Todd Andrews
Christopher Stephen Andrews (6 October 1901 – 11 October 1985) was an Irish political activist and public servant. He participated in the Irish War of Independence and Civil War as a political and military activist in the Irish Republican movement. Todd Andrews never ran for election and never held public office. He was a supporter, though not a member, of Fianna Fáil. Early life and education. Andrews was born at 42 Summerhill in Dublin in 1901. He acquired the nickname "Todd" because of his perceived resemblance to English comic strip hero Alonzo Todd, who appeared in "The Magnet". Andrews  briefly attended St. Enda's School and completed his secondary education at Synge Street CBS. He went on to study Commerce at University College, Dublin, and although his studies were interrupted by his participation in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, he returned to the university where he obtained a degree in Commerce. Nationalist revolutionary. Andrews joined the Irish Volunteers at the age of fifteen and had an active role in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1920, but was released after ten days on hunger  strike. He was interned at the Curragh in 1921, but escaped. Andrews took the Republican side during the Irish Civil War, and was interned by the government of the Irish Free State until 1924. He then continued with his studies and graduated with a commerce degree. Public servant. After graduation, Andrews found employment as an accountant with the then-fledgling Irish Tourist Association where he structured their accounts office, as well as editing several of their publications. In the summer of 1930 he was offered a position as an accountant with the Electricity Supply Board at a time when they  were expanding the National Grid and constructing significant Hydro-Electric projects such as Ardnacrusha. In 1933, Andrews was appointed to the Department of Industry and Commerce, where he dealt with the industrialisation of Irish turf development. Andrews initially set up a network of co-ops that locally harvested and sold turf but quickly saw that this arrangement was insufficient to successfully modernise turf production in Ireland on a commercial scale; it also drew the ire of coal merchants who worried about the effect of a State-led completion to their markets. However such worries were overcome by Andrews through shrewd  and active man management, culminating with the establishment of the Turf Development Board in 1934. The new semi-state company helped overcome future issues in managing peat harvesting on a grand scale and schemes set up to help fuel Ireland during The Emergency, and ultimately led to the formation of Bord Na Mona in 1946, a body that he ultimately became Chief Executive. CIE. In 1958 Andrew was offered and accepted the chairmanship of the Irish transport company Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), which was in a perilous fiscal state. Following on from the findings of the Beddy Report, he drew  from his business experience and oversaw a large restructuring of the Irish rail system. This included the purchase of diesel electric engines from General Motors, the introduction of modern coaching stock, the phased closure of uneconomic services and elimination of slow stopping services, the introduction of new braked good wagons as well as a revamp of ticketing arrangements. He also oversaw the closures of several lines that were perennially uneconomic and loss-making. This included: Andrews also oversaw the resurgence and modernisation of CIE road transport, provincial and city bus services in Ireland. Steam traction was eliminated under his chairmanship , a cost benefit that undoubtedly saved CIE from certain collapse, while modern van and lorries took on delivery of freights in place of horse and carriage. In spite of such economies, CIE still struggled under a state expectation that it run without subvention; an impossible ask given the sparse traffic and passenger numbers in a land cropped by emigration. Issues of Partition often affected the operation of the company; CIE was forced to introduce additional bus services in border areas upon the withdrawal of the Ulster Transport Authority from cross border services, notably with the GNRB in 1958 and the  County Donegal Railway Joint Committee in 1959. In spite of all this, CIE was in a far improved condition that Andrews took up in 1958. He retired from CIE upon his 65th birthday but before he stood down he became Chairman of the RTÉ Authority at the request of Sean Lemass. He resigned from RTÉ in 1970 when his son David Andrews was appointed Chief Whip to the Taoiseach. Later life and family. He was the recipient of several honorary doctorates and degrees from various universities. He published his autobiography in two volumes in 1979 and 1982, under the titles  of "Dublin Made Me" and "Man of No Property". Andrews died in Dublin at the age of 84. Two of his sons, Niall Andrews and David Andrews, became TDs; David Andrews became Minister for Foreign Affairs. His brother, Paddy Andrews was a football player, most notably with Bohemians who was also capped by the Irish Free State. Todd Andrews' grandson Ryan Tubridy is a radio presenter and television chatshow host on RTÉ, while grandsons Barry Andrews and Chris Andrews were also TDs. Another grandson is comedian David McSavage. Gay Byrne, one of Tubridy's predecessors on The Late Late Show , in his 1989 memoir "The Time of My Life" and subsequently in an RTÉ documentary in 2005, related how Andrews, when chairman of the RTÉ Authority, phoned the Director-General of RTÉ Tim McCourt and ordered him to fire "that fucker Byrne"; McCourt refused to dismiss Byrne.