James Ryan and the Development of the Independent Irish State

Michael Loughman

Few figures in twentieth-century Ireland remained at the centre of Irish public life as long as James Ryan. First coming to prominence as the GPO’s medical officer during the Easter Rising, Ryan, alongside his wife, Máirín Cregan, continued to play an active part in the struggle for independence that followed. His strident republicanism ensured he was on the losing side in the Civil War, but out of this defeat, he emerged as a founder of Fianna Fáil and one of Éamon de Valera’s most trusted lieutenants.

As one of the longest-serving ministers in the state’s history, Ryan presided over momentous periods of crisis and change not only for the departments he managed but also for the country itself. As Minister for Agriculture, Ryan steered the pillar of the Irish economy through the turbulence of the 1930s and 1940s. He later became the first minister in the newly established Departments of Health and Social Welfare, implementing substantial legislative reforms in the face of powerful vested interests. Finally, upon his appointment as Minister for Finance in 1957, Ryan worked closely with Seán Lemass to lift Ireland out of its economic malaise. 

When James Ryan finally retired from public life in 1969, the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, observed that Ryan’s life ‘could well provide material for an absorbing and exciting book’. It has taken some time for such a work to emerge, but this book finally gives recognition to James Ryan and his role in the making of independent Ireland.

Michael Loughman recently completed his PhD on the life and career of James Ryan at Dublin City University. An Irish Research Council scholar, he is also the recipient of the 2020 Universities Ireland History Bursary.