Matthias McDonnell Bodkin
| Matthias McDonnell Bodkin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 October 1850 |
| Died | 7 June 1933 (aged 82) |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Irish nationalism |
| Spouse(s) | Arabella Norman |
| Children | Various |
| Parent(s) | Thomas and Maria (née McDonnell) Bodkin |
Matthias McDonnell Bodkin (8 October 1850 – 7 June 1933) was an Irish nationalist politician and MP. in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Anti-Parnellite representative for North Roscommon, 1892–95, a noted author, journalist and newspaper editor, and barrister, King's Counsel (K.C.) and County Court Judge for County Clare, 1907–24.
Bodkin was the second son of a doctor, Thomas Bodkin, MD FRCSI, of Tuam, County Galway (a descendant of Tribes of Galway). His mother was Maria McDonnell of Westport, County Mayo, a cousin of Antony MacDonnell, 1st Baron MacDonnell (1844–1925). Bodkin was educated at the Christian Brothers' school, Tuam and at Tullabeg Jesuit College. He had wanted to go to the Anglican Trinity College, Dublin but his family objected on religious grounds and he attended the Catholic University of Ireland, which had a strong Roman Catholic ethos, instead. He was scathing about this experience:
"It is true I entered the so-called Catholic University, which had neither charter or endowment, and even obtained an exhibition on matriculation, but the business was so wholly futile that I abandoned it before six months was over, sacrificing my exhibition. A smattering of Terence was the only asset derived from that wasted six months."
Bodkin was called to the Irish Law Bar in 1877 and entered practice as a barrister on the Connaught circuit. In 1885 he married Arabella, daughter of Francis Norman of Dublin. They had several children including Matthew, Jr. (b. 1896), who became a Jesuit priest and in his turn a well-known author mainly of religious works, and Thomas Bodkin, who was the Director of the National Gallery of Ireland and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. Two of Matthias and Arabella's daughters became nuns.
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