Timothy Quill Quotes

Whenever the Labour Party is mentioned in a historical context as far as North Cork is concerned, the name of Tim Quill surfaces. Quill was an eloquent public speaker and an unusually intelligent man. He was Labour Deputy for the old North Cork constituency in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Later, he became manager of the Co-op retail shops in Cork City and then purchased a farm at Blarney where he made an internationally respected name as a breeder of Pedigree Friesian livestock.

I regret very much the reverse that has been sustained, where we have lost men like Mr. (Tom) Johnson, who, because of his industry and ability, would receive a place of honour in any Parliament in the world, and young men of the ability and honesty of Mr. Quill, who had been defeated in North Cork by a mere handful of votes, after making a marvellous fight against a combination of influences.

Mr. de Valera has stated that there would be a big change in this country before the war is over. The sooner that change comes, the better, and when it comes it would be for the better of the workers.

W.T Cosgrave claims that emigrants are only going to America to see their friends, but it seems to be a long trip. Likewise, there is not much of the appearance of adventure in the boys and girls who are going across to England, which brings with it the usual breaking of family ties and the same scenes at the stations as of old. Very little reference appears to the dangers of the Faith and morals of these boys and girls, alone in an English city, where they have to work with people with a completely different outlook.

Mr. Quill was also a facile and authoritative writer on agricultural matters.

The working men of Ireland had always stood by their priests when there was a price on their heads. They have neither room nor scope for Fascism or Communism.

We will not discuss the question as to whether the measure of freedom we have obtained is sufficient or otherwise. That is a question on which many people differ. Our complaint in the Labour Movement is that the liberty obtained is not being utilised for the development of the country as it should be, for even at tonight, to a considerable extent, 50,000 to 60,000 people in the Free State are unemployed and many hungry. The one democratic bank we had, the National Land Bank, has been handed over to the Bank of Ireland. We stand for decent wages and conditions. If the workers of the country have decent wages, business in the country will improve, as the shopkeepers and the farmers who want a market for their products will benefit. They will not eliminate unemployment by exporting the best workers of the country to America and by compelling those who have to remain at home to live on out-door relief. We seek a decent, contented and independent working class in the country - not a state of affairs that made despised and degraded paupers of the people.

His role in the expulsion of Michael O’Riordan (who founded the Communist Party of Ireland) from the Labour Party served to underline his assertion that ‘the working men of Ireland...have neither room nor scope for fascism or communism’.

Timothy was always a man of principle.

Quill was the anti-Semitic red-baiting villain of the piece who had both Nagle and O'Riordan expelled.

Summing up, I found in Mr. Quill and family an outlook towards rural life that could make this country a rich and happy land, if there was a more general acceptance and application of his ideas.

Work, but use your head as well as your hands, trust in God and He will never let you down.

We are told that the last vestige of British royalty are gone, but the people who told us most about kings and oaths were the people who summoned the Dáil to put through an Act of Parliament to recognise the new King of England, and the only people who were against it were the Labour Party"

With a strong work ethic, he always stood up for the underprivileged, and was never afraid to speak plainly.

Why should films not be used for Irish-Ireland purposes and for the proper appreciation of scenery and beauty?