1Civil Registration, Marriage - Ireland.
"1908 Marriage at the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh in the Registrar's District of Nenagh in the Union of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No.114
When married - October Twenty Eighth 1908
Groom - Joseph Gleeson
Groom's age - full age
Groom's condition - Bachelor
Groom's occupation - Gentleman
Groom's residence - Townpike, Nenagh
Groom's father - John Gleeson (deceased); Gentleman
Bride - Margaret Gaynor
Bride's age - full age
Bride's condition - Spinster
Bride's residence - Queen St., Nenagh
Bride's father - John Gaynor (deceased); Shopkeeper
Married in the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church, by me, John Gleeson P.P.
in the presence of us, Patrick Joseph Gubbins; and May Moylan."
1Civil Registration, Marriage - Ireland.
"1908 Marriage at the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh in the Registrar's District of Nenagh in the Union of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No.114
When married - October Twenty Eighth 1908
Groom - Joseph Gleeson
Groom's age - full age
Groom's condition - Bachelor
Groom's occupation - Gentleman
Groom's residence - Townpike, Nenagh
Groom's father - John Gleeson (deceased); Gentleman
Bride - Margaret Gaynor
Bride's age - full age
Bride's condition - Spinster
Bride's residence - Queen St., Nenagh
Bride's father - John Gaynor (deceased); Shopkeeper
Married in the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church, by me, John Gleeson P.P.
in the presence of us, Patrick Joseph Gubbins; and May Moylan."
1Civil Registration, Birth - Ireland.
"Births Registered in the District of Nenagh in the Union of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No. 253
When born - 1912 May Twenty Eighth
Where born - Turnpike, Nenagh
Name - John Berehman (sic?)
Sex - M
Dather - Joseph Gleeson; Turnpike
Mother - Margaret Gleeson; formerly Gaynor
Father's occupation - Farmer
Informant - Rosaline Waterson; Summerhill Nenagh; present at birth."
1Civil Registration, Birth - Ireland.
"Births Registered in the District of Nenagh in the Union of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
When born - 1914 July Twentieth
Where born - Turnpike, Nenagh
Name - Margaret Clare
Sex - F
Father - Joseph Gleeson; Turnpike
Mother - Margaret Gleeson; formerly Gaynor
Father's occupation - Farmer
Informant - Rosaline Waterson; Summerhill Nenagh; present at birth."
1Civil Registration, Marriage - Eire.
"Marriage solemnized at the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh in the Registrar's District of Nenagh in the Superintendent Registrar's District of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No. 193
When married - September tenth 1935
Groom - Joseph Anthony Lynch
Groom's age - full
Groom's condition - Bachelor
Groom's occupation - Dental Surgeon
Groom's residence - Rose Street Nenagh
Groom's father - John Lynch; Farmer
Bride - Mary Rosaria Gleeson
Bride's age - full
Bride's condition - Spinster
Bride's residence - Benedine Nenagh
Bride's father - Joseph Gleeson; Farmer
Married in the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church by me, William Gleeson S.J.
in the presence of John C. Lynch and Devilla Gleeson."
1Civil Registration, Birth - Ireland.
"Births Registered in the District of Nenagh in the Union of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No.321
When born - 1910 February Twenty Seventh
Where born - Turnpike, Nenagh
Name - Mary Rosario
Sex - F
Father - Joseph Gleeson; Turnpike
Mother - Margaret Gleeson; formerly Gaynor
Father's occupation - Farmer
Informant - Rosaline Waterson; Summerhill Nenagh; present at birth."2Civil Registration, Marriage - Eire.
"Marriage solemnized at the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh in the Registrar's District of Nenagh in the Superintendent Registrar's District of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No. 193
When married - September tenth 1935
Groom - Joseph Anthony Lynch
Groom's age - full
Groom's condition - Bachelor
Groom's occupation - Dental Surgeon
Groom's residence - Rose Street Nenagh
Groom's father - John Lynch; Farmer
Bride - Mary Rosaria Gleeson
Bride's age - full
Bride's condition - Spinster
Bride's residence - Benedine Nenagh
Bride's father - Joseph Gleeson; Farmer
Married in the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church by me, William Gleeson S.J.
in the presence of John C. Lynch and Devilla Gleeson."
