John Laurens Manning Irby was a United States Senator from South Carolina.
Education
Born in Laurens, he attended Laurensville Male Academy (Lauren), Princeton College (Princeton, New Jersey in 1870-1871, and the University of Virginia at Charlottesville from 1871 to 1873. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1875, commenced practice at Cheraw, and returned to Laurens.
Career
He was appointed lieutenant colonel of the South Carolina Militia in 1877 and that year was also intendant of Lauren. Irby was elected as a Democrat to the United States. Senate and served from March 4, 1891, to March 4, 1897. He was not a candidate for reelection.
While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard (Fifty-third Congress).
He resumed the practice of law and also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He died in Laurens in 1900.
Interment was in the City Cemetery.
Membership
He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1886 to 1892, serving as speaker in 1890. Joseph H. Earle, Irby"s cousin, and Elias Earle, his great-grandfather, had both been members of the United States. Congress.