On November 15 2000 I got the following e-mail from John Cunningham:

"I promised Maurice Laheen of Tuam that I would e-mail you a copy of Bobby Burke: Christian Socialist which I contributed to John A. Claffey's GLIMPSES OF TUAM SINCE THE FAMINE (Tuam 1997), pp.239-54. Unfortunately, I cannot locate a copy on disk at the moment. I did, however, find the text of a lecture I gave to the Old Tuam Society in 1996, which is very close to the text of the published article. I send it as an attachment."

Maurice Laheen is a Tuam local historian, and I am indebted to him for this contact. I add below also references to his own writing on Bobby Burke, and to an evaluation by the Burkes of their work abroad. RJ December 2000.

Bobby Burke: Christian Socialist (paper by John Cunningham)

On 25 May 1950, Senator Robert Malachy Burke of Toghermore, Tuam, wrote a letter of resignation from the Labour Party. He emphasised in the letter that he remained a strong supporter of the party and stressed this point with a donation of £200 for party development. Looking back on eighteen years of activity, the writer referred to the 'kindness and comradeship' he found in the Labour Party and announced his future plans. One paragraph amounts to a declaration of a personal political philosophy. He wrote:

"One of the reasons why I have been glad to work in the Labour Movement, was that it is a world-wide movement, and that in it we are working for the abolition of capitalism and war, and for the establishment of world peace, and a more just social order in all countries based on the Christian and Socialist principles of unselfish co-operation for the common good, comradeship, honesty, and 'fair shares for all'."

Shortly after writing the letter, Robert Malachy Burke left Ireland with his wife Ann, to exercise these same principles in Nigeria, when he went to take up a position as a development worker with an Anglican missionary society in that country. This work he continued, later in Kenya with a Methodist charity, until retirement. After retirement, the Burkes worked for a time with Concern, in the Yemen.

The story of three decades of work in under-developed countries would be fascinating one. In this talk, however, I'll look at the career of Robert Malachy Burke, or Bobby Burke as he was popularly known, in the twenty-odd years before he left Ireland, the years of his life he spent in Tuam, or Toghermore to be exact.

During these years, the young man contributed significantly to Irish public life, and made an especially deep impression on the town of Tuam and surrounding areas. Those most affected by his two decades of political, social and altruistic endeavour were the unemployed, the badly-housed, and the rural poor.

Bobby Burke was born in March 1907, at Ballydugan, Loughrea to Michael Burke and Ethel Maud Henry and grew up in a relatively privileged Church of Ireland family. Both sides of his family had a tradition of public service, Henrys had included a C of I bishop, Burkes had been involved in the politics of the county in the early 19th century, associated with the Dalys of Dunsandle who controlled politics in co Galway.

As a child BB attended a preparatory school in Bray, Co Wicklow. Then he went on to Cheltenham College, a minor English public school at the age of thirteen. It was during his four years there that he began to develop the egalitarian views that were to guide the activity of his adult life.

He was introduced to the philosophy of Christian Socialism by Mr Best, a teacher at the school, and began to read extensively on the subject. He developed an admiration at this time for George Lansbury, the London-based pacifist, Christian socialist, and future parliamentary leader of the British Labour Party.

Consider Christian Socialism for a moment, the ideology to which BB became committed. The principal strain of CS had its origins in England, founded by Frederick Maurice and Rev Charles Kingsley, and had links with Robert Owen's early co-operative movement. Another key figure in the early history of CS was Thomas Hughes, author of Tom Brown's Schooldays. The movement was established in 1848, a year of revolution thru Europe and the year when the Karl Marx and Frederick Engels's Communist Manifesto was published. CS was concerned with the exploitation of workers in many industries, especially the sweated textiles sector, and sought, both by agitating for protective legislation and the formation of workers' cooperatives to bring about real improvements. It consisted mainly of Anglicans who argued that the leadership of their own Church was in the business of providing spiritual reassurance for the The movement issued a succession of propagandist journals and pamphlets and was already a success before it's philosophy was given a name. In naming their philosophy Christian Socialism, Maurice and Kingsley declared:

"That is the only name which will define our object and will commit us at once to the conflict we must engage in sooner or later with the unsocial Christians and the un-Christian socialists."

