in an External Loan raised in the United States ($1.25m at an exchange rate of $4.50 to the pound).[4][5] Both were oversubscribed, and the External limit was increased in August 1919 to $25m.[6] The money raised was held in bank accounts in Ireland and the United States controlled by three trustees: Éamonn de Valera, President of Dáil Éireann; Michael Fogarty, the Catholic Bishop of Killaloe; and James O'Mara.[3][7] £25,000 worth of gold was buried in concrete in Batt O'Connor's garden.[8] On 27 March 1920, Alan Bell, a resident magistrate investigating bank accounts linked to the Dáil, was taken from a tram and shot by Collins' IRA "Squad".[9] The Second Dáil on 26 August 1921 approved the Second Dáil Loan of £500,000 internal and $20,000,000 external,[10] which was launched in America on 15 October 1921 and raised $700,000 before being suspended after the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 6 December 1921.[11] About $2,500,000 of the total of $5,800,000 raised in America had been sent to the Dáil Ministry in Ireland by then.[11]

Internal loan

The Cork Examiner was closed by the military authorities in 1919 for publishing the prospectus of the internal loan.[12]

Origin of internal loan subscriptions[13]
Area Amount (£)
Connacht 57,797
Munster 171,177
Leinster 87,444
Ulster 41,297
Great Britain and France 11,647
Cumann na mBan 801
Total 370,163

External loan

Patrick McCartan was appointed ambassador to the United States by the First Dáil. De Valera went on a fundraising tour of America from June 1919 to December 1920. O'Mara went to the United States in September 1919 and liaised with the Friends of Irish Freedom.[14] O'Mara fell out with de Valera over management of the funds and resigned his post in May 1921.[14] De Valera replaced him with his brother Stephen M. O'Mara.[11] The amount raised by the first loan was about $5,100,000 external and £375,000 internal.[2][11]

Reimbursement of funds

The Dáil split over the Treaty and the pro- and anti-Treaty factions agreed to freeze the bank accounts until the situation was resolved. The Irish Civil War of 1922–23 was won by the forces of the Irish Free State established under the 1921 treaty. The Free State Oireachtas' Dáil Eireann Loans and Funds Act, 1924 vested the Dáil loan funds in its Minister for Finance.[15] In 1925, the Free State courts released the Dáil funds in Irish bank accounts to the Free State Executive Council, which undertook to redeem the bonds. In 1927, the Supreme Court of New York ruled that the Dáil funds in bank accounts there should be returned to subscribers. De Valera, now leader of the opposition Fianna Fáil party, urged his American supporters to use their refunds to invest in The Irish Press newspaper. The Executive Council refused to implement the New York court decision until after the 1932 general election, when the first Fianna Fáil government took office. Repayment was "effectively completed" by 1936,[16] under the Dáil Eireann Loans and Funds (Amendment) Acts of 1933[17] and 1936.[18]

References

Sources

Citations

  1. ↑ "Financial Proposals". First Dáil debates. 2 April 1919. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 McKenna, Joseph (2011-02-17). Guerrilla Warfare in the Irish War of Independence, 1919-1921. McFarland. p. 34. ISBN 9780786485192. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Finance — trustee deed.". First Dáil debates. 19 June 1919. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Finance — loan prospectus". First Dáil debates. 19 June 1919. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Finance — Form of Application, 1919 Issue (Internal)". First Dáil debates. 19 June 1919. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "MINISTERIAL MOTIONS. - FINANCE.". First Dáil debates. 20 August 1919. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Finance — appointment of trustees". First Dáil debates. Oireachtas. 19 June 1919. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Ní Dheirg, Iosold (2008). "The Dáil Loan". The Story of Michael Collins. Mercier Press Ltd. pp. 47–53. ISBN 9781856355957. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Carroll 2002, p.10
  10. ↑ "Issue of Loans". Second Dáil Éireann debates. 26 August 1921. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Kelly 2011, p.25
  12. ↑ Dempsey, Pauric J. "Crosbie, George". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 27 November 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  13. ↑ Evans 2012, p.70
  14. 1 2 Humphreys, Joe (23 May 2013). "Millionaire helped finance War of Independence". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Dáil Eireann Loans and Funds Act, 1924". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  16. ↑ Kelly 2011, p.26
  17. ↑ "Dail Eireann Loans and Funds (Amendment) Act, 1933". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Dáil Eireann Loans and Funds (Amendment) Act, 1936". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 13 October 2015.

External links

Oireachtas bills yearly index
(has links to Oireachtas debates on bills)
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