1Website - FindaGrave.com (www.findagrave.com), Memorial ID 235267441.
Dictionary of Irish Biographies:
"Name - George Edward "Ted" Russell
Birth - 9 Apr 1912, Limerick, Limericj, Ireland
Death - 28 Nov 2004, Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Burial - Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery, Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Russell, George Edward (Ted) (1912–2004), businessman and politician, was born 9 April 1912 in the family home at 4 Moyola Terrace, Limerick, the eldest of two sons and a daughter of Matthew John Russell and his wife Mary (née Rohan). His grandfather George (d. 1876) established a bakery in Limerick in 1870 and represented Irishtown ward on Limerick city council. His father continued the business and in the 1920s acquired control of Dan O'Connor Ltd, a corn and provisions merchant founded in 1848 by Ted's grand uncle. Russell was educated at Crescent College, Limerick; Mount St Benedict in Gorey, Co. Wexford; and in England at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire. At Stonyhurst he was a noted athlete and rugby player. In 1929 he began working in Dan O'Connor Ltd, which had by then diversified into animal feed. From 1930 he played rugby for Bohemians RFC as a second‑row forward, being captain for two seasons (1935–7), and maintained a lifelong association with Bohemians, serving as club president in 1967–8. He was selected for Munster during 1936–8. In 1938 he had a final trial for Ireland and might have achieved international honours but for the outbreak of World War II, though he believed that he was too lightweight. His other sporting outlets were rowing with the Limerick Boat Club and hunting with the Limerick Harriers. In 1938, he married Dervilla (Derry) Gleeson, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Gleeson of Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. They lived on the North Circular Road in Limerick and had one son and three daughters. During the Emergency (1939–45) he served in the LDF as an assistant company commander. Becoming managing director of Dan O'Connor Ltd on his father's death in 1937, he developed a new feed mill on the outskirts of the city and established it as the leading animal feed compound firm in north Munster. During the 1950s he founded with his brother Harry a rusk meal manufacturing company, National Rusks (latterly National Food Ingredients), and with Michael O'Brien Kelly he founded Limerick Dairies, serving as chairman of both firms. In 1950 he was a founding director of the Shield Insurance Company Ltd (latterly Eagle Star Insurance) and was for many years its chairman. He was also director of the family firm, National Bakeries Ltd, and of various other Limerick companies. Silvermines His most significant business interest was in Silvermines Lead and Zinc plc (later Silvermines Ltd), a mining company that went public in Ireland in 1949. Most of the original subscribers and directors were British. An exception was Russell's aunt who invested £2,000 on condition that her nephew become a director; he was appointed chairman in 1950. Aiming to work lead and zinc deposits in an abandoned mine near Silvermines village in Co. Tipperary, the venture was beset almost immediately by technical problems and by collapsing lead and zinc prices; all operations were suspended by 1953. Its fortunes revived when it sold the bulk of its mining rights to Consolidated Mogul Mines Ltd of Canada in 1962. When this agreement was opposed by a Silvermines director, who thought the Mogul offer unnecessarily harsh and pointed to a counter‑offer, Russell successfully dismissed the objections with the support of other board members and the majority of shareholders. The Mogul subsidiary company established in Ireland began production in May 1968 on fresh lead and zinc deposits discovered in the Silvermines area and paid its first dividend in 1973, enabling Silvermines (which had a 25 per cent shareholding in the company) to sanction a long‑awaited maiden dividend that February. Having failed as a mining concern, Silvermines flowered as an investment vehicle, averaging profits of £1 million a year during 1974–7. Nonetheless, the board needed fresh sources of income as the Mogul mine was expected to be exhausted by 1982. Meanwhile, circumstances had enhanced Russell's authority within the company. A minor shareholder, he served initially as watchdog in Ireland for the foreign financiers who controlled the bulk of Silvermines' shares. By 1972, however, the company had a broader shareholding structure with some 70 per cent of shares in Irish hands. This enabled Russell to assert himself as executive chairman, advocating a bold policy of liberal dividends and of investment in Irish natural resource prospects, with particular emphasis on oil and gas exploration ventures in Irish waters. His concurrent promotion of the Shannon estuary as an industrial location (see below) undoubtedly guided his considerations, given that the estuary was the most convenient berth on the west coast for natural resource prospecting