Frank Aiken
Tánaiste
In office April 21, 1965 – July 2, 1969
Preceded by	Seán MacEntee
Succeeded by	Erskine H. Childers
Minister for External Affairs
In office March 20, 1957 – 2 July 1969
Preceded by	Liam Cosgrave
Succeeded by	Patrick Hillery
In office June 13, 1951 – June 2, 1954
Preceded by	Seán MacBride
Succeeded by	Liam Cosgrave
Born	February 13, 1898 Camlough, County Armagh
Died	May 18, 1983 (aged 85) Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Fianna Fáil

Frank Aiken (Irish: Proinsias Mac Aodhagáin, new spelling: Proinsias Mac Aogáin; 13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was a senior Irish politician. The Tánaiste (ˈtɑːnəʃtʲə plural Tánaistí) or more formally An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. Events 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome ( traditional date) Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Seán MacEntee (Seán Mac an tSaoi 22 August 1889 &ndash 10 January 1984 was a senior Irish politician Erskine Hamilton Childers (11 December 1905 &ndash 17 November 1974 served as the fourth President of Ireland from 1973 until his death in 1974 The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Ireland. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Liam Cosgrave ( Irish name: Liam Mac Cosgair; born 13 April 1920 served as the Taoiseach of Ireland between 1973 and 1977 and is the son of Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery (Pádraig Seán Ó hIrighile 2 May 1923 &ndash 12 April 2008 was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and the sixth President of Ireland Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 &ndash 15 January 1988 was a prominent international politician. Liam Cosgrave ( Irish name: Liam Mac Cosgair; born 13 April 1920 served as the Taoiseach of Ireland between 1973 and 1977 and is the son of Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Camlough (Camloch is a small Village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near Bessbrook and the slopes of the Ring of Gullion. County Armagh ( Contae Ard Mhacha in Irish - from the height of Macha) is a county in Ulster in the north east of Ireland Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person A founding-member of Fianna Fáil, Aiken was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1923 and at each subsequent election until 1973. Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the ga '''Dáil Éireann''' ( English House of Representatives of Ireland) is the principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament Aiken served as Minister for Defence (1932–1939), Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures (1939–1945), Minister for Finance (1945–1948) and Minister for External Affairs (1951–1954 & 1957–1969). The Minister for Defence (Aire Cosanta is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. The Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures was created by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment Act 1939 to assist Ireland through the World War II The Minister for Finance (Aire Airgeadais is the title held by the Irish government minister responsible for all financial and monetary matters The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Ireland. He also served as Minister for Lands & Fisheries. The Minister for Communications Energy and Natural Resources (Aire Cumarsáide Fuinnimh agus Achmhainní Nádúrtha is the senior minister at the Department of Communications Aiken served as Tánaiste of Ireland from 1965 until 1969. The Tánaiste (ˈtɑːnəʃtʲə plural Tánaistí) or more formally An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. He holds the distinction of being one of the longest-serving members of Dáil Éireann. The First Dáil Éireann consisted of the Sinn Féin MPs who were elected in the UK general election of 14 December 1918

Early life

Frank Aiken was born on 13 February 1898 at Camlough in County Armagh. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Camlough (Camloch is a small Village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near Bessbrook and the slopes of the Ring of Gullion. County Armagh ( Contae Ard Mhacha in Irish - from the height of Macha) is a county in Ulster in the north east of Ireland He was educated in Newry by Irish Christian Brothers at Abbey Christian Brothers Grammar School and at St Colman's College, Newry, and in 1914 he joined the Irish Volunteers. Newry ( short form An tIúr, "The Yew" is the fourth largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth on the island of Ireland. The Congregation of Christian Brothers (officially in Latin: Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum) is a world-wide community of religious brothers within The Abbey Christian Brothers Grammar School is a Roman Catholic Grammar school located in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. St Colman's College is a college in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. The Irish Volunteers ( Óglaigh na hÉireann) was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. Within a few years he became Chairman of the Armagh Comhairle Ceanntair of Sinn Féin and elected onto Armagh County Council. Sinn Féin () is a political party in Ireland. The current party led by Gerry Adams was formed following a split in January 1970 During the War of Independence he commanded the Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The Irish War of Independence (or Tan War, or Anglo-Irish War, Irish: Cogadh na Saoirse) from January 1919 to July 1921 was a guerrilla The Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army operated in an area covering parts of counties Louth, Armagh, Monaghan, and Down