Success was short-lived, however, and after the failure of a number of its cooperative ventures, Christian Socialism declined and had almost disappeared by the middle of the 1850s. It underwent a couple of revivals in the 1880s and again in the early 1920s, the time when BB was at public school again associated with Anglicanism. Generally speaking, radical Christianity in Britain had been more associated with the Methodist tradition.

So it wasn't from the wind BB took his set of beliefs - the ideology of the the author of TBS, the quintessential public school novel, picked up from a schoolmaster in another public school.

Conscious of his status as a future land-owner, and determined to use his inheritance for social rather than personal benefit, the young man continued his formal education at the Harper-Adams agricultural college in Shropshire, England. Vacations were spent with his mother, who returned to live in her birthplace at Toghermore House, about two miles from Tuam, following the destruction of the family home at Ballydugan during the Troubles. (Her husband, Michael Burke, at this time lived in Dublin; BB being in school). Not long after his mother's arrival in Tuam, letters from RM Burke on subjects as diverse as world peace, athletics, and Christian socialism begin to appear in local newspapers. The Toghermore Sports - which later developed into an annual event drawing competitors from a wide radius - were first organised by Bobby Burke during the summer vacation of 1925 when he was in his eighteenth year. Other public commitments followed. By the end of 1928, he was honorary secretary of the Tuam branches of four national organisations - the Royal Lifeboat Institution; the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; and the League of Nations Society of Ireland - and also active in a number of others.

Letters continued to appear in local newspapers, especially The Herald, about the young man's own preoccupations and favourite causes. Indeed, the letter to the Herald remained one of Bobby Burke's favourite methods of communication during his 20-odd years in Tuam. Often, these letters contain interesting descriptions of local problems with well argued suggestions and solutions. Sometimes, however, they were very preachy, with an overly self-assured tone. One letter of October 1929 must, undoubtedly have got up people's noses. Stating that he often heard young people complaining that life was dull and that they had nothing to do, he proceeded to outline nineteen different things that he himself did, outside of his job that is, to pass the time. These included :

...(organising) excursions to the country and seaside camps for boys and girls from the slums of big cities

... Collecting funds for sundry charitable institutions

... Writing letters to sundry newspapers (including the TUAM HERALD) on religious, social, economic, national and international questions

... Endeavouring to secure for employees (a)Better wages (b) A share in the profits of the business in which they are employed.

All this from a young man of twenty-two. He did practice what he preached, however.

On reaching his majority Bobby Burke proceeded to dispose of the land he had inherited from his uncle to the Land Commission for division among local farmers. As if to underline his disdain for privilege and private property he announced his intention of turning Toghermore into the 'Phoenix Park of Tuam' and invited cyclists and pedestrians to sample the delights of 'handsome avenues' and 'beautiful grounds', while deploring the thoughtlessness of 'untidy persons'.

We do not know what Ethel Maud Burke Henry thought about the influx of animated young people into the grounds around her home but, in any case, she was was not converted by her son's enthusiastic espousal of Christian Socialist principles, especially insofar as it involved her own property. She had inherited a life interest in part of her late brother's estate, close to her residence, which was to pass to her son Bobby, on her death. She reacted stubbornly when she discovered that the remaining few hundred acres of the estate, that part of it to which she held title, was intended by her son as the raw material for a pioneering experiment in co-operative agriculture. Eventually she relented and agreed to lease the land to a newly established co-operative society, but at a commercial rent.

The first co-operators were four agricultural labourers who had been employed by the Henry family at Toghermore and Bobby Burke himself, who acted as secretary of the co-operative as well as taking part in the ordinary work of the farm. The enterprise, which occupied about 200 acres, a third of it woodland, should have been sufficient to satisfy the economic needs of the shareholders. It had, however, an additional role to fulfil. As a model farm, and a bold social experiment, it had to be run on visibly efficient lines if it was to attract imitators. Accordingly, improvements were carried out, modern innovations embraced, and exemplary democratic structures put in place. At the regular meetings of the co-operative members, all decisions concerning the farm were taken at by consensus or, failing that, by majority vote.