and refining activities. In 1972 Silvermines acquired a 50 per cent shareholding in the Irish oil exploration company Aran Energy (of which Russell served for many years as chairman), which subsequently formed a consortium with British Petroleum (BP), holding a 25 per cent stake. This strategy was resisted by Count Jan Badeni, an investment specialist appointed to the Silvermines board in 1973, who anticipated that the onerous capital commitments attendant on oil exploration would preclude his preferred approach of building a diversified portfolio. The resignations of Badeni and another director in 1974 and the disposal of their shares left the board with a 4 per cent shareholding. This consolidated Russell's dominance of the board, while also leaving it vulnerable to a takeover. A British firm, Slater Walker, promptly began accumulating Silvermines shares, but its bid faltered, vindicating Russell's calculation that shareholders, taking into consideration Silvermines' generous dividends, would not sell cheaply. Declaring that Silvermines was not a stock for widows and orphans, Russell believed that the move into oil and gas would help preserve the Irish character of the company (and consequently its willingness to contribute towards Ireland's economic development) due to the preference of Irish shareholders for risky propositions. The new look Silvermines captured the imagination of the domestic investment community, and its annual general meetings, for long fraught and acrimonious occasions, became celebratory and boisterous affairs. Investment analysts were less sanguine about the company's prospects, noting its reliance on finite mining revenues, the concentration of resources in Aran Energy and the lack of any formal management structure (which helped preserve Russell's sway over the company). These fears were seemingly confirmed during 1978–9 as Mogul revenues collapsed and Aran's share price languished disastrously. Russell, however, held his nerve and was rewarded in late 1979 when the Aran Energy/BP consortium struck oil. He exploited the ensuing (and unsustainable) explosion in the share prices of Silvermines and Aran during 1980 by authorising a Silvermines rights issue and disposing of a large chunk of Aran shares. Although the oil find proved uneconomical, the Aran investment yielded an overall profit. In any case, under the influence of two canny advisors, Tim Renton (later a British government junior minister) and Frank Traynor, Russell had from 1977 been moving Silvermines into calmer waters. By the mid 1980s Silvermines had demonstrated that it could survive the expiration of the Mogul mine, becoming a well‑diversified and profitable investment company with acquisitions in Ireland, the UK and North America. It continued in natural resources but also engaged in engineering, technology, property, cold storage and manufacturing. In 1980, he appointed Traynor as Silvermines' first chief executive and gradually withdrew from company affairs. From 1985, with the company increasingly dominated by British shareholding interests, Silvermines responded to a downturn in the oil and gas sectors by becoming a UK industrial holding company and by acquiring a majority stake in a number of engineering firms, which it managed directly. Russell resigned as chairman in 1988, continuing as life president. In retirement he wrote a history of the company, published in 1990. The amorphous nature of Silvermines for much of his chairmanship makes it difficult to gauge the extent of Russell's influence within it. What can be affirmed is that the company bore his imprint most visibly in the 1970s and that he achieved talismanic status among its shareholders. Politics Russell sat on the Limerick city council from 1942 to 1979, serving five terms as mayor (1954–7, 1967–8, 1976–7). Initially elected as an independent, he joined the recently founded Clann na Poblachta shortly before 1948. This embrace of a party noted for its radical republicanism was surprising given his family's past support of Cumann na nGaedheal, his decidedly regal forenames (for which he was unflatteringly dubbed 'Rex' in certain circles) and his previously unsympathetic attitude towards those who had been involved in physical force nationalism. In 1949, the Clann na Poblachta minister for health, Noel Browne (qv), appointed Russell chairman of the newly established Cancer Association of Ireland. He thought highly of Browne, especially for his ability to overcome bureaucratic inertia. Remaining chairman until 1961, Russell presided over the building of St Luke's Hospital in Dublin, the first dedicated cancer treatment and diagnostic unit in the country, as well as of St Agatha's treatment centre in Cork and a number of diagnostic clinics throughout the country. Later, he served as a member of the Limerick Health Authority (1963–71) and of the Mid-Western Health Board (1971–9). He unsuccessfully contested two general elections (1948 and 1951) and a by-election (1952) as Clann na Poblachta candidate for Limerick East, but by the mid 1950s his authority over the