Timothy Quill (9 May 1901 – 10 June 1960) was an Irish Labour Party politician, farmer and a figure in the history of the cooperative movement in Ireland.
Quill, along with TJ Murphy and Paddy Crowley MCC, have been credited with establishing "labourers' clubs" in County Cork during the 1920s and 1930s.
[15] In June 1927, at a meeting in North Cork, Quill outlined what he believed the Labour Party stood for.
Referring to the level of unemployment, he spoke about the "right to work" and the government's perceived failing of "humbler people" over the "well-to-do class".
Speaking on the heavy defeat for Labour in the September 1927 election, T. J. Murphy regretted that the party had lost candidates, like Quill, who he described as "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".
According to The Southern Star, it was thought Quill would be the chosen candidate, but, according to the newspaper's columnist, had "to a certain extent, lost touch with the electors of this division and he declined to accept the honour".
[28] In a letter published in The Southern Star in June 1933, Quill labelled criticisms leveled against him and the Labour movement as 'ignorant'.
[42][43][37] Quill served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork and on the Committee of Management of the South Infirmary.
[44][45] In 1936, Quill said that "the Irish Labour Movement has its own road to travel and had no place for the cries of Fascism or Communism that plagued the world today.
[citation needed] The branch had been established by former members of the Curragh Camp's Communist Group.
O'Riordan had retrospectively asserted that Quill was imposed as chair to ensure that Labour in Cork City could control the new branch.
[47][48][49] A report in the Irish Press suggests that the Administrative Council "had become aware that certain persons in Cork were engaging in activities which appear to be inconsistent with their membership of the Labour Party and accordingly they appointed a subcommittee to investigate the membership and administration of the Liam Mellows Branch".
In a letter to the editor, published on the cover of the June 1939 issue, Steve Denny (director of the London Co-operative Society) described The Cork Co-Operator as a "bright little paper".
His first trial of Holstein Friesian cattle took place here, and he owned what The Southern Star described as "one of the largest and most successful herds in the country".
[5][62] He served on the General Committee of the Munster Agricultural Society, wrote a farming column for The Cork Examiner and contributed to The Evening Echo under the pen name Carrigeen.
[2] The Timothy Quill Perpetual Challenge Cup for the MAS (Munster Agricultural Society) Holstein Friesian Senior Cow Class at Cork Summer Show is named after him.