Patrick Shea

Patrick Shea (27 April 1908—1986) was a Northern Irish Civil Servant and the first Catholic since A. N. Bonaparte-Wyse in the 1920s to achieve the rank of Secretary of a Government Department in Northern Ireland.

Career

Shea was born in Delvin, County Westmeath, where his father, a native Irish speaker from West Kerry, was a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary. His father had various postings until the RIC was disbanded on the Partition of Ireland in 1922. Shea later joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary, achieving the rank of Head Constable and later Clerk of Petty Sessions in Newry, County Down, where the family later lived. Patrick Shea attended the Christian Brothers school at Abbey, and on leaving joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service in June 1926.

Shea was given an OBE in 1961 and CB 1972. He was made an Honorary member of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects in 1971 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1977. He was a long-time member of the Ulster Arts Club.

His postings included:
* Ministry of Labour, Clerical Officer 1926-1935 Belfast, Outdoor Officer Enniskillen 1935-1938, Senior Clerk, Headquarters 1938-1939
* Ministry of Finance, Assistant Principal 1939-1941, Deputy Principal 1941. his initial appointment to this office was blocked because he was a Catholic by the Minister of Labour John F. Gordon who was later overruled by John M. Andrews the Minister of Finance.
* Secretary Civil Service Committee for Northern Ireland 1941
* Ministry of Education, Principal December 1947-1959, Establishment Officer and Accountant
* Ministry of Finance, Public Buildings and Works , 1959-1963, Assistant Secretary 1963-1969
* Ministry of Education, Permanent Secretary,December 1969-1973After retirement he chaired Enterprise Ulster from 1973 -1979.

Other interests

He played golf and Rugby for the Civil Service Rugby Club. He wrote a one act play "A lady in a Cage", published by Harraps in "The Best One-Act Plays of 1950-51" and broadcast on the BBC. In partnership with John Kevin Maguire, under the pseudonyms John Kevin and P.S. Laughlin, they wrote for broadcasting. His play "Waiting Night" was produced at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. He married Eithne McHugh (d. 2000) in September 1941 and they had a daughter and two sons. His colleague John A. Oliver said of him 'he had a gift for language, for expression and for repartee in a high degree'.

References

* Patrick Shea, "Voices and the sound of drums", Blackstaff Press 1981, ISBN 0-85640-247-8he also wrote an unpublished play called "the hidden man"

External links

* Graham Gudgin on Stormont Administration, [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:LvDjgVib4cgJ:cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/discrimination/gudgin99.htm+patrick+shea+civil+servant+stormont&hl=en&gl=ie&ct=clnk&cd=1]
* Arthur Greene, "Bereauracy for Belfast 1920-1970, [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:3N3-JKo0ChcJ:www.cadogan.org/articles/bureaucracy.htm+patrick+shea+civil+servant+stormont&hl=en&gl=ie&ct=clnk&cd=3]