Beyond the confines of the estate, the sordid living conditions of many in the Tuam area attracted the attention of the young idealist. He became convinced that inadequate housing was at the root of many social problems and spent several thousand pounds of his inheritance almost immediately on house building and repair in the town of Tuam. In 1931, he announced that he was about 'to give up hunting and spend the time and money thus saved in building houses for the poor'. At the same time, meat and milk from the farm were supplied at a greatly reduced price to the poor of the district.

The most obviously deplorable conditions were endured by members of the Travelling community in Tuam and this was one of the first groups to experience the practical philanthropy of the Christian socialist. Caravans were built locally and, under a type of mortgage system, were sold to Travelling families. As repayments were received, further caravans were built.

The living conditions of the urban poor of Dublin was a major political pre-occupation in those years. Bobby Burke joined the so-called 'War on Slums' movement where he reminded his fellow activists that slums were not by any means confined to Dublin. The 'War on Slums' agitation led to ameliorative legislation in 1931 which enabled local organisations to embark on social housing projects. One outcome of this legislation was the Tuam Public Utility Society, which was registered in August, 1932. Run on principles akin to those of the credit union movement, and availing of government grants, the society had built 150 houses in the Tuam area at a cost of £30,000 by 1938, and had spent more than £50,000 on housebuilding by 1946. Bobby Burke acted as TPUS secretary throughout these years. He was the most active member of the organisation and, it seems, he was a major financial benefactor in its early years.

The philanthropy of individuals and local organisations could only have a limited impact and, inevitably, the young man was drawn towards politics in an attempt to achieve some more fundamental changes in social relations.

The 1932 general election brought Fianna Fail to power and marked a watershed in Irish political life. Not alone were the reins of office handed over peacefully for the first time in the new state, despite dire predictions, but a major change in direction was promised. A more interventionist economic policy was to be accompanied by a more trenchant attitude towards Britain, which remained the state's main trading partner. The policies advocated by Fianna Fail during the election campaign alarmed Bobby Burke. Predicting the economic war which was to follow, he wrote:

"I am firmly convinced that the policy of the Fianna Fáil Party, no matter how good their intention may be, would only result in far worse conditions, worse prices for cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry, butter and eggs; worse wages, more unemployment, more poverty and more slums. I say this chiefly because of their policy with regards to our dealings with England; our nearest neighbour, our best, and almost our only, customer - especially in view of England's present tariff policy. "

This argument was not very different from those put forward by the Cumann na nGaedheal party and although Bobby Burke argued for a vote for either Cumann na nGaedheal, Labour or the Farmers' Party, it was for Cumann na nGaedheal that he campaigned in the run-up to the election. It might have been considered eccentric for a radical Christian socialist to give his energy to, arguably, the most conservative party in the election. Bobby Burke later justified his action at this time, on the grounds that he was supporting the candidate rather than the party, and that the individual in question, Tuam solicitor, Fred McDonagh, could be prevailed upon to act to the advantage of the poor of the area.

Following the election our subject seem to have given some thought to electoral politics. He declared his intention of standing in future elections as an Independent Labour candidate. Subsequently he considered the policy documents of the various parties in the light of his 'Independent Labour' principles and decided that the Labour Party was closest to his own views. He joined the party in November, 1932, following discussions with Jack Coughlan, a railway worker, trade unionist and party member.

This episode, especially the reference to 'Independent Labour' principles sheds light on Bobby Burke's political outlook at the time. 'Independent Labour' meant very little in the Irish context but was significant in Britain, where Bobby Burke's early political education had taken place. The Independent Labour Party (ILP), one of the groups which came together to form the British Labour party in 1900, had retained its own distinct identity and organisation within the party. When the larger party split in 1931, with the more right-wing element leaving to participate in a National Government, the ideologically socialist ILP was a major force in the much smaller Labour Party that remained. Incidentally, George Lansbury, Bobby Burke's boyhood idol, became Labour leader at this juncture. To declare for 'Independent Labour' principles, therefore, as BB did, placed him on the left ideologically, but it is interesting that, several years after coming to live in Tuam, Bobby Burke continued to locate himself on a British political spectrum rather than an Irish one.