party's constituency machine was being challenged by Stephen Coughlan (qv). In 1955 Russell resigned temporarily from Clann na Poblachta after its local organisation was initially unwilling to approve a rotation of the mayoralty between various political parties (thereby facilitating his re-election as mayor). A year later he left the party for good, following his unanimous re-election as mayor. Elected for Limerick East as an independent in the 1957 general election, he expressed in his maiden speech a willingness to support the Fianna Fáil government if it pursued its declared intention of adopting a fresh approach to economic policy. Rumour held that Seán Lemass (qv) encouraged him to join Fianna Fáil, but he remained in opposition and lost his seat in 1961. He joined Fine Gael in 1965 and became the party's leader on Limerick city council. He made three unsuccessful attempts as a Fine Gael candidate to re-enter the Dail (1965, 1973 and 1977), but was hindered by rivalry with the constituency's long-serving Fine Gael deputy, Tom O'Donnell. He served two terms as a senator (1969–77), was elected to the Fine Gael national executive in 1972, and later became a vice-president of the party. His rise within Fine Gael is attributable to his prominence as chairman of Silvermines (his political and business interests were mutually reinforcing), to the similarity of his moderately conservative political views with those of the party leader, Liam Cosgrave, and presumably to his contributions to party funds – vice-presidencies were often granted to wealthy donors. But it owed as much to ability: as both TD and senator he was praised for his frequent, considered and knowledgeable contributions to parliamentary debates. His varied extra-political hinterland enabled him to bring an impressive amount of practical expertise to bear on bills relating to commerce, finance, taxation, agriculture, education, health, regional development, and transport. It was widely assumed (though firmly denied) that his lobbying of the Fine Gael-led coalition government (1973–7) determined the granting in 1975 of oil drilling rights in five territorial blocks off the west coast to the Aran Energy/BP consortium in which Silvermines had invested. Defeat in the 1977 seanad election (he was undone by unseated Fine Gael TDs seeking sanctuary in the upper house) terminated his parliamentary career, about which he had mixed feelings, coming to the view that his business commitments prevented him from engaging sufficiently with legislative and political duties. Limerick leader He had no regrets about his time on the Limerick city council where his three initial successive terms as mayor (1954–7) were regarded as a success. As mayor he promoted the city's historic identity, most memorably in March 1956 when he staged, amid great fanfare and pageantry, the traditional ceremony asserting the city's admiralty jurisdiction (granted by King James I in 1609) over the Shannon estuary to the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean by casting a silver dart into the waters. In 1957 he toured five cities in the USA to raise funds for a monument to two mayors of Limerick killed by British forces during the war of independence (1919–21). These initiatives demonstrated his concern to instil civic pride into what the rest of the country regarded as a benighted city, often caricatured as dirty, poverty-stricken, suffocated by catholic triumphalism and rent by a multiplicity of class and political divisions. This impression was borne out by the occasional antics of members of the city council, which arose from a surfeit of colourful figures, foremost among them being Coughlan, Jim Kemmy (qv) and Donogh O'Malley (qv). The three diverged ideologically but were united in embodying the populist and bombastic O'Connellite tradition of Irish politics to which Russell – patrician, lantern-jawed, self-effacing, understated and unfailingly courteous – provided an incongruously dignified contrast. While his attempts as mayor to restrain his colleagues often led to bitter clashes, there was an enduring regard on the council for Russell's efforts on behalf of the Limerick region and for his willingness to work constructively with politicians of all parties. He was to the fore in organising local pressure groups to prod successive governments into devoting more resources to the development of Limerick and the mid-west. In the late 1950s he re-instigated the campaign for a university in Limerick. When eventually the National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE) was established, later becoming the University of Limerick (UL), it was fitting that Bohemians RFC merged with the UL rugby club, a development Russell encouraged. Harbour Commissioner His most direct contribution to the Limerick region's economic revival was as member (1946–97) and chairman (1966–92) of the Limerick Harbour Commissioners. In the mid 1960s, the commissioners bought new machinery for the docks, which reduced the need for manual labour and led the Limerick dockers to initiate restrictive