Thomas Kettle (1880-1916) was an Irish economist, barrister, journalist and Irish Parliamentary politician. Born the son of the prominent Land Leaguer, Andrew Kettle in Dublin, Kettle attended Trinity where he was friends with James Joyce, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington and future Chief Justice of Ireland Hugh Kennedy. He was elected to the British Parliament as a Home Rule MP for East Tyrone in 1906. A staunch Constitutionalist, Kettle nonetheless pursued amicable relations with the separatist wing of Irish nationalism; he supported the Dublin lockout of 1913 and was a founding member of the Irish Volunteers. Whilst in Belgium attempting to procure arms for the Volunteers, the First World War broke out and Kettle served as an impromptu war correspondent, detailing first-hand accounts of German atrocities in Belgium. On returning home to Ireland, he sided with John Redmond during the Volunteer split and enlisted in the British Army, ultimately being killed in action during the Battle of the Somme on 9 September 1916.
Writings
Would the ‘Hungarian Policy’ Work? (1905)
The Philosophy of Politics (1905)
Introduction to ‘The Life of Friedrich Nietzsche‘ (1911)
The Open Secret of Ireland (1912)