The Irish Labour Party that Bobby Burke joined in 1932 was not exactly the beacon to the dispossessed that its founders had envisaged. Founded as the political voice of the Irish Trades Union Congress in 1912, Labour did not fight a full election until 1920. The growth of a radical trade union movement in the previous few years boosted the party's share of the vote to almost 20% in the thirty-two county local elections of that year. Although the party declared itself to be neutral in the Civil War of 1922-3, the decision to take seats in the pro-Treaty Dail ensured that it was perceived as a supporter of the status quo. Having attracted support on the basis of a radical socialism, the party's leadership proceeded to alienate many of its more radical supporters by acting as a constructive parliamentary opposition until the majority of the anti-treatyites entered the Dail as Fianna Fail in 1927. Having accustomed itself to orthodox parliamentarianism the party was outflanked by the 'slightly constitutional' Fianna Fail and emerged from the 1932 election with 8% of the vote, holding only seven seats, and supporting De Valera's minority administration.

De Valera, coming to power for the first time, was unhappy with his dependency on Labour and called a snap general election in January 1933 to escape it. This he successfully did and the Labour share of the vote fell to disastrous 5.7%, 2% less than the previous year.

Bobby Burke was contesting his first election in the nine-seater co Galway constituency (reduced to eight seats because it had elected the outgoing Ceann Comhairle) went against the national trend. He polled 3,080 votes, a significant increase on the party's local performance in 1932, and more than the total received by the successful labour candidate in the constituency in June 1927.

After this good performance, Bobby Burke soon found himself at the very centre of Labour politics nationally when he was elected to the party's ruling administrative council later in the year. According to reports he was greeted in Tuam by bonfires and a large crowd on his return from this, his first party conference. At the 1934 conference he was again prominent and he moved one of the key resolutions passed at that gathering. The resolution, consistent with its proposer's Christian socialism, contrasted Christianity with Communism and argued that Communism be excluded from the labour movement. Coming at a time when prominent left-wingers were attempting to achieve a rapprochement between labour and the Marxist influenced republican movement, the resolution was a controversial one.

The Tuam man must have been a welcome addition to the Labour ranks at this time. Young, educated, transparently idealistic and energetic, with a record of community involvement, he was far removed from the stereotypical labour representatives of the period, most of whom had served their political apprenticeships in the trade unions. As an active and committed Christian he was also more immune than most from the charges of communism which were routinely directed at Labour representatives during the 1930s. It was, however, his co-operative venture which marked him out most clearly. Co-operation was the acceptable face of socialism in the 1930s and the story of the Ralahine, Co Clare co-operative farm of a century earlier was well known in party circles. Popularised by James Connolly, in his oft-reprinted Labour in Irish History, the experiment was short-lived due to the gambling of its founder, but this was seen to be its only weakness. A testament to the vibrancy of the cautionary tale outlined by Connolly is the fact that Thomas Johnson, Labour's first parliamentary leader and Bobby Burke's political mentor, called his own house 'Ralahine'. Bobby Burke, in a sense, therefore, became the very embodiment of Labour's agricultural aspirations. The Toghermore farm became widely known and its initiator was in demand throughout the country as a public speaker on agriculture and co-operation.

One might imagine that the politics, the co-operative farm, the Public Utility Society as well as other developmental and charitable work would have kept BB busy, but he was also an active and interested member of the Church of Ireland. He was an official collector for several C of I charities, but didn't seek contributions from RCs for these. He didn't really engage in any real religious controversy, but he did point out during the Catholic Emancipation centenary commemorations in 1929 that Protestants were also pleased to celebrate the occasion, and though Protestants might be embarrassed by the actions and beliefs of some of their co-religionists of a century earlier, they were no more so than Catholics should be about the excesses of the Inquisition, which was also in the past. His church work resulted in his being elected Honorary Secretary of the All-Ireland Youth Council of the Church of Ireland in the years 1933-6, prominent in what would now be called the 'ecumenical' side of things.

It was at a conference of the AIYC of the C of I that he met Ann Grattan, a committed young Christian and a native of Belfast. In 1936 they got married. Some local predictions that marriage and the influence of his spouse would inhibit his activity and his largesse were not fulfilled.