work practices. In response, shippers avoided the port, culminating in 1970 in the complete withdrawal of general cargo shipping services to Limerick. Russell was intimately involved in the negotiations that eventually led the dockers to agree in 1973 that their numbers would be reduced from 350 to 60, with those made redundant receiving compensation. Throughout, he was sensitive to the dockers' grievances, declaring that the matter could not be seen in purely economic terms. These rationalisations guaranteed the future of Limerick docks but, because large-tonnage modern ships could not berth there, they could not halt the decline in employment there. The Limerick Harbour Commissioners had jurisdiction over the sixty-mile Shannon estuary (excepting the harbours at Foynes and Kilrush and some piers), which by virtue of its length, depth and abundance of available industrial sites was identified as a prime location for industries requiring heavy or bulky raw materials, such as oil refining, petrochemicals and steel. Russell sought assiduously to make this aspiration a reality but was hobbled by the lack of a strong, unified port authority for the estuary. During the mid 1970s, at the summit of his political influence, he seemed set to secure his appointment to the position as head of a Shannon estuary port authority, but was thwarted by the Foynes Harbour Trustees who feared being subsumed by the Limerick Harbour Commissioners. (When the government revived this scheme in the late 1980s, Russell opposed it because the proposed semi-state company would have had little or no representation of local authority interests; as a result of these disagreements a unified estuary authority did not emerge until 2000). Progress was made nonetheless. The commissioners had in the early 1970s constructed an oil jetty at Dernish Island to facilitate the transportation of aviation fuel to Shannon airport, which helped persuade the Soviet airline Aeroflot to use the airport as a refueling depot in the early 1980s; this led to a surge in oil imports. The turning point occurred in the late 1970s with the commencement of two projects in the estuary, representing a combined investment of IR£1.5 billion: the Aughinish Alumina Ltd plant at Aughinish island and the ESB coal burning station at Moneypoint. Both operations imported large quantities of raw materials, while the Aughinish plant also exported alumina for further processing, thereby boosting the Limerick Harbour Commissioners' cargo traffic and revenues. When Russell became chairman of the commissioners in 1966 fewer than 500,000 tons of cargo were moving through the commissioners' jurisdiction each year; by the time Russell resigned in 1992, this figure had risen to nearly 6 million tons. Last years For many years active in the Society of St Vincent de Paul and generally noted for his philanthropy, in 1972 Russell donated a parcel of land in his possession at Barrington's Pier to Limerick corporation for its subsequent development into a public park. In retirement, he received a number of tributes for his life of community service, having the Limerick docks named after him in 1993, being made freeman of Limerick city in 1995, and receiving an honorary doctorate in economics from the University of Limerick in 2002. He died 28 November 2004. His son George succeeded him as a Limerick city councillor (1979–85) and as managing proprietor of Dan O'Connor Ltd, which was sold in 1991. Assessment One theme recurs throughout his career: the nursing of apparently doomed projects to relatively successful fruition. This required limitless reserves of patience, tact, steadfastness, and optimism, grounded in sound judgement and a pronounced sense of noblesse oblige (although he also benefited from inherited social status, luck and sheer longevity). Only his national political career can be considered a failure, which reflects poorly on the political system given his superiority over the bulk of his political peers as a legislator and administrator. In business and politics he proceeded by consensus, working within existing structures. Arguably this pragmatism led to an excessive willingness to facilitate foreign multi-national corporations. Certainly, his career exemplified the trend whereby Irish business leaders, particularly if they had political connections, achieved eminence not as autonomous entrepreneurs but as enablers of the movement of capital into the country. Having witnessed the disintegration of Limerick's manufacturing base from the 1950s, he was aware of the weakness and inefficiency of native industry and of the challenges the economy faced following entry into the EEC in 1973 and the advent of free trade. Moreover his experiences with Silvermines had impressed upon him the formidable financial and technical obstacles to large-scale industrial activity. He concluded that Ireland's economic survival required the attraction by whatever means necessary of the capital and expertise that only multi-nationals possessed. Irish Times Obituary. Dec 4 2004.
Public-spirited Limerick merchant prince.
