An Irish Diary on Jimmy Walker - the first Mayor of New York to resign

Jimmy Walker (1881-1946) was the first Mayor of New York to resign. His father came from Co. Kilkenny and emigrated to the US in 1870. The two men entered political office and worked for their constituents. Of the two, Jimmy is still remembered today (but for all the wrong reasons!). I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about him. Read it here. 

 

Mayor Jimmy Walker. Image source.

Jimmy Walker visited Ireland in 1927. This is a newsreel showing some scenes from his visit. It includes his meeting W.T. Cosgrave (1880-1965) in Dublin and his trip to Kilkenny where he spoke to locals in Castlecomer - the town where his father was born and where he was made a Freeman of the city. In Castlecomer, you can see bare-footed children walking through the town in advance of the marching band and the car carrying Walker into the town.

 

Source of the newsreel.  

 

Jimmy Walker was Mayor of New York during the so-called Jazz Age and was also in office during the Wall Street Crash of 1929. He was forced to resign in September 1932 following a long-running investigation into corrupt practices in the New York Police Department and judiciary. There is a good article here from the Smithsonian Magazine which explains the case against Walker. It is well worth a read.

 

Photography of Jimmy Walker (center wearing hat and smoking a cigarette) flanked by city officials and police.

PhD Conferring University College Cork

I was delighted to attend the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences conferring in University College Cork recently where I was conferred with a PhD. 

It was not an easy road and took a lot of effort but I am pleased to have reached this point. I could not have done it alone and therefore, would like to thank everyone who helped me to achieve this goal including friends, family, students, colleagues, supervisors and examiners.

 

Standing in the stone corridor of the north wing of the UCC quadrangle.

 

Receiving the PhD parchment from the President of UCC Prof. John O'Halloran at the conferring ceremony.

Chess at the Olympics - RTÉ Brainstorm article

Chess is an ancient game but it was never part of the Olympics. However, 100 years ago as the Olympic Games were taking place in Paris, a chess tournament was being played with competitors from around the world (including Ireland). It was termed the 'Chess Olympics' by some, given that the tournament was taking place on the fringes of the Olympics. I have just written about this historical event for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

 

Chess board. Image source.

Chess also featured at the Tailteann Games in Dublin in 1924. The Games were used by the new Irish government to promote the country and attract international media attention.

Royal Bounty for multiple birth - an Irish Diary

Known as the Royal Bounty (King's / Queen's Bounty), a discretionary payment was made to new mothers of triplets in the 19th and 20th century. I have just written an Irish Diary about some Irish people who received the payment. Read it here. 

 

Photograph of triplets. Image source.

It is believed that the Royal Bounty for triplets was started by Queen Victoria when she heard about a poor Irish woman who gave birth to triplets in 1849. The term 'Royal Bounty' was used in other cases as well - such as when a soldier lost a limb in the line of duty, they could receive a payment as compensation. There are also references to the term 'Royal Bounty' when pension payments to army officers were mentioned, so it would seem that it was used to describe a variety of payments made by the monarch to individuals. As this book Royal Bounty: The Making of a Welfare Monarchy suggests, Victoria and other royals instigated a number of payments that would today be made by the state.

Everyman Theatre Cork - an Irish Diary

The Everyman Theatre in Cork is one of the city's most important cultural hotspots. It has a long history and I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper looking at that rich history. Read it here.

 

Interior of the Everyman Theatre, Cork. Image source.

The theatre was opened in 1897 and operated as a variety theatre initially. These were very popular at the time and touring artists would go from theatre to theatre around Britain and Ireland. Film has played an important role in the building's history. A short film was shown on the opening night and the building served as a cinema for decades after the theatre closed. It became a theatre again when the Everyman Playhouse took it over at the start of the 1990s. There's a video here on the RTÉ Archives website of the Playhouse in 1974.

The Everyman Playhouse had been based in the CYMS Hall and the Father Mathew Hall. It was a big undertaking to be moving to such a big 900-seat venue but as Dan Donovan says in his biography Ward Anderson, the owners of the Palace Cinema, sold the building for £120,000, payable at £10,000 per annum. There's a video here from March 1990 on the re-opening of the theatre. 

 Some of the Everyman directors were worried that it was too big and too dilapidated but a lot work has been put into the building over the years and it is now in the best shape it has been since it opened almost 130 years ago. Long may it continue.

Limerick's Olympian - an Irish Diary on John O'Grady

John O'Grady (1892-1934) was selected to carry the Irish flag at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. The Limerick-born weight thrower had won some national and international titles by the time he was asked to bear the flag at Ireland's first ever Olympics. I have just written an Irish Diary in today's Irish Times about O'Grady's life and times. Read it here.

 

John O'Grady (1892-1934). Image source.

John O'Grady was one of a team of 48 Irish athletes (including swimmers, tennis players, soccer players and others) to represent their country in Paris in 1924. Sadly, the athletes did not manage to bring any medals back with them but some of our artists did. For more information on Ireland's first foray into the Olympics, read my RTÉ Brainstorm article. 

O'Grady is remembered in his native city by a monument that sits on Mulgrave Street (photo below). Unveiled in 1937, it is in the shape of a weight and is made of limestone. It is a landmark in the city and has been taken to their hearts by Limerick's citizens.

 

John O'Grady monument. Image source.

An Irish Diary on William Lombard Murphy (1876-1943)

William Lombard Murphy (1876-1943) was the son of the businessman and newspaper proprietor William Martin Murphy (1844-1919). That is sometimes how he is referred to but William Lombard Murphy had an interesting story in his own right. I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about him. Read it here.

 

Photograph of William Lombard Murphy (1876-1943).

Educated at Jesuit-run schools in Ireland (Belvedere College, Dublin and Clongowes Wood College, Kildare) and Austria (Feldkirk) and university in England (Cambridge), he was fluent in French and German. He studied medicine and practiced abroad and in Ireland for a good number of years before taking over his father's affairs when his father died in 1919. He was in charge of Independent Newspapers when the new offices were built on Middle Abbey Street in 1924. 

 

Independent House, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin. Image source.

Very involved with various different aspects of Dublin business life (Chamber of Commerce, Irish Tourist Association, Publicity Club of Ireland) and social life (Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society, Herald Boot Fund, Belvedere Newsboys' Club), he seems to have been slightly forgotten by the general public. However, some links still remain such as the Lombard Murphy Cup awarded at the Feis Ceoil every year.