I have already written on this blog about how Terence MacSwiney's hunger strike and death were reported in the French press. See previous posts here and here.
Now, I will briefly look at the reaction in the Spanish speaking press.
During the Irish War of Independence, the words 'Sinn Feiner' and 'Sinn Feinista' became a common sight in the foreign press as articles and photographs appeared with increased regularity following an IRA ambush on an RIC station or patrol or British army patrol, or after a reprisal by the Crown forces.
The First Dáil was aware of the power of the press in swaying public opinion. For that reason, they formed a network of press agents in cities around the world. In Madrid, Máire O'Brien (1882-1958) was tasked with contacting the Spanish press and informing them about what was happening in Ireland.
In her memos back to Dublin, O'Brien says that British propaganda was far superior in getting their message across to the Spanish press as they had a network of Consuls and more resources than O'Brien (who seems to have been working almost single-handedly). A very interesting individual, you can read memos sent by O'Brien to Dublin and vice versa on the Documents on Irish Foreign Policy website. You can also read about her on the Military Pensions blog and see her entry on the Dictionary of Irish Biography.
Some Spanish journalists traveled to Ireland during the War of Independence to witness what was happening for themselves. One such journalist was Ricardo Baeza (1890-1956), who wrote for the Madrid-based newspaper, El Sol. He spent time in Ireland in 1920 and 1921 and produced many sympathetic articles in favour of Irish independence. He later wrote a book about his time in the country.
Below are some of the articles telling Terence MacSwiney's story in the Spanish speaking press.
In relation to the general newspaper coverage in Spain, Dermot Keogh has said that "it was in the right wing separatist press of Catalonia and the Basque country, seeing in Ireland a mirror image of their own struggle for autonomy from Madrid, that Sinn Fein received most support". [1]
To understand the reaction in Spain, the following journal article might be of interest:
Alvaro Jaspe, 'Armada? What Armada? Spanish reaction to the 1916 Easter Uprising and the path to Irish independence', International Journal of Iberian Studies, 15/2 (2002), pp. 72-83.
The newspaper articles above seem to be largely informative and possibly supportive of MacSwiney, but the cartoons below are a little less so.
EDITORIAL CARTOONS
MacSwiney's case was so familiar to newspaper readers in Spain that some newspapers even decided to include references to him in their editorial cartoons.
In this cartoon, one child says -
'Mi papá dice que voy a ser general' [My dad says that I'm going to be a general].
The response is -
'Pues el mio lleva tres dias castigándome sin postre, y es porque quiere que sea alcalde de Cork' [Well, mine has been punished for three days without dessert, and it's because he wants to be Mayor of Cork].
All of the images shown above came from the Hemeroteca Digital (digital newspaper archive / library) of the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana. It is a fantastic free resource with 2,371 newspaper titles running to an amazing 67 million pages.
[1] Dermot Keogh, 'The Irish Foreign Service in Europe', Etudes Irlandaises (7), 1982, p. 145-164 (p. 154).
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