Anthony Barry

Anthony Barry (7 June 1901 – 24 October 1983) was an Irish businessman and Fine Gael politician from Cork.

Early life and career

He was born one of 11 children, his family had a small grocery business at Bridge Street in Cork. The firm specialised in teas and wines and later moved to Princes Street. It was awarded the Empire Cup for Tea Blending at the Grocers Exhibition London, 1934. He spent his working life at the firm which was later developed under the tutelage of his son Peter into a major company called Barry's Tea.

Political career

Barry acted as election agent for W. T. Cosgrave, the former President of the Executive Council who was a Teachta Dála TD for Cork Borough from 1932 to 1944. Barry was himself elected to Dáil Éireann as TD for Cork Borough in the 1954 general election, but lost his seat in 1957 and was then elected to the 9th Seanad on the Cultural and Educational Panel. He was re-elected to the Dáil in the 1961 election, and served until a further defeat in the 1965 general election. He was also Lord Mayor of Cork from 1961 to 1962.

His son Peter Barry, his daughter Theresa (Terry) Kelly, "neé" Barry, and granddaughter Deirdre Clune were also politicians.

Photography

He had an interest in photography from an early age and in his 50s his skill developed and apart from taking photographs he developed them at his home in York Terrace. His black and white photographs have a timeless quality and build on a tradition of others such as Robert Day in the 19th century and Robert French who took photographs of Cork for Lawrences in the early 1900s.

References

* "No Lovelier City", a Portrait of Cork by Anthony Barry, Mercier Press 2004 ISBN 1-85635-458-X,
* Oireachtas Members Database.
* RTÉ Radio interview with Deirdre Clune 21 June 2006

ee also

*Families in the Oireachtas

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title=Anthony Barry
list1=s-ttl|title =Lord Mayor of Cork
years =1961–1962