George Edward (Ted) Russell, who has died aged 92, was a Freeman of Limerick city, where for more than half a century he was an outstanding public figure and leading businessman. He was five times mayor of Limerick, a member of the City Council for 37 years until he retired in 1979, served on the Harbour Authority for 46 years and was for 26 years chairman of the Limerick Harbour Commissioners until he retired in 1992. On that occasion the minister for defence and marine, Mr David Andrews, visited Limerick to unveil a plaque renaming the floating dock in honour of the retiring chairman. The minister paraphrased St Matthew by saying that "a prophet in his own country is the exception rather than the rule". Later Russell told one journalist: "I believe I am now the only person, other than the Queen of England, who has a city docks named after them in their lifetime." Russell served for one term as an independent member of the Dáil for East Limerick and was later a member of the Seanad in 1969-77. He was unsuccessful as a Clann na Phoblachta candidate in 1948, and 1951 and in a byelection in 1952. He resigned from the Clann during a local split in the party and joined Fine Gael, but was unsuccessful as a candidate for the party three times, 1965, 1973 and 1977. He always described his Dáil term as "short and sharp". He once said: "I have mixed feelings about national politics now. It was interesting, but it was very much a full-time job. I had a lot of business responsibilities at the time and quite honestly I always preferred local politics." The Russell family background had always been Parnellite and Cumann na nGaedheal. Although he raised some $45,000 as chairman of the Limerick Memorial Committee during a visit to America in 1957, he always considered that it represented his most embarrassing occasion. At the time it appeared he had lost the great gold ceremonial chain of the office of mayor of Limerick. "It was missing for over 12 hours. After a sleepless night and endless prayers for its recovery," he explained, "it turned up just in time on unlocking the boot of the official car." For most of his life he was chairman of the family provender milling business and was chairman of the Silvermines company for 38 years. This followed an investment of £2,000 by his 83-year-old aunt, Helena O'Connor. Her nephew said at the time: "She was supporting this speculative Irish industry when many others were reluctant to do so." He was also chairman of Aran Energy. Despite all Russell's public activities, he said it was his work with the Cancer Association of Ireland that he considered his most significant contribution to society. He served as chairman of the association 1949-61 and saw the building of St Luke's Hospital, Dublin, as well as diagnostic clinics throughout the country. This was long before he was to know that this was to be his fatal illness. Ted Russell was born on April 9th, 1912, the week before the Titanic sank. He first attended Crescent College in Limerick and for a short time Mount St Benedict's near Gorey under the famous Father Sweetman, but he was then sent to Stonyhurst Jesuit College in England. There, apart from receiving a fine education, he became a proficient rugby player. On leaving Stonyhurst he went straight into the family business of Dan O'Connor, Millers. On his return to Limerick joined the Bohemians Rugby Football Club, with which he played during his school holidays. He was captain of the club in 1936 and 1937 and later became president and trustee. He also rowed with Limerick Boat Club, although his father and uncle were founder members of the rival Shannon Rowing Club. He played for three successive seasons with Munster and in 1938 got a final Irish rugby trial. "I was, however, too light as a forward at 12 stone 10 lb to be picked for Ireland. There were then men like Sammy Walker and Jack Higgins weighing 15 to 16 stone," he said. Thirty-two years ago Russell donated 2½ acres of land at Barrington's Pier, near his home, which has been developed into a People's Park. In recognition of his long service to the city of his birth he was elected an honorary freeman in June 1995, and in 2002 the University of Limerick awarded him an honorary doctorate in economics. He is survived by his wife, Derry (née Gleeson of Nenagh), three daughters and a son: Mary Barton (Kent), Margaret Harnett (Dublin), George A. Russell (Limerick) and Derry O'Neill (Dublin). Limerick Leader Obituary, Dec 4 2004:
THE death occurred this Sunday of the city's longest-serving
public representative, Freeman of Limerick and honorary doctor
of UL, Ted Russell, aged 92.
George Edward Russell was Alderman for Ward One in each of
four decades, was five times mayor, represented Limerick as a
TD and later as a senator. He was chairman of the then Limerick
Harbour Commissioners for what is believed to be a world record
26 successive years. He was also a director of the Chamber of
Commerce and became its president.
His business interests included the family firm, Dan O'Connor
Ltd., the animal feeds millers on the Ballysimon Road, and
National Rusks on the Dock Road. He was also chairman of
Silvermines Lead and Zinc plc, and of Eagle Star insurance
company.
