Thomas E. Delahanty

Who was Thomas E. Delahanty?

Thomas E. Delahanty was a justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. He was appointed to the position on September 5, 1973 and later served as active retired from August 31, 1979 until his death.

Delahanty was the son of an Irish immigrant and working-class parents. He attended Lewiston High School where he excelled at baseball and football. He worked in local textile mills to earn money for law school. After an ulcer kept him out of the military during World War II, he became a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Delahanty was a delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maine in 1948. In 1954, he was a candidate for United States House of Representatives from Maine's 2nd congressional district.

Thomas E. Delahanty was married to Jeanne Clifford who was the daughter of Judge John David Clifford, Jr., cousin to Judge Robert W. Clifford, and granddaughter of John M. C. Smith, a U.S. Representative from Michigan's 3rd congressional district. Their eldest son, Thomas E. Delahanty II, was appointed as a justice of the Maine Superior Court.