Arthur Vincent (politician) facts for kids

Arthur Rose Vincent (born June 9, 1876 – died September 24, 1956) was an Irish politician and a type of lawyer called a barrister. He also worked as a judge in courts in different British colonies and countries. Arthur Rose Vincent, along with his wife's parents, gave Muckross House and its large estate to the Irish government.

Arthur Rose Vincent's Early Life

Arthur Rose Vincent was born into an Anglo-Irish family. This means his family had British roots but lived in Ireland for a long time. They lived at Summerhill House in Clonlara, County Clare, Ireland. His parents were Colonel Arthur Hare Vincent and Elizabeth Rose Davidson-Manson.

He was born in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, India. His father was a military officer there. Arthur left India when he was only three years old and never went back.

Arthur went to school at Wellington College, Berkshire in England. He also studied at College de France in Paris and Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. He earned a law degree and became a qualified barrister.

His Career as a Judge

In 1903, Arthur Vincent started working for the British government's legal service abroad. That year, he became a Magistrate (a type of judge) in Kisumu, which was then called British East Africa. In 1905, he was made a Second Assistant Judge in Zanzibar.

From April 1906, he worked as an Assistant Judge for the British Court in Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand). In 1908, he became an Acting Assistant Judge for the British Supreme Court in Shanghai, China. He worked there for about a year. During a trip from Shanghai to San Francisco, he met his future wife. He briefly returned to Zanzibar as an Acting Assistant Judge before leaving this job in early 1910.

Later Life and Muckross House

In 1915, Arthur Vincent held an important local position called High Sheriff of County Kerry. He also served as a justice of the peace.

In 1919, he received a special award called a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). At that time, he was working for the British Ministry of Information in Chicago.

Arthur Vincent was an Independent member of Seanad Éireann from 1931 to 1934. The Seanad Éireann is like one of the houses of the Irish parliament. He was elected in a special election in 1931 and was re-elected for a nine-year term. However, he resigned in 1934 because of poor health.

In 1932, managing the large Muckross House estate became very difficult and expensive for Arthur Vincent. So, he and his wife's parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn, decided to give Muckross House and its huge 11,000 acres of land to the Irish government. They did this as a way to remember Arthur's first wife, Maud Bourn Vincent. Today, this beautiful estate is part of Killarney National Park.

In 1937, Arthur left Ireland and moved to Monaco, where he lived for most of his remaining life. He only returned to Ireland during World War II. He is buried in the Killegy graveyard, which is close to Muckross House.

Marriages and Family

Arthur Vincent married Maud Bowers Bourn in 1910. They had two children together: Elizabeth Rose (born 1915) and Arthur William Bourn (born 1919). Sadly, Maud passed away in 1929 from pneumonia.

In 1933, Arthur married again to Dorothy Lavinia Emily Hughes.