William Kent (Irish politician)

William Kent
William Kent
Teachta Dála
	In office; January 1933 – July 1937
	In office; September 1927 – February 1932
Constituency	Cork East
Personal details
Born	27 February 1873; Castlelyons, County Cork, Ireland
Died	8 March 1956 (aged 83); County Cork, Ireland
Political party	Independent; National Centre Party; Fianna Fáil;
Spouse	Kathleen Kent
Children	7

William Rice Kent (27 February 1873 – 8 March 1956) was an Irish politician from County Cork.^[1]

Kent and three brothers—Thomas, David and Richard—were involved in a gunfight with the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) at their home, Bawnard, in Castlelyons, County Cork in May 1916, following the Easter Rising, in which Richard was killed, as well as a head constable. Thomas was court-martialled for the killing and executed, and David was sentenced to death, which was commuted to life imprisonment, but William was acquitted.^[2]

He was first elected as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork East constituency at the September 1927 general election.^[3] He lost his seat at the 1932 general election. He was elected as a National Centre Party TD at the 1933 general election. Unlike the other members of his party, he did not join Fine Gael when the National Centre Party merged with Cumann na nGaedheal in September 1933.^[4]^[5]^[6] He did not contest the 1937 general election.^[7]

His brother David Kent was a Sinn Féin TD for Cork East from 1918 to 1927.

References

^ White, Lawrence William. "Kent, David". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
^ Mac Lochlainn, Piaras F. (1990). Last words: Letters and Statements of the Leaders Executed after the Rising at Easter 1916. Dublin: Stationery Office. pp. 155–157.
^ "William Kent". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
^ White, Anthony (2018). Irish Parliamentarians: Deputies and Senators 1918–2018. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration. p. 288. ISBN 978-1-910393-25-3.
^ "United Ireland Party — Independent Deputy Becomes a Member". The Irish Times. 4 October 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
^ "1933 in the Dáil — Young Men to the Fore — How Government has Shaped". The Irish Times. 26 December 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
^ "William Kent". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2009.