Politics
Aged 35, Arthur was elected MP for County Wexford, and two years later in 1868, he was returned for County Carlow. This made him the first limbless man to sit in the House of Commons.
An example of a schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of special sails on two or more masts. Schooners were first used by the Dutch in the 16th or 17th century, and further developed in North America from the time of the American Revolution. According to the 1911 Encyclopędia Britannica, the first ship called a schooner was built by builder Andrew Robinson and launched in 1713 from Gloucester, Massachusetts. Legend has it that the name schooner was the result of a spectator exclaiming "Oh how she scoons", scoon being a Scots word meaning to skip or skim over the water. Robinson replied, "A schooner let her be."
Wikimedia CommonsAn example of a schooner
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
An example of a schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of special sails on two or more masts. Schooners were first used by the Dutch in the 16th or 17th century, and further developed in North America from the time of the American Revolution. According to the 1911 Encyclopędia Britannica, the first ship called a schooner was built by builder Andrew Robinson and launched in 1713 from Gloucester, Massachusetts. Legend has it that the name schooner was the result of a spectator exclaiming "Oh how she scoons", scoon being a Scots word meaning to skip or skim over the water. Robinson replied, "A schooner let her be."
Wikimedia CommonsRather than hide in the shadows, Arthur sought out the limelight.
He travelled to London in his two-masted schooner, which he moored directly beneath the House of Parliament. This was an old right of MPs which had fallen out of use. In fact, before Arthur only the king had dared to!
By 1880 Arthur's political career had come to a sudden end. At this time, poorer tenants were beginning to demand greater ownership of their land.
Although Arthur was a fair landlord, he was a conservative man and was on the opposite side of the tenants in the Land War. His tenants voted against him and he lost his seat in the 1880 elections.
He travelled to London in his two-masted schooner, which he moored directly beneath the House of Parliament. This was an old right of MPs which had fallen out of use. In fact, before Arthur only the king had dared to!
By 1880 Arthur's political career had come to a sudden end. At this time, poorer tenants were beginning to demand greater ownership of their land.
Although Arthur was a fair landlord, he was a conservative man and was on the opposite side of the tenants in the Land War. His tenants voted against him and he lost his seat in the 1880 elections.
Final days
With his political career over, Arthur's health began to suffer. He died on the Christmas morning of 1889, at the age of 58.
To this day, his life remains an inspirational story of determination and confidence in the face of disability.
It was said of him on his death:
"He did not equal any man but few men equalled him".