Name John Hearne Role Lawyer | Education Waterpark College | |
Born 1893 Waterford, Ireland Alma mater Maynooth College (BA),
King's Inns (BL),
UCD (LLB) Occupation Legal scholar, diplomat Died 1969, Dublin, Republic of Ireland | ||
John J. Hearne (Waterford, 1893 – Dublin, 1969) was an Irish legal scholar and diplomat whose role in the drafting of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland was so important that he was referred to as "Ireland's Thomas Jefferson".
Biography
John Hearne was the youngest son of Alderman Richard Hearne a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party who twice served as Mayor of Waterford and Alice Mary née Power. His older brother Canon Maurice Hearne served as parish priest in Cahir.
Hearne attended Waterpark College(Christian Brothers), he went to train for the priesthood at St. John's College, Waterford transferring in 1911 to Maynooth College after a year, here he completed a BA degree in Arts and Philosophy(National University of Ireland), enrolling in a Theology Degree which he didn't complete leaving in 1916 deciding not to become a priest, and studied for the degree of barrister at law at the King's Inns. He also studied law at University College Dublin being awarded an LLB Degree.
In 1937, during the government of Éamon de Valera, he was working as a legal expert in the Department of External Affairs when de Valera called on him to assist in the writing of the new constitution, which would replace the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State. With Maurice Gerard Moynihan, Hearne drew up the first draft of the constitution; according to Moynihan, Hearne had been instrumental in convincing de Valera that a new constitution was necessary in the first place. The exact role of Hearne is not evident from the remaining documents; It is not clear who actually wrote the first draft, and according to the Irish historian John Joseph Lee, "Much remains to be uncovered about the planning and drafting of the constitution, including not least the roles of John Hearne, the legal adviser to External Affairs, and of Maurice Moynihan."
After his legal career, Hearne filled a number of diplomatic positions. In 1939, he was appointed High Commissioner to Ottawa. In March 1950, he became the first Irish ambassador to the United States, and was welcomed in Boston on May 13, 1950. In 1954, he gave the commencement address at Boston College, and on that occasion was awarded with an honorary degree. In 1960, after retiring from the diplomatic service, he became a legislative consultant to Nigeria and Ghana, which had recently acquired independence.
He died in Dublin in 1969. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Irish constitution, Hearne's birthplace (8 William Street in Waterford) was marked with a tribute.
A biography of Hearne, "John Hearne: Architect of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland" by Eugene Broderick was published in 2017.