Representative Clifford Cady Ireland

Clifford Cady Ireland (February 14, 1878 – May 24, 1930) was a Republican U.S. Representative from Illinois who served three consecutive terms in the United States Congress from 1917 to 1923. His congressional career coincided with a significant period in American history, encompassing the First World War and the early postwar years, during which he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Illinois constituents in the House of Representatives.

Ireland was born in Washburn, Woodford County, Illinois, on February 14, 1878. He attended the common schools in his hometown before pursuing further education at Cheltenham Military Academy in Ogontz, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He continued his studies at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, thereby grounding himself in both military discipline and liberal arts education during his formative years.

Ireland advanced his education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, from which he was graduated in 1901. He subsequently studied law at the Illinois College of Law in Chicago, completing his legal education in 1908. The following year, in 1909, he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Peoria, Illinois. Alongside his professional training, he had earlier served his state and country as a private in the Illinois National Guard during the Spanish–American War, gaining military experience that preceded his later public service.

Building on his legal career and prior military service, Ireland entered national politics as a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to the Sixty-fifth, Sixty-sixth, and Sixty-seventh Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1917, to March 3, 1923. During these three terms in office, he contributed to the legislative process at a time marked by U.S. involvement in World War I, the subsequent demobilization, and the economic and political adjustments of the early 1920s. As a Representative from Illinois, he took part in debates, committee work, and votes that shaped federal policy in this transformative era.

Within the House of Representatives, Ireland held a notable leadership role as chairman of the Committee on Accounts during the Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Congresses. In this capacity, he was involved in overseeing the financial and administrative operations of the House, reflecting the confidence of his colleagues in his judgment and managerial abilities. Despite his established position, he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1922, which brought his congressional service to a close at the expiration of his third term in March 1923.

After leaving Congress, Ireland returned to Peoria and resumed the practice of law, reestablishing his career in the legal profession. In 1923 he was appointed a director of the Department of Trade and Commerce of Illinois, a state-level position in which he served until his resignation in 1926. In that role he was involved in overseeing aspects of the state’s commercial and regulatory affairs during a period of economic growth and increasing governmental attention to trade and industry.

Clifford Cady Ireland died in Chicago, Illinois, on May 24, 1930. He was interred in Linn-Mount Vernon Cemetery in his birthplace of Washburn, Illinois, returning in death to the community where his life had begun.