The alteration of constituency boundaries in Co Galway for the 1937 general election was a blow to Labour and indeed to other smaller parties. The proportion of the popular vote required to take a seat in the new East Galway constituency (a four-seater, reduced to three due to the automatic return of the Ceann Comhairle) was several times greater than in the previous county constituency. Despite the much smaller electorate, Bobby Burke increased his first preference vote to 3,672. This, however, was not sufficient to take a seat. He again contested the 1938 election, when his vote fell back somewhat.

Bobby Burke continued to be active in a wide range of local organisations, notably the Public Utility Society. He was also an active and committed promoter of swimming in the town of Tuam. Another initiative was the building of St Joseph's Labour Hall, where trade unions and kindred organisations could meet and organise. The Hall, Maurice Laheen tells me, was located in Ballygaddy Road, the site was donated by the then Catholic Archbishop, Dr Gilmartin, after he was approached by Bobby Burke; the structure itself was composed of pre-fabs which had been used by clerks employed in the building of the Sugar Factory and was erected by Tuam LP members. Over the years it was HQ of ITGWU, LP, Tuam Brass Band, night classes, also the scene of many lively debates.

As secretary of the Tuam branch of the Royal Lifeboat Institute, he evidently found some common ground with his mother who was a generous contributor to its funds. He himself was a generous contributor to the Catholic charity, St Vincent de Paul. His financial means were not inexhaustible however and in 1938, when several local families were threatened with eviction, due to being unable to pay their rent, he argued that rent levels should be reduced. Replying to a suggestion that he should pay people's arrears himself, as he had apparently done in 1930-4, he indicated that he had little money at his disposal, having spent it on various projects some years previously.

Another organisation in which he played a prominent role was the Roman Catholic community development organisation, Muintir na Tire, which was established in May 1931 by Fr John M Hayes. Muintir na Tire branches, called guilds, were run according to the vocational structures fashionable in Catholic circles at the time, with delegates, selected by various interest groups, forming the nucleus of local branches. Bobby Burke represented the unemployed in the St Jarlath Guild in Tuam which was formed in 1939. Among the projects initiated by the guild was a tree planting scheme, on land donated by Bobby Burke at Toghermore. An article in a Muintir na Tire publication, describes this initiative. The anonymous contributor (probably Bobby Burke) points out that the workers on the tree planting scheme were paid a 'family wage', substantially more than the usual rates paid in the area, and that the workers would all become part-owners of the trees. In this respect, the tree-planting scheme was typical of the projects Bobby Burke was involved in. He was always concerned that the trade union rate, or better, was paid and looked to the employment potential of an initiative equally with the other social benefits. In giving the annual report of the Tuam Public Utility Society, therefore, he tended to emphasise the amount of employment provided as much as the number of houses built.

Reading through the newspapers of the period, one is struck by the one-sided denominational character of much public discourse and debate. In the decades after British withdrawal from the 26 counties, the Catholic church in Ireland was, understandably enough in a sense, flexing its muscles and asserting itself in society. This must have made it quite difficult for an active and committed member of the Church of Ireland to participate in public life. While his early philanthropy was suspected by some - it was alleged for instance that he 'was getting up houses for proselytising' - Bobby Burke's efforts were soon accepted in the community. The fact that his Christian socialism continued to be derided as 'protestant communism' from election platforms might have been mildly irritating to Bobby Burke, but the widespread insensitivity to minority concerns and beliefs must have been much more frustrating. As an community activist, Bobby Burke had to quickly develop a sensitivity to the attitudes and beliefs of his Catholic neighbours, he had to participate in unapologetically denominational organisations such as Muintir na Tire, and he had to propose and support resolutions and panegyrics to Catholic dignitaries. It would be fair to say that his sensitivity in this matter was in no way reciprocated.

