Frank Brooke

For other people named Francis Brooke, see Francis Brooke (disambiguation).

Francis Theophilius "Frank" Brooke PC, JP, DL (1851 – 30 July 1920) was an Anglo-Irish Director of Great Southern and Eastern Railways and a member of the Earl of Ypres' Advisory Council. He was gunned down, aged 69, by elements of Michael Collins squad of the IRA. He was marked out for his activities as a judge, anti-republican activities, and his friendship with Sir John French.

Family

Brooke was a cousin of Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, the future Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Brooke, a grandson of Hans Hastings, 12th Earl of Huntingdon, on his mother's side, and of Sir Henry Brooke, 1st Baronet, on his father's, was married twice; firstly to Alice Moore, a daughter of the Dean of Clogher, (d. 1909) and secondly to Agnes Hibbert. By his first wife he had three children; Alice Gertrude (later Doyne), Lt. Col. George Frank Brooke and Henry Hastings Brooke.

Career

Brooke was also Deputy Lieutenant of County Wicklow and County Fermanagh, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, a Justice of the Peace for County Fermanagh and a Privy Councillor of Ireland (1918), thus he was styled The Rt. Hon. Francis Brooke.

In July 1912 he had attended the house party at Wentworth Woodhouse hosted for George V's stay there.

Death

He was killed at his offices, in Dublin, by Irish Republican Army members Paddy Daly and Jim Slattery, in view of a colleague, who was spared. The inquest found he had a pistol in his jacket pocket.