Irish Republican Army involvement

Aiken, operating from the south Armagh/north Louth area, was one of the most effective IRA commanders in Ulster during the conflict. Ulster ( Ulaidh ˈkwɪɟɪ ˈʌlˠu / ˈʌlˠi is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster In May of 1920, he led 200 IRA men in an attack on the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks in Newtownhamilton, forcing the police to surrender and then burning the building and seizing the arms contained within. The Royal Irish Constabulary ( RIC) ( Irish: Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann) was one of Ireland's two police forces in the early twentieth century Newtownhamilton is a small Village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In December 1920, he led another assault, this time abortive, on the RIC station in his home village of Camlough. In reprisal the newly formed Ulster Special Constabulary burned Aiken's home and those of ten of his relatives in the Camlough area. The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC (commonly called the "B-Specials" was a reserve police force in Ireland. From this point onwards, the conflict in Aiken's area took on an increasingly bitter and sectarian quality. Sectarianism is Bigotry, Discrimination, Prejudice or Hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions

In April of 1921, Aiken's IRA unit took a Protestant church congregation hostage in Creggan, County Armagh in order to ambush the Police and Special Constabulary arriving for the service. Creggan ( an Chreagain in Irish) is a small Village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, just outside Crossmaglen. One Special was killed in ensuing ambush. Although Aiken then released the Protestant civilians unharmed, the incident heightened local sectarian animosity. Starting the following month, the Special Constabulary started shooting Catholic civilians in revenge for IRA attacks. In June 1921, Aiken organised his most successful attack on the British military, when his men detonated a mine under a British troop train headed from Belfast to Dublin, killing the train guard, three cavalry soldiers and 63 of their horses. ^[1] Shortly afterwards, the Specials took four Catholics from their homes in Bessbrook and Altnaveigh and killed them.

The cycle of violence continued in the area in the following year, despite a formal truce with the British as of July 11, 1921. Michael Collins organised a clandestine guerrilla offensive against the newly created entity of Northern Ireland in May 1922. Michael John ("Mick" Collins (Mícheál Seán Ó Coileáin 16 October 1890 &ndash 22 August 1922 was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of For reasons that have never been properly determined, Aiken and his Fourth Northern Division never took part in the operation, although it was planned that they would. Nevertheless, the local IRA's inaction at this time did not end the bloodshed in South Armagh. Aiken has been accused by unionists of ethnic cleansing of Protestants from parts of South Armagh, Newry, and other parts of the north, in particular the killing of seven Protestant civilians in Altnaveigh in June 1922. The incident was a revenge attack for the killing the previous day of two local Catholics and the sexual assault of a woman by the Special Constabulary.