The Toghermore farm continued to take up most of Bobby Burke's time and indeed his family's regular income was that of a farm labourer. An Irish Times journalist visited the enterprise in 1941 and painted a hive of picturesque activity. I quote from the journalist's account:

"Backs bent, reaping hooks in their hands, the men were cutting the stalks of sugar beet, which, instead of being pulled last year, had been allowed to grow wild to produce seed. The stalks were green and laden with seed, some of which dropped to the ground as they were cut. Over the next hedge-row, grass was being prepared for silage, while a couple of fields away, other men were following a cart laden with golden oat-sheaves to the farmyard."

Eleven years after the start of the co-operative, the number of co-operators had doubled to ten with the admission of five unemployed agricultural workers, among them a blacksmith who kept the machinery in working order. The poultry farm had produced 100,000 eggs a year and 3,000 chickens were hatched annually in the farm incubator but this aspect of the work had to be curtailed due to the shortage of animal foodstuffs caused by the World War. Half of the arable area of the farm was under labour-intensive tillage, chiefly wheat, with an acre devoted to the cultivation of sugar-beet seed for Comhlucht Suicre Eireann, replacing supplies which had hitherto come from Denmark and Czechoslovakia.

The weekly wages, at 30/-, were only slightly higher than those prevailing in the neighbourhood, but conditions were far superior. Each co-operator had grazing rights for a cow and a calf, as well as two acres of a vegetable garden for personal use. In addition, the houses were free of charge, each family had its own turf bank and a generous insurance scheme was in operation. The working week of fifty-four hours was considered short, the fortnight's annual holiday almost unique. On the basis that six of the co-operative members had got married since they joined, Bobby Burke told the journalist that he considered the farm a success and a good example to small farmers. Increased leisure time and a reasonable standard of living could not both be achieved on a small farm, which could not afford to use modern machinery or labour saving devices. He pointed proudly to the tractor-driven circular saw, the electrically lit cowsheds and the half-mile of light railway, built to convey the sugar beet crop to the main road. The remaining remnants of large estates, he concluded, should be given to labourers and the landless sons of small farmers and operated as cooperatives. He was certain that there was a future for such co-operatives in Ireland, despite what he described as the 'individualism' of most farmers. More than 400 young men and girls, he said, had applied to join the Toghermore cooperative farm in the ten years since it was established.

Some political success was finally achieved in the local elections of 1942, when Bobby Burke was elected onto the Galway County Council with the second highest vote in the county. Being required to attend regular meetings in Galway, he was obliged to acquire personal transport and, over the following years, the sound of Bobby Burke on his motor-cycle became a familiar one throughout East Galway. In 1943, a good year for the Labour Party, he again contested a general election, but despite gaining 5,029 votes, did not win a seat, due in part to the popularity in his constituency of Clann na Talmhan, a party established in 1938 to address the grievances of West of Ireland farmers. The council seat was retained in 1947.

The last general election that Bobby Burke took part in was in 1948, when he fought the new three seat North Galway constituency. At a time when Labour should have been building on its good performance of 1943, it was instead riven with dissension. A group of TDs, associated with the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, split to form the rival National Labour, alleging, on the basis of the acceptance of James Larkin as an official candidate, that Labour had been taken over by communists. A similar split had already divided the Irish Trade Union Congress. Bobby Burke remained with the Labour Party, although his colleague in the neighbouring West Galway constituency did not. This cannot have had a good effect on morale and the party was also faced with the additional challenge from Sean McBride's newly-formed and radical Clann na Poblachta party.

Some consolation came in the aftermath of the general election when Bobby Burke was elected to the Seanad on the agricultural panel. He initiated a major debate in the Seanad when he proposed:

"That in the opinion of Seanad Eireann the government should encourage and facilitate the establishment of a small number of co-operative farms or co-operative farm units as an experiment with a view to the extension of either or both of these systems of farming if found to be satisfactory."

During the debate he gave the house information on his own experience in this regard and was questioned on aspects of it. Stressing that he was opposed to any element of compulsion in creating co-operatives, he outlined what he regarded as the benefits of the system. He argued that most small farms could not pursue a correct rotation of crops; if several small farms came together, however, more effective cultivation could be carried out. This would remove the threat to industries such as the Tuam sugar factory, which needed more sugar beet if it were to survive. In addition, he felt that co-operative farms could acquire labour-saving machinery which small individual farms could not, while illness or incapacity would not be as serious a matter in a co-operative, where the other members could carry on with the work. As well as the practical benefits, Senator Burke asserted that:

"from a moral point of view, it is desirable that people should be encouraged to work together in co-operation instead of being too individualistic. It is in accordance with Christian principles that people should be encouraged to work together for the common good and to help each other."