A lifelong member of Bohemians WC and a former president of
the club, he had been a Munster trialist in his younger days. He
faithfully followed Ireland on the rugby field, making his
headquarters the Berkeley Court Hotel on Lansdowne Road for
international weekends
Born into a prosperous Limerick merchant family with a tradition
of public service (his own grandfather, George Russell
represented the Irishtown Ward on City Council until 1876 and
other forebears, John Norris Russell, Richard Russell and
Thomson Russell had each been Sheriffs of Limerick in the mid
1800s), the young Ted was educated at a residential Catholic
school in England before returning to join the firm of his uncle,
Dan O'Connor at their shop and store at William Street in 1929.
He was descended from the milling and baking Russells.
He was easily elected to the City Council in 1941 and to the
Harbour Commissioners, and sat for the short-lived Clam na
Poblachta, under Sean McBride.
Mr Russell entered the Dail an independent. He later transferred
to Fine Gael. He continued as a member of Seanad ~ireann until
the election of 1977, and withdrew from City Council at the
elections of 1979 after 38 years as Alderman for Ward One. He
was replaced as councillor by his son, George, who sat one term.
At the time of his leaving council, Ted Russell donated a gold
medallion, inscribed with the arms of the city, to be worn by the
Lady Mayoress at official functions. Its first recipient was Mrs
Helen Byrne.
A noted philanthropist, Mr Russell also donated the land behind
his home, 'Deravoher', North Circular Road, to the people at the
time of the construction of Condell Road, and is now the roadside
park beside Barrington's Pier which bears his name.
Also dedicated to him during his lifetime, to mark his service to
the Harbour Commissioners, is the city dock itself.
Among his other interests was the mercantile history of Limerick,
and he made a memorable contribution to the special millennium
supplement of the Limerick Leader of January l, 2000.
Mr Russell was made Freeman of Limerick in 1995 in the
company of two other notables, Dr Brendan O'Regan, chief
motivator of Shannon Airport and Shannon Development, and Dr
Edward M Walsh, founding president of the University of
Limerick. At the time of his investiture as freeman by Mayor
Dick Sadlier, Mr Russell mkde an empassioned appeal to city
councillors to conserve the tradition and character which has been
part of Limerick for a thousand years.
He was subsequently conferred with an honorary doctorate by
UL. When his beloved Bohemians merged with UL, he continued
to attend their matches, well into his nineties. His coffin was
draped in the club colours.
He is survived by his wife Derry, and his son George and
daughters, Mary. Margaret and Deny. Wikipedia Biography:
George Edward Russell (1 April 1912 – 28 November 2004) was an Irish politician and company director.
Born into a prosperous Limerick merchant family, Russell was educated first at Crescent College in Limerick and for a short time Mount St Benedict's near Gorey at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire.
Russell first stood for election as a Clann na Poblachta candidate at the 1948 general election but was not elected. He was also an unsuccessful candidate at the 1951 general election and the 1952 Limerick East by-election. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as an independent Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick East constituency at the 1957 general election. He lost his seat at the 1961 general election. He was elected to the 12th Seanad in 1969 on the Industrial and Commercial Panel and was re-elected to the 13th Seanad in 1973. He was defeated at the 1977 Seanad election. He unsuccessfully contested the 1965 general election as a Fine Gael candidate.
He was a longtime member of Limerick Corporation, elected first as an independent (1942) and later as a member of Gluais Linn (1945), Clann na Poblachta (1950, 1955), and Fine Gael (1960, 1967, 1974, 1979).
He served as Mayor of Limerick on five occasions (1954–57, 1967–68 and 1976–77). He was made a Freeman of the city in 1995 and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Limerick in 2002.
He was the President of the Limerick Chamber from 1948 to 1950.
Russell was active in the campaign for the establishment of a university in Limerick, which led to the establishment of the National Institute for Higher Education (later the University of Limerick) in 1972.
He was married to Derry (née Gleeson of Nenagh) and had three children."2Civil Registration, Marriage - Eire.
"1938 Marriage solemnized at the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh in the Registrar's District of Nenagh No. 1 in the Superintendent Registrar's District of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No. 48
When married - 14th September 1938
Groom - Edward George Russell
Groom's age - full
Groom's condition - Bachelor
Groom's occupation - Merchant
Groom's residence - Corbally Limerick
Groom's father - Mathew John Russell; Merchant
Bride - Dervilla Gleeson
Bride's age - full
Bride's condition - Spinster
Bride's residence - Benedine Nenagh
Bride's father - Joseph Gleeson; farmer and landlord
Married in the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church by me, William Gleeson S.J.
in the presence of us, Harry Russell; and Moira Lynch."
