Cecil Moriarty

Cecil Moriarty
BornCecil Charles Hudson Moriarty
28 January 1877
Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland
Died7 April 1958(1958-04-07) (aged 81)
Tenbury, Worcestershire, England
Rugby union career
Position Forward
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
Monkstown
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1899 Ireland 1

Cecil Charles Hudson Moriarty, CBE, CStJ (1877–1958) was an Irish-born British police officer and Irish rugby international. He won one cap against Wales in 1899. He served as Chief Constable of the Birmingham City Police from 1935 to 1941, and his manuals and books on police procedures became essential guidebooks for police in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Born on 28 January 1877 in Tralee, County Kerry, Moriarty was the second son of the Rev. Thomas Alexander Moriarty, Church of Ireland rector of Millstreet, County Cork. Moriarty graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 1898, the year before his cap for the Irish rugby union team.

Career

Moriarty joined the Royal Irish Constabulary, becoming a first-class district inspector in 1902. In 1912, he joined RIC headquarters. The same year, he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws. In 1918, he moved to Birmingham to take on the role of assistant chief constable. Many Irish constables had been recruited to move to Birmingham by Sir Charles Rafter, Chief Constable of Birmingham from 1899 to 1935, who relied on the Irish to help stamp out the infamous Peaky Blinders gang.

The British police strikes in 1918 and 1919 led to the Police Act 1919, which made it illegal for police officers in the UK to strike. Moriarty realised more professionalism was required among police recruits and officers, and subsequently "became the key figure in organising an intensive training curriculum" in Birmingham. The programme gained a national reputation for police training, and over the next two decades, officers from 77 police forces from England and Wales had trained in Birmingham.

Moriarty wrote several books and papers on police procedures, notably Moriarty's Police Law (1929), which for more than half a century was a fundamental resource for law enforcement officials in the UK. In 1932, he received an additional degree of Doctor of Laws.

Moriarty succeeded Rafter as Chief Constable of Birmingham in 1935. When war broke out, the city's football stadiums, St Andrew's and Villa Park found themselves in evacuation districts designated under the British Government's civilian evacuation scheme. The Police Chief Constable of Birmingham intimated that he would not sanction football matches within the city of Birmingham. The matter was first raised in Parliament in November 1939, but the Home Secretary was unwilling to intervene in what he perceived as a local issue outside his jurisdiction.

Moriarty retired in 1941, having led the city through two years of the Blitz.

Recognition

He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1925 Birthday Honours. In 1936, he was made a Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John (CStJ) and in the 1938 New Year Honours, a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Personal life

Moriarty married Muriel Una (née Carter) of Belmullet, County Mayo, in 1906. They had three daughters. He died in 1958 in Worcestershire.

Publications

References

  1. ↑ In the 19th century, there was very little or no positional specialisation in rugby.
  2. ↑ Jones, Stephen (1994). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1994–95. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7850-4.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Chinn, Carl (10 May 2014). "Recruits helped stamp out peaky blinders". The Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Herlihy, Jim (2005). Royal Irish Constabulary Officers: A Biographical Dictionary and Genealogical Guide, 1816–1922. Four Courts Press. p. 229. ISBN 1-85182-826-5.
  5. 1 2 3 "Obituary: Mr. C. C. H. Moriarty". The Times. 9 April 1958. p. 11.
  6. ↑ "Moriarty, Cecil C. H. (Cecil Charles Hudson) (1877–1958)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  7. ↑ English, Jack (2005). Police Law. Oxford University Press. p. xx. ISBN 0-19-928405-9. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  8. ↑ No Competitive Football, Chronicle, 16 September 1939, p5
  9. ↑ No Football at Villa Park or St Andrews Yet, Evening Despatch, 25 September 1939, p6
  10. ↑ Swindon Advertiser, 10 November 1939, p8
  11. ↑ "Written Answers (Commons): Civil Defence: Football Matches (Spectators)". Hansard. 353. cc726–7W. 15 November 1939. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
    "Commons Sitting: Civil Defence: Football Prohibition (Birmingham)". Hansard. 357. cc1515–6. 22 February 1940. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "RIC Officers Abroad" (PDF). An Garda Síochána Management Journal. Garda Síochána. December 2004. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "No. 33053". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1925. p. 3776.
  14. ↑ "No. 34297". The London Gazette. 23 June 1936. p. 4014.
  15. ↑ "No. 34469". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1937. p. 9.