J. G. MacManaway facts for kids
James Godfrey MacManaway (born April 22, 1898 – died November 3, 1951) was a British politician from the Ulster Unionist Party. He was also a priest in the Church of Ireland. He is famous for being removed from his job as a Member of Parliament (MP) because he was a priest. He was also awarded the MBE, which is a special award for good service.
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Early Life and Service
James Godfrey MacManaway was born in County Tyrone in 1898. He was the youngest son of Bishop James MacManaway, who was an important leader in the Church of Ireland. James went to school at Campbell College in Belfast and then studied at Trinity College, Dublin.
When he was only 17, James joined the Royal Flying Corps and served during the First World War. Later, in 1925, he became a priest in the Church of Ireland. He worked as the Rector (a type of church leader) at Christ Church in Derry from 1930 to 1947. During the Second World War, he served as a Chaplain for the armed forces, helping soldiers with their spiritual needs. In 1945, he received the MBE for his service.
Starting a Political Career
In June 1947, MacManaway was chosen to be a member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. He represented the City of Londonderry for the Ulster Unionist Party.
After this, he wanted to become a Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK Parliament in London, often called Westminster. However, there was a question about whether he could do this because he was a priest. Old laws in Britain said that clergymen from certain churches, like the Established Church (Church of England) and the Roman Catholic Church, could not be MPs.
MacManaway asked for legal advice from Edmund Warnock, a top lawyer in Northern Ireland. Warnock told him that since the Church of Ireland was no longer the official state church after 1869, those old laws might not apply to him.
So, MacManaway was chosen by the Unionist party to run for the Belfast West seat in the 1950 General Election. To be extra careful, he even resigned from his roles in the Church of Ireland. He won the election, beating the current MP, Jack Beattie. A young man named Ian Paisley, who later became a famous politician, helped with MacManaway's campaign.
End of His Political Journey
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to indemnify the Reverend James Godfrey MacManaway from any penal consequences incurred under the House of Commons (Clergy Disqualification) Act, 1801, by sitting or voting as a member of the Commons House of the Parliament of the United Kingdom or as a member of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland. |
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| Citation | 14 & 15 Geo. 6. c. 29 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 10 May 1951 |
James MacManaway was the first priest to become an MP in the House of Commons in 150 years. Because of this, a special group called a Select Committee looked closely at his case. They couldn't decide for sure if he was allowed to be an MP. They suggested that new laws were needed to make things clear.
Instead, the government's Home Secretary, James Chuter Ede, sent the matter to a very high legal group called the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. This group decided that there was a gap in the existing laws. Even though the Church of Ireland was no longer the official state church, the old House of Commons (Clergy Disqualification) Act 1801 still said that anyone "ordained to the office of priest or deacon" could not be an MP.
So, on October 19, 1950, the House of Commons decided that MacManaway was not allowed to be an MP. However, they passed a special law called the Reverend J. G. MacManaway's Indemnity Act 1951. This law protected him from having to pay large fines (which were £500 each time) for voting in Parliament when he wasn't supposed to. MacManaway had voted five times.
MacManaway was very upset. He felt it was unfair and an old-fashioned rule that ended his career suddenly. He did not run in the new election that followed. His time as an MP in the House of Commons lasted only 238 days.
Later Life and Death
Soon after he left the House of Commons, MacManaway's wife passed away in January 1951. He then resigned from his seat in the Stormont (the Northern Ireland Parliament). He died shortly after, in November 1951, at the age of 53, after a fall.
Changes to the Law Later On
After MacManaway's case, another Select Committee looked at changing the law in 1951. They agreed that the old law was strange and out of date. They talked to different Christian churches. However, they didn't suggest any specific changes to the law at that time. It's important to know that this law did not apply to all churches, like the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. So, ministers from those churches, like Martin Smyth, were able to serve as MPs.
The issue stayed the same for almost 50 years. Then, David Cairns, who used to be a Roman Catholic priest, was chosen to run for a safe Labour seat in Greenock and Inverclyde. It looked like there might be another problem like MacManaway's.
Because of this, the Labour government introduced a new law. This law removed almost all rules that stopped clergy (religious leaders) from any church from being MPs in the House of Commons. The only people still not allowed are Church of England bishops, because they have a special role in the House of Lords (another part of Parliament). This new law, called the House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001, was passed just in time for David Cairns to become an MP.
See also
- List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service
