Peadar Cowan

Peadar Cowan (23 October 1903 – 9 May 1962) was an Irish soldier, lawyer, and politician.

Biography He was a member of the West Cavan Brigade IRA during the Irish War of Independence. Subsequently, he joined the National Army on 10 February 1922 as a Captain during the Irish Civil War. His rank was reduced to 2nd Lieutenant during the army cut-backs in 1924, following the end of the Civil War. He was promoted to captain in September 1931 and resigned shortly thereafter. He changed profession and became a solicitor.

In the early 1930s Cowan bounced between radical political factions, becoming a supporter of Eoin O'Duffy's fascistic Blueshirts, before becoming a member of the radical left-wing Irish republican groups Saor Éire in 1931, The group advocated the abolition of private property, the ownership by the workers and labourers of the means of production and the assimilation of Ireland into a Federation of Socialist Republics once World War II had ceased. The group also accused the Knights of St Columba of behaving like a secret Catholic society existing with undue control over Irish society. Some names associated with the group included John de Courcy Ireland, RN Tweedy and Frank Edwards.

The Vanguard's blazen communistic rhetoric quickly made the group a target for the new National Labour Party as well as the Catholic Church. Wth the prospects of growth for the group slim, it was not long before Cowan had moved on from them. He was expelled from the party in July 1948, after he criticised Ireland's receipt of aid from the Marshall Plan negotiated by party leader Seán MacBride as Minister for External Affairs.

Cowan supported Noël Browne over the Mother and Child Scheme and stood again as an Independent candidate at the 1951 general election where he retained his seat. He was defeated at the 1954 general election.

During Cowan's time as a TD, he continued to work in his capacity as a solicitor. It was during this period that Cowan represented (pro bono) the family of a young Eamon Dunphy who were faced with eviction. Cowan was able to prevent the eviction and Dunphy would later recount the episode in an autobiography. Cowan was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1961 general election.

Death Cowan died on 7 May 1962 in Dublin, leaving an estate valued at £5. Cowan married Rosemary Collumb in 1923, and they had seven sons and four daughters. One of those sons, Rory Cowan, unsuccessfully contested the Dublin North-East constituency for the Labour party in 1965.