Several senators were extremely hostile to the idea of co-operation and questioned the motives of the proposer. Co-operation was dismissed by some as Utopian or communistic while one speaker suggested that the Toghermore venture was a sophisticated device which enabled the employer to extract more work from his employees. Rather than have his proposal defeated, Bobby Burke withdrew it before it was voted on.

In February 1949 Ethel Maud Burke Henry died, leaving all her personal property to the Church of Ireland for charitable purposes. Toghermore House and the remaining land passed to her son, Bobby, according to the provisions of her brother's will. It would appear that Bobby and Ann Burke determined to leave Ireland soon afterwards. According to one contemporary the senator was 'dispirited by the party factions and the sectarian animosities in Ireland'. If he was, there is no hint of this in his letter of resignation from the Labour Party, which is warm and positive. The letter indicates that the writer sees the work he is about to undertake in Nigeria as being a continuation of the work he has been doing in Ireland, and that he regards the need for his skills as being greater in the African country. According to a Church of Ireland publication, he had 'always shown a keen interest in Missions Overseas'; the death of his mother meant that Bobby Burke was in a position to actively pursue this interest.

After discussions with his fellow co-operative members, he initiated plans to transfer the ownership of the farm, via the Land commission, to those working on it. The consensus among them was that they wished to become individual small-holders rather than continue the co-operative if their secretary was not going to continue in that role. Their wishes were carried out.

He also began to investigate ways of disposing of the house. He had come to admire the energy of Dr Noel Browne, the new Health minister, especially as regards his ambitious TB eradication programme, concluded that the house could be used as a rehabilitation centre for patients recovering from the disease, and sought the advice of Tom Johnson, the former Labour leader, as to how this might be best achieved. A committee was set up, which established a friendly society and the property was given on a 75 year lease at a nominal rent of one shilling a year. Early in 1951, having put their affairs in order, Bobby and Ann Burke left for Nigeria.

Twenty years of often frenetic activity had resulted in many achievements and some disappointments. The co-operative, although a successful venture in its own right, had not survived its initiator's departure, nor, as far as can be ascertained, had it inspired any significant imitators. Politically, Bobby Burke had not succeeded in getting elected to the Dail, despite coming close on two occasions. It should be said that his political performance was still quite extraordinary in a rural constituency of mainly small farms with few farm labourers who might vote for him. Political disadvantages - Protestant, landlord, Labour - over 5,000 votes for in those circumstances a tribute to his transparent integrity, his hard work, persistence as well as a degree of stubbornness.

He did served effectively, however, on Galway County Council and in Seanad Eireann. If he had persisted, there can be little doubt that he would have become a TD; his departure left the members of the Labour Party in North Galway bereft, and they they did not again contest a general election for many years.

On a more positive note, Bobby Burke contributed an enormous amount of social and altruistic effort, the results of which are impossible to quantify. He was an indefatigable campaigner and letter-writer to the newspapers. Indeed, it has only been possible to deal with some of his activities and interests in this talk. His efforts to provide housing benefited hundreds of families in North Galway; his struggles to generate employment saved many from having to emigrate.

He contributed significantly to improving the quality of life in the Tuam area through his work with organisations such as Muintir na Tire, Vincent de Paul, and countless others, while he remained an active member of his own Church and a supporter of its charities. Both Bobby and Ann Burke were conscious of the fact that the social life of young people was extremely dull; they sought to liven it somewhat by encouraging cycling and other outdoor activity, by organising outings to the sea at Salthill and, of course, through the annual sports at Toghermore. Arguably however, the most important legacy of Bobby Burke's years in Tuam is also the most intangible and unquantifiable: we will never know how many others were inspired by his example to struggle on behalf of the poor and marginalised.

Bobby Burke in the Missionary Years

Some navigational notes:

Copyright Dr Roy Johnston 1999