Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. was born to Thomas P. and Rose Ann (Tolan) O'Neill on December 9, 1912, in North Cambridge, Massachusetts, a section of town once called "Old Dublin" because of the high concentration of Irish families; he was the third of three children. His mother died when he was nine months old and for his first seven years he was raised by a French-Canadian housekeeper, Rose La Blanc. When O'Neill was eight his father married a woman named Mary Cain. By this time O'Neill was being called "Tip," a nickname that came from a popular baseball player of the previous generation, Edward O'Neill, a master at drawing walks and fouling off pitches, thus, "Tip" O'Neill. Many O'Neill male children were given this nickname. Originally a bricklayer, O'Neill's father became active in Cambridge politics first as a member of the Cambridge City Council and then as Superintendent of Sewers. He was known in the neighborhood as the Governor and was a generous man. Throughout his life O'Neill recalled that his father taught him five important lessons: 1) Loyalty; 2) Live a clean and honest life; 3) Remember responsibilities to fellow men; 4) Remember always from whence you came; and 5) Politics as a profession depended on your honesty and integrity. Neighbors often remarked that the younger Thomas was like his father and he tried to live up to him and these ideals.

O'Neill attended his parish grammar school, St. John's, and the high school, St. John's High. He graduated from St. John's in 1931 where he was captain of the basketball team. Even in high school he was active in local politics. He worked for various candidates and helped get out the vote by making sure everyone had a ride to the polls. In 1935 O'Neill entered political life with his first campaign, trying for a seat on the Cambridge City Council as a senior at Boston College. This was his first and only loss. This was the campaign in which O'Neill learned that "People like to be asked" and "All politics is local." In November of the next year, 1936, after graduating from Boston College, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the first of 25 consecutive elections spanning 50 years of public service. The Great Depression had hurt his constituents and O'Neill became a strong advocate of New Deal liberalism.

On June 17, 1941, he married Mildred Ann Miller, "Millie," his high school sweet heart. In 1947 he was elected Minority Leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and in 1949 he became Speaker of the House and the first Democrat since the Civil War to hold that position. O'Neill had thought about running for governor of Massachusetts after two or three terms in the Massachusetts House. Instead, when John F. Kennedy gave up his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to run for the Senate in 1952, O'Neill ran and was elected in his place.

Cultivating his constituency, O'Neill secured his political base and was reelected every two years for the next 34 years. He was appointed Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1971 and in 1973 was elected Majority Leader. In 1977 he was elected Speaker of the U.S. House by acclamation. Throughout his years he supported civil rights bills, antipoverty programs, Medicare, and federally funded health care. As one of the few remaining New Deal Democrats, he became a national leader who never lost touch with his constituency. He counseled his colleagues to pay close attention to constituent service because "All politics is local," and he transformed the speakership from a focal point of inside maneuvering to a position of national political leadership.

O'Neill was unstintingly loyal to the Democratic Party, reminding people that his party was the party of the working people, the poor and the needy. O'Neill's relationships with presidents and foreign leaders include a long list of some of the twentieth century's greatest men. In 1967 O'Neill announced his stand against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, one of the earliest to do so. He called the war "the most frustrating conflict in American history." In 1974 he played a pivotal role in managing the Nixon impeachment proceedings. His relations with President Jimmy Carter were strained and as his party's highest ranking official he found the anti-liberal attacks of the Reagan administration difficult to tolerate. Still, O'Neill remained steadfast in his philosophy and emerged as a popular figure when he retired in 1986, ending 50 years of public service and a record tenure of ten consecutive years as Speaker.

After retirement O'Neill published two books. Man of the House, which appeared in 1987, soon became a best-seller. O'Neill's second book, All Politics is Local, was published in 1993. O'Neill also received many honorary degrees, awards, and tributes. Of special importance were the Laetare Medal, received from the University of Notre Dame in 1980, and the Ignatius Medal, received from Boston College in 1981. In 1991 O'Neill was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush. The citation reads in part: "Tip O'Neill had an uncanny ability to understand people and politics ... his demonstrated faithful service to the people also well serves the nation." On January 5, 1994, O'Neill died of cardiac arrest at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The Funeral Mass was celebrated at St. John the Evangelist Church, Cambridge, his home parish. Burial took place at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Harwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Sources:

"Thomas Philip, Jr. O'Neill." Encyclopedia Americana, 1995. Volume 20.

O'Neill, Thomas P. All Politics is Local and Other Rules of the Game. New York: Times Books, c 1994.

O'Neill, Thomas P. Man of the House: the Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill, with William Novak. New York: Random House, c1987.