1Civil Registration, Birth - Ireland.
"Births Registered in the District of Nenagh in the Union of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No. 141
When born - 1917 August Twenty Seventh
Where born - Turnpike, Nenagh
Name - Devila
Sex - F
Father - Joseph Gleeson; Turnpike
Mother - Margaret Gleeson; formerly Gaynor
Father's occupation - Farmer
Informant - Rosaline Waterson; Summer Hill Nenagh; present at birth."2Website - FindaGrave.com (www.findagrave.com), Memorial ID 235281326.
The death has occurred of Derry RUSSELL (née Gleeson)
"Name - Dervilla "Derry" Gleeson Russell
Birth - unknown
Death - 8 June 2011
Burial - Mount Saint Lawrence Cemetery, Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
North Circular Road, Limerick City, Limerick
Late of Ben Aden, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. At her home, 'Derravoher', N.C. Road, Limerick. Derry, wife of the late Ted. Deeply regretted by her children Mary, Margaret, George and Derry, grandchildren, extended family and friends. Rest In Peace Removal to arrive at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Ennis Road on Friday evening at 6.30pm. Funeral on Saturday, after 11am Mass, to Mount St. Lawrence Cemetery. No flowers please. House private.
Date Published: Wednesday 8th June 2011
Date of Death: Wednesday 8th June 2011
RIP.ie Daughter of Joseph and Margaret Gleeson of Nenagh, Co. Tipperary."3Civil Registration, Marriage - Eire.
"1938 Marriage solemnized at the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh in the Registrar's District of Nenagh No. 1 in the Superintendent Registrar's District of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary
No. 48
When married - 14th September 1938
Groom - Edward George Russell
Groom's age - full
Groom's condition - Bachelor
Groom's occupation - Merchant
Groom's residence - Corbally Limerick
Groom's father - Mathew John Russell; Merchant
Bride - Dervilla Gleeson
Bride's age - full
Bride's condition - Spinster
Bride's residence - Benedine Nenagh
Bride's father - Joseph Gleeson; farmer and landlord
Married in the Roman Catholic Church of Nenagh according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church by me, William Gleeson S.J.
in the presence of us, Harry Russell; and Moira Lynch."
1Civil Registration, Death - New Zealand, Ref: 1916 / 664, NZ Registrar General.
Deaths 1916; GLEESON, Patrick; 74 years old;.2Newspaper - Auckland Star, Volume XLVII; Issue 56; Page 4, 6 Mar 1916.
"OBITUARY.
MR. PATRICK GLEESON. A well-known resident of Auckland, Mr. Patrick Gleeson, died at his residence, Selwyn Lodge, Panell, on March 4, at the advanced age of 78 years. In his earlier days deceased was one of the hardy band of pioneers who followed the goldfields. A native of Tipperary, Ireland, Mr. Gleeson went out to Australia when a lad of 14, and worked on various goldfields. He was present at the fight for the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat when the miners rose in protest against the high cost of "rights" to dig for gold. From Australia, Mr. Gleeson came across to the New Zealand goldfields in the early sixties, and finally settled in Napier. Later he removed to Auckland and built Gleeson's Hotel, at the foot of Hobson Street, and then ultimately became the owner of a number of hotels. Some time ago he returned to Napier, where he went in for building, then coming back to Auckland, erected several large buildings in this city. Mr. Gleeson was a well preserved man for his years. He is survived by his wife and the following children: Mr. M. J. Gleeson, of Napier; Mr. P. S. Gleeson, Mr. J. C. Gleeson (ex-City Councillor), and Mrs. M. Treston, of Napier. The interment will be at Napier."
1Civil Registration Index - New Zealand (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Home/), Death 1877 / 1894.
"ANDREWS, Christina; 32 years old."
1Civil Registration Index - New Zealand (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Home/), Death 1910 / 9034.
"METHVEN, William; 86 years old."
1Civil Registration Index - New Zealand (https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Home/), Birth 1910 / 24015.
"METHVEN, Marjorie Edith; mother is Mary Ann Elder; father is William."2Civil Registration Index - New Zealand, Death 1928 / 5435.
"METHVEN, Marjorie Edith; 17 years old."