The IRA split over the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and this left Aiken ultimately aligned with the Anti-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War in spite of personal efforts to prevent division and civil war. The Anglo-Irish Treaty (An Conradh Angla-Éireannach officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a Treaty The Irish Civil War ( June 28 1922 &ndash May 24 1923) pitted supporters of the Anglo-Irish Treaty against its opponents Aiken tried to remain neutral and after fighting broke out between pro and anti treaty units in Dublin, he wrote to Richard Mulcahy, calling for a truce and the removal of the Oath of Allegiance (Ireland) from the Free State constitution. Richard James Mulcahy (Risteárd Séamus Ó Maolchatha (10 May 1886 &ndash 16 December 1971 was an Irish politician, Army general and Commander in The Irish Oath of Allegiance was a controversial provision in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 which Irish TDs (members of the Irish parliament and Senators were required He took no part in the fighting until he was arrested, along with over 300 of his men, who were billeted in Dundalk by the Free State Army on July 14. Dundalk (Dún Dealgan is the County town of County Louth in Ireland, situated close to the border with Northern Ireland. However, just ten days later he was freed in a raid on Dundalk prison. Then, on August 14, he led a surpise attack of 3-400 anti-treaty IRA men on Dundalk. They blew holes in the Army barracks there and rapidly took control of the town at a cost of just two of his men killed. The operation freed 240 republican prisoners and seized 400 rifles. However, while in possession of the town, Aiken publicly called for an end to the civil war. For the remainder of the conflict, Aiken and his unit remained at large, carrying out some guerrilla attacks on Free State forces; however, Aiken was never enthusiastic about the internecine struggle.

He succeeded Liam Lynch as IRA Chief of Staff in March 1923, and issued the cease fire and dump arms orders on 24 May 1923, that effectively ended the Irish Civil War. For other people named Liam Lynch see Liam Lynch Liam Lynch (Liam Ó Loinsigh 9 November, 1893 &ndash 10 April The following is the list of those who are reported to have served as Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army in the various incarnations of organisations bearing that name Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Irish Civil War ( June 28 1922 &ndash May 24 1923) pitted supporters of the Anglo-Irish Treaty against its opponents He remained Chief of Staff of the IRA until 12 November 1925

Founder of Fianna Fáil & government minister

The Anglo-Irish Treaty, (1921), which Aiken opposed. Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Aiken was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Sinn Féin candidate for Louth in 1923, continuing to be re-elected for Fianna Fáil at every election until his retirement from politics fifty years later. ga '''Dáil Éireann''' ( English House of Representatives of Ireland) is the principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament Sinn Féin () is a political party in Ireland. The current party led by Gerry Adams was formed following a split in January 1970 Louth is a Constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the He entered the first Fianna Fáil government as Minister for Defence, later becoming Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures with responsibility for overseeing Ireland’s national defence and neutral position during the Second World War (see The Emergency).

Clash with the Governor-General

Aiken became a source of controversy in mid-1932 when he, along with Vice President of the Executive Council Seán T. O'Kelly publicly snubbed the Governor-General of the Irish Free State James McNeill, by staging a public walkout at a function in the French legation in Dublin. The Vice-President of the Executive Council (Leas-Uachtarán na hArd-Chomhairle was the deputy Head of government of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State, and the second Seán Thomas O'Kelly (Seán Tomás Ó Ceallaigh 25 August 1882–23 November 1966 was the second President of Ireland (1945–1959 The Governor-General (Seanascal was the representative of the King in the 1922&ndash1937 Irish Free State. James McNeill (27 March 1869 – 12 December 1938 was an Irish politician who served as second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. McNeill privately wrote to Éamon de Valera, the President of the Executive Council, to complain at what media reports called the "boorishness" of Aiken and O'Kelly's behaviour. Éamon de Valera (ˈeɪmən dɛvəˈlɛrə (born Edward George de Valera) (14 October 1882 &ndash 29 August 1975 was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century While agreeing that the situation was "regrettable" de Valera, instead of chastising the ministers, suggested that the Governor-General inform the Executive Council of his social engagements to enable ministers to avoid attending ones he was at.

McNeill took offence at de Valera's response and against government advice, published his correspondence with de Valera. De Valera then formally advised King George V to dismiss the Governor-General. The King arranged a special deal between both men, whereby McNeill would retire from his post a few weeks earlier than planned, with the resignation coinciding with the dates de Valera had suggested for the dismissal.

