Jump to content

James Macmahon

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For those of a similar name, see James McMahon (disambiguation).

James Macmahon PC (Ire) (20 April 1865 – 1 May 1954) was an Irish civil servant and businessman.[1]

Macmahon was born in Belfast and raised as a Roman Catholic. He was educated at St Patrick's College, Armagh and Blackrock College in Dublin. He joined the Irish Post Office, being promoted to Assistant Secretary in 1913 and Secretary in 1916. In 1918, he became Under-Secretary for Ireland.

There was a need to decode the coded messages sent to the Dublin Castle administration from London. Macmahon appointed GPO worker Nancy O'Brien due to her dedication and purported lack of interest in politics. However, O'Brien was a second cousin of Michael Collins, and each day, between 2:30 and 3:30, she would pass any salient information she acquired to either Joe McGrath, Liam Tobin or Desmond FitzGerald.[2]

Macmahon was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland in the 1920 New Year Honours,[3] entitling him to the style "The Right Honourable". He remained Under-Secretary until his retirement on the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922. He went into business in Dublin. In 1928, he was elected president of the Royal Dublin Society. He died on 1 May 1954, aged 89.[1]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Obituary, The Times, 3 May 1954
  2. ^ FitzGerald, Garret (12 September 1997). "The light of other days". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  3. ^ "No. 31712". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1919. p. 2.
Government offices
Preceded by Under-Secretary for Ireland
1918–1922 		Succeeded by
Office abolished


Stub icon

This business-related Irish biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about a person involved in governance in the United Kingdom or its predecessor states is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Macmahon&oldid=1107286355"