1. Gerald Boland was an Irish Fianna Fail politician who served as Minister for Justice from 1939 to 1948 and 1951 to 1954, Minister for Lands from 1936 to 1939, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1933 to 1936 and Government Chief Whip from 1932 to 1933.
Gerald Boland served as a Senator from 1961 to 1969 and a Teachta Dala for the Roscommon constituency from 1923 to 1961.
When Fianna Fail came to power in 1932, Gerald Boland became a perennial member of the cabinet, most notably as Ireland's longest-serving Minister for Justice.
Gerald Boland was the second child and eldest son among three sons and two daughters of the couple.
Gerald Boland's father had ties to the Irish National Invincibles, and his association with them caused him to have to flee to New York City for a time.
Gerald Boland left school at fifteen and became an apprentice fitter at Broadstone Station.
Gerald Boland was enrolled in the IRB along with his younger brothers Harry in 1904, following in the footsteps of his father James, uncle Jack.
When news broke out of the Easter Rising in 1916 Gerald Boland immediately left his job in Crooksling he was bitterly disappointed when he found out that the order was countermanded.
Gerald Boland was released after a general amnesty in December 1916 he remained involved in revolutionary circles, although he declined to rejoin the IRB, believing the organisation was no longer needed.
Gerald Boland was arrested and imprisoned in Belfast from May to December 1918 for practising military drills in the Dublin Mountains.
Gerald Boland was Battalion Commandant of 3 Battalion, 2 Dublin Brigade in Blessington, County Wicklow, but was captured early on in Irish Civil War on 7 July 1922 and was interned until release in July 1924.
Gerald Boland was amongst those in Kilmainham Gaol who went on hunger strike in October 1923.
Gerald Boland was eventually released from the custody of the state in July 1924.
Gerald Boland was amongst the first in Sinn Fein to call for an end to the party's abstentionism from Dail Eireann, believing it to be a political dead end.
Gerald Boland's proposal was defeated and de Valera and his supporters, including Boland, left Sinn Fein.
Gerald Boland was vital in transferring many members from Sinn Fein to Fianna Fail.
Gerald Boland worked alongside Sean Lemass in building up Fianna Fail's grassroots support and organisation, with Gerald Boland giving particular attention to the party's rural apparatus.
Gerald Boland was appointed Government Chief Whip, a position which allowed him to attend cabinet meetings but not vote at them.
Fianna Fail remained in power with an increased mandate following the 1933 general election and Gerald Boland was promoted to the position of Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.
Gerald Boland was critical of Lemass' policy of centralising industrial development in Dublin, he instead wished to see a more decentralised economy based around food production.
In 1937 Gerald Boland was highly vocal during the drafting of a new constitution of Ireland by Fianna Fail against any word which would have given the Catholic Church special status, something heavily considered at the time.
Gerald Boland declared that if the constitution elevated the position of the Catholic Church above others, it would be sectarian, anti-republican, and a hindrance to any prospects of Irish reunification.
The outbreak of World War II in 1939, known as the Emergency in Ireland, resulted in several new cabinet appointments and Gerald Boland became Minister for Justice.
Gerald Boland took over at a time when the IRA had declared war against the British state and had begun their Sabotage Campaign.
Gerald Boland was charged with the task of crushing the organisation and preventing the IRA from drawing the Irish state into conflict with the UK.
In 1940, several imprisoned IRA members went on hunger strike, Gerald Boland refused to grant their release.
Two of the men eventually died, one of whom was the nephew of one of Gerald Boland's Fianna Fail colleagues.
Gerald Boland subsequently introduced tougher measures by setting up a military court with the death penalty with no provision for appeal except for a review by the government.
In 1947, Boland was amongst four leading Fianna Fail figures involved in the "Locke's Distillery Scandal", an accusation brought by Oliver J Flanagan that foreign businessmen were bribing members of Fianna Fail to gain the right to purchase the distillery.
Gerald Boland did not seek ministerial office in 1957 when Fianna Fail returned to power after its defeat in 1954.
At the 1961 general election, Gerald Boland was defeated for the first time in fourteen general election campaigns.
Gerald Boland articulated his loss of confidence in the leadership of Taoiseach Jack Lynch.
Gerald Boland died in Dublin at the age of 87 on 5 January 1973.
Gerald Boland was survived by his three daughters and four sons.