Cosgrave, William Thomas (kŏz`grāv), 1880–1965, Irish statesman; father of Liam Cosgrave Cosgrave, Liam (kŏz`grāv), 1920–, Irish statesman; son of William Cosgrave .
..... Click the link for more information. . A member of Sinn Féin Sinn Féin (shĭn fān) [Irish,=we, ourselves], Irish nationalist movement.
..... Click the link for more information. , he fought in the Easter Rebellion (1916) and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Freed a year later, he was elected to the British Parliament in 1918 but protested British rule by refusing to take his seat. He helped organize an independent Irish Assembly, the Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann (dôl ā`rôn, dīl âr`ən)
..... Click the link for more information. in 1919. Minister for local government in the revolutionary cabinet, Cosgrave supported the 1921 treaty with Great Britain that set up the Irish Free State (see Ireland Irish Free State, and from 1937 to 1949 as

Eire. Dublin is the capital of the republic and by far its largest city.

Political Geography and People

..... Click the link for more information. ). After the deaths of Arthur Griffith Griffith, Arthur, 1872–1922, Irish statesman, founder of Sinn Féin . He joined the nationalist movement as a young man. In 1899 he founded the United Irishman,
..... Click the link for more information. and Michael Collins Collins, Michael, 1890–1922, Irish revolutionary leader. He spent the years from 1907 to 1916 in England, during which period he joined the Fenian movement . He took part in the Easter Rebellion in Dublin in 1916 and was imprisoned for the rest of the year.
..... Click the link for more information. , he was elected president and served from 1922 to 1932. He was opposition leader of his Fine Gael, or United Ireland, party from 1932 until his resignation in 1944.

Cosgrave, William Thomas

(born June 6, 1880, Dublin, Ire.—died Nov. 16, 1965, Dublin) Irish statesman, first president (1922–32) of the Irish Free State. Early attracted to Sinn Féin, he took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and was interned briefly by the British. As president he restored settled government in Ireland. He continued in office despite various crises until Eamon de Valera's victory in 1932. In 1944 he resigned as head of the United Ireland Party (Fine Gael). His son Liam (b. 1920) served as prime minister in 1973–77.