Though the governor-generalship of the Irish Free State was controversial, the media and even anti-governor-generalship politicians in the opposition Labour Party publicly, and even members of de Valera's cabinet privately, criticised Aiken and O'Kelly for their treatment of McNeill, who all sides saw as a decent and honourable man. The Labour Party (Páirtí an Lucht Oibre is a Democratic socialist and Social democratic Political party in the Republic of Ireland. Aiken refused to discuss the affair later in life. De Valera later made amends by appointing Mrs McNeill as an Irish ambassador. An ambassador is the highest ranking Diplomat who represents their country

Widely praised Minister for External Affairs

UN Headquarters in New York
Aiken helped shape an independent foreign policy for Ireland on the world stage.

Aiken was Minister for Finance for three years following the war and was involved in economic post–war development, in the industrial, agricultural, educational and other spheres. However, it was his two periods as Minister for External Affairs that Aiken fulfilled his enormous political potential. As Foreign Minister he adopted where possible an independent stance for Ireland at the United Nations and other international forums such as the Council of Europe. A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a governmental cabinet minister who helps form the Foreign policy of a sovereign nation Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Council of Europe (Conseil de l'Europe is the oldest International organisation working towards European integration, being founded in 1949 Despite a great deal of opposition, both at home and abroad, he stubbornly asserted the right of smaller UN member countries to discuss the representation of communist China at the General Assembly. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Unable to bring the issue of the partition of Ireland to the UN (because of Britain's veto on the Security Council) and because of unwillingness of other Western nations to interfere in what these Western nations saw as British affairs at that time (the US taking a more ambiguous position), Aiken ensured that Ireland vigorously defended the rights of small nations such as Tibet and Hungary, nations whose problems he felt Ireland could identify with and had a moral obligation to help. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic

Aiken also supported the right of countries such as Algeria to self-determination and spoke out against apartheid in South Africa. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Under Ireland’s policy of promoting the primacy of international law and reducing global tension at the height of the Cold War, Aiken promoted the idea of areas of law, which he believed would free the most tense regions around the world from the threat of nuclear war. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the

He also introduced the so-called 'Aiken Plan' to the United Nations in an effort to combine disarmament and peace in the Middle East, Ireland a country being on good terms with both Israel and many Arab countries. Disarmament refers to the act of reducing limiting or abolishing Weapons. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. In the UN the Irish delegation sat between Iraq and Israel and formed a kind of physical 'buffer' and in the days of Aiken (who as a minister spent a lot of time with the UN delegation) both the Italians (who on their turn sat in the vicinity of the Iraqi delegation), the Irish and the Israeli claimed to be the one and only UN-delegation of New York, a city inhabited by many Irish, Jewish and Italians. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics.

Aiken was also a champion of nuclear non-proliferation and he received the honour of being the first minister to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968 in Moscow. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ( NPT or NNPT) is a Treaty to limit the spread Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of

Aiken's impact as Minister for External Affairs was such that he is sometimes seen as the father of Irish foreign policy. His performance was praised in particular by a later Minister for Foreign Affairs, Fine Gael's Garret FitzGerald, himself a later holder of the office. Fine Gael – The United Ireland Party, shortened to Fine Gael (ˌfina gail meaning Family of the Irish or Tribe of the Irish, is the second largest Garret FitzGerald (Gearóid Mac Gearailt born 9 February 1926 was the seventh Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office (July 1981 to February 1982 December

Quit politics over Charles Haughey

Aiken retired from Ministerial office and as Tánaiste in 1969. The Tánaiste (ˈtɑːnəʃtʲə plural Tánaistí) or more formally An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. During the Arms Crisis it is said that the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, turned to Aiken for advice on a number of issues. The Arms Crisis or Arms Trial ( Irish: Géarchéim na nAirm or Triail na nAirm) was a Political scandal in the Republic of Ireland The Taoiseach (ˈtiːʃəx in English t̪ˠiːʃʲəx (plural Taoisigh ( or) in Irish) also referred to as An Taoiseach ( t̪ˠiːʃʲəx is the the John Mary "Jack" Lynch ( Irish: Seán Ó Loinsigh; 15 August 1917 &ndash 20 October 1999 was the fourth Taoiseach of Ireland, He retired from politics in 1973 due to the fact that Charles Haughey, whose style of politics Aiken strongly disliked, was allowed run as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the 1973 general election. Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the The Irish general election of 1973 was held on 28 February 1973 Initially he planned to announce the reason for his decision but under pressure finally agreed to announce that he was retiring on medical advice. ^[2]

