John Francis Maguire
(1815-1872), Irish newspaper proprietor and politicianSitter in 2 portraits
by Maull & Polyblank
albumen carte-de-visite, 1862-1864
NPG Ax8645
John Francis Maguire ('Statesmen, No. 109.')
by Adriano Cecioni
chromolithograph, published in Vanity Fair 23 March 1872
NPG D43528
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Fergus Cleary
01 November 2016, 15:48
Maguire, John Francis, politician and writer, the son of a merchant in Cork, was born about 1815. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1843, sat member for Dungarvan from 1852 to 1865, and for Cork from that date till his death. He actively supported the Liberal party, especially in its legislation regarding the disestablishment of the Church, and the land question. It was known that he was not in affluent circumstances, and it was expected that he would soon be offered a government position of some description; so that his sincerity was strikingly shown in 1870, when he joined the Home Rule party, led by Mr. Butt, and thereby sacrificed all his prospects of an official career. A series of articles on the question of Home Rule, which appeared in his paper, the Cork Examiner, were published in a collected form in 1871. Mr. Maguire was author of Rome and its Ruler (1857), Life of Father Mathew (1862), Irish in America (1868), The Next Generation, a novel (1871), and other works. He was a brilliant raconteur, was a prominent advocate of female suffrage, and for his defence of the position of the Pope was created a Knight Commander of St. Gregory. He died near Cork, 1st November 1872, aged 57. His character for earnestness and sincerity stood so high that a testimonial subscription, opened after his death, was joined in by the Queen, and by many others who were unable to endorse his political opinions. Sources 7. Annual Register. London, 1756-1877. 233. Manuscript and Special Information, and Current Periodicals.