'The voice of Erin' - an Irishman's Diary on tenor William Dunlea

William Dunlea (1911-1998) was known as 'The voice of Erin'. The tenor was born in the suburb of Blackpool in Cork, Ireland, but was know for his singing all over the world, particularly in England and America where he lived and worked for a number of years.

I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about him. Read it here.

William Dunlea (1911-1998). Image source.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Dunlea sang on the radio in Ireland (Radio Eireann). He also sang on radio in England (BBC) and America, where he lived for a number of years. He performed in venues all over England and the United States including the Royal Albert Hall in London and in Carnegie Hall in New York.

A plaque in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland dedicated to their famous son, William Dunlea.

In 2008/09, Cork City Library held an exhibition on Dunlea. A book was also written by local historian, Jim McKeon and it details Dunlea's life story. You can download a PDF version of the book here from the Library website.

Howth lighthouse - entry on Gallica (French National Library)

You never know what little historical gems you will find online! That's what I thought when I came across a brief reference to Howth lighthouse when searching recently on Gallica, the digital library of the French National Library.

I was surprised to find an entry in the Journal de Paris, Bulletin de Commerce from 2 July 1818 which spoke about a new lighthouse in Howth that will be lit up for the first time. Howth is a fishing village in north County Dublin, about 16 km from Dublin city in Ireland.

Entry in Journal de Paris, Bulletin de Commerce, 2 July 1818. Source

My English translation of the entry.

As you can see from the photograph below, the lighthouse is a very impressive looking solid granite building. It was built in 1817. You can read a small bit about its history here on the Archiseek webiste. It sits at the end of the pier and is still in use today. However, in recent years, another lighthouse was built on an extension to the harbour wall and sadly, I think that it has taken precedence over the older lighthouse for navigation purposes. 

Howth harbour lighthouse.

Fr Jack Hanlon, Painter priest - an Irishman's Diary

I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about the talented Irish artist, Fr Jack Hanlon (1913-1968). Read it here.

Fr Hanlon was an Irish Roman Catholic priest who also found time to be a modernist painter. He was friendly with other successful artists such of the time, such as Mainie Jellett, and was one of the founders of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, which provided up and coming artists with a venue to exhibit their work.

His paintings are so full of light and colour. Below are some examples of his artwork in a range of artistic styles from French modernism to Cubism. They are taken from this page on the Whyte's auctioneers website dedicated to his art.

Jack Hanlon (1913-1968)

'Cafe Florida, France'. Image source

'The Dome, Paris'. Image source

'Boats On The Côte d'Azur'. Image source

'Christ Falls For The First Time'. Image source

'Madonna'. Image source