Refused candidacy for the presidency of Ireland

After his retirement, outgoing President of Ireland, Éamon de Valera, sought to convince Aiken, one of his closest friends, to run for Fianna Fáil in the 1973 presidential election. The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland. Éamon de Valera (ˈeɪmən dɛvəˈlɛrə (born Edward George de Valera) (14 October 1882 &ndash 29 August 1975 was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach shortened to Fianna Fáil ( is currently the largest Political party in the The Irish presidential election of 1973 was held on 30 May 1973 However Aiken refused all requests to run and the party finally selected Erskine H. Childers to be its candidate. Erskine Hamilton Childers (11 December 1905 &ndash 17 November 1974 served as the fourth President of Ireland from 1973 until his death in 1974 Childers won the election.

Clash with Ernest Blythe

Shortly before his death, former Cumann na nGaedhael minister Ernest Blythe accused Aiken of publicly rudely snubbing him through his political career. Cumann na nGaedhael (ˈkʊmən nə ˈŋɰeːɫ "Society of the Gaels" sometimes spelt Cumann na nGaedheal, was an Irish language name given Ernest Blythe (Earnán de Blaghd 13 April 1889 &ndash 23 February 1975 was an Irish politician He said that, because of his support for the Treaty and Aiken's opposition, Aiken would pointedly turn his back on him whenever they came into contact. Colleagues of Aiken confirmed the story and spoke of their embarrassment about it.

They contrasted his continuing bitterness towards Blythe with the cross party friendships of their colleagues Seán MacEntee (anti-treaty) and Desmond FitzGerald (pro-treaty) who after the divide re-established relationships and ensured their children held no civil war bitterness. Seán MacEntee (Seán Mac an tSaoi 22 August 1889 &ndash 10 January 1984 was a senior Irish politician Desmond FitzGerald (13 February 1888 &ndash 9 April 1947 was an Irish revolutionary Poet and Cumann na nGaedhael politician Great rivals Éamon de Valera and W. T. Cosgrave, after years of enmity, also became reconciled in the 1960s. William Thomas Cosgrave (Liam Tomás Mac Cosgair 6 June 1880 &ndash 16 November 1965 known generally as W However Aiken refused to reconcile with former friends who had taken sides in the Civil War.

Honours, death

Aiken received many decorations and honours, including honorary doctorates from the National University of Ireland and University College Dublin. The National University of Ireland ( NUI) (Ollscoil na hÉireann is a federal University system of constituent universities, previously called University College Dublin (UCD (An Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland Dublin (An He was also a lifelong supporter of the Irish language. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. His son ran unsuccessfully in the 1987 and 1989 general elections for the Progressive Democrats. The Irish general election of 1987 was held on 17 February 1987 four weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 20 January The Irish general election of 1989 was held on Friday 15 June 1989 three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 25 May The Progressive Democrats (An Páirtí Daonlathach lit The Democratic Party) commonly called The PDs, are a Free market liberal party in His wife died in a road accident in 1978.

Frank Aiken died on 18 May 1983 in Dublin from natural causes at the age of 85. Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. He was buried with full State honours in his native Camlough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Camlough (Camloch is a small Village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near Bessbrook and the slopes of the Ring of Gullion. County Armagh ( Contae Ard Mhacha in Irish - from the height of Macha) is a county in Ulster in the north east of Ireland Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of

Political career

Footnotes

External links

• Frank Aiken Papers, in the Archives Department, University College Dublin

This page incorporates information from the Oireachtas Members Database