More Irish-themed covers of Le Petit Journal - Abbey Theatre Riot Feb 1926

I have previously written here about Irish-themed covers of the French illustrated periodical Le Petit Journal illustré. Another one to add to the list was published on this day (28 February) in 1926. It concerns the Abbey Theatre riot that took place in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin on 11 February 1926 when some audience members reacted angrily to a staging of Seán O'Casey's play The Plough and the Stars. You can find out more about the incident here.

 

Back cover of Le Petit Journal 28 February 1926. Image source. 

 

Page 2, Le Petit Journal 28 February 1926. Image source.  

The illustration of the riot was accompanied by a short description of what happened on the night. It was, according to the newspaper, 'something that could only take place in Ireland'. 'Things came to blows and the women grabbed each other's hair', it went on. 

W.B. Yeats tried in vain to separate the fighters and address the crowd but his efforts failed. The theatre was eventually cleared and closed. According to the newspaper, 'with the tenacity that marks the Celtic race, the directors of the Abbey and their actors claim that they will go on staging the play as they had planned'. 

Talk in Glasnevin Cemetery on Bastille Day about Liam Ó Briain

Every year on 14 July (Bastille Day), the French embassy in Ireland organises a wreath laying ceremony to remember the Irish who fought in France. It takes place at the dedicated France-Ireland Monument in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. 

 

View of the France-Ireland Monument in Glasnevin Cemetery.

 

French ambassador H.E. Céline Place speaking before the wreath laying ceremony. 

After the ceremony, an Irish recipient of the French national order of merit, the Légion d'honneur, is remembered with a wreath laying ceremony at their graveside. This year, it was Liam Ó Briain (1888-1974) who was remembered and I was asked to say a few words about him.

 Speaking at the graveside of Liam Ó Briain.

I was pleased to be asked to speak and share the information that I had learned about him in my research. He was passionate about the Irish language and did his best to revive it, notably through founding Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, Ireland's national Irish language theatre. He was Professor of Romance Languages in what is now University of Galway for over 40 years and translated many works from French into Irish including plays by Henri Ghéon, Pierre Jalabert and Molière. 

If you would like to find out more about him, a good place to start would be the Dictionary of Irish Biography and Ainm.ie.  

 

After the wreath laying ceremony at Liam Ó Briain's grave with Ambassador Place.

 

Gravestone of Liam Ó Briain and his wife Helen.

The French Festival, Dublin 1962 - An Irishman's Diary

The French Festival took place in Dublin from 26 April to 8 May 1962. It was a cultural and industrial showcase put on by the French authorities to win hearts and minds (and perhaps wallets as well) in Ireland. I have just written an Irishman's Diary about it in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

Photograph of Taoiseach Seán Lemass cutting the ribbon to open the French Festival at the Mansion House, Dublin, 26 April 1962.

The Festival was opened by Seán Lemass and he said that he hoped that it would renew the old ties that existed between the two countries. It took place in an Ireland very different from today's Ireland. The Festival was covered extensively in the Irish press as if it was something of immense importance. France was portrayed as an exotic land full of haute couture and fine dining (common stereotypes at the time I suppose, although they still be valid to this day, depending on who you ask). As mentioned in my article, the one dissenting voice was in the Cork Examiner. On the same day that the 'Dublin Letter' appeared saying that the French had come to Dublin in search of "more business", the editorial discussed the state of French politics in light of the Algerian War, which came to an end in March 1962.

The writer of the Irishman's Diary at the time, Quidnunc, labelled it a "whirlimagig" - probably due to the amount of events and variety of events that took place during the fortnight. As well as the formal events in the Mansion House and the Building Center on Lower Baggot Street, the French film Archimède, le clochard [The Tramp], starring Jean Gabin (1904-1976), was shown in the Ambassador Cinema at the top of O'Connell Street. 

A French frigate, Commandant Rivière, spent a week at the quayside in Dublin. Its crew entertained on board and were brought on a tour of the Guinness brewery. They also played a football match with Irish soldiers and there was a dinner arranged for them at MacKee barracks, which was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Irish Defense Forces. 

A French policeman directing traffic on Baggot Street with a Garda during the French Fesitval.

Over forty cases of cheese were flown in for the fortnight and they were sold in shops and restaurants around Dublin. A shop on Chatham Street, the Farm Produce Co., advertised that it was selling Brie and Camembert as well as the not so common varieties Saint-Paulin and La Grappe.

RTÉ Brainstorm - Battling Siki in Ireland - 17 March 1923

100 years ago on 17 March 1923, the first international sport's event to take place in the newly formed Irish Free State played out in Dublin city. It was a world boxing title championship between the current holder who was a Senegalese-born Frenchman and a Clare-born boxer. I have just written about this sport's contest on the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

Photo of Battling Siki in training. Image source.

Battling Siki (1887-1925) (real name Amadou M'barick Fall, also known as Louis Fall) was a larger than life individual who achieved worldwide fame when he beat the French boxer and current title holder, Georges Carpentier (1894-1975), on his home ground in France to claim the world Light heavyweight boxing championship title in September 1922. 

Photo of Battling Siki (center) after his win over Georges Carpentier. Image source.

Ireland was chosen as the venue for Siki (who was also referred to as 'Singular Senegalese') to defend his title after he was allegedly refused a visa to Britain. The world's press was watching closely to see if Siki could retain the title. Leading up to the fight, newspapers contained news of the preparations and some expressed fears that the Irish Civil (which was still going on at the time) could stop the match from going ahead or at least delay it. After the match, reports appeared in newspapers all over the world (as can be seen in the selection reproduced below, containing Swiss, French and American newspapers).

Siki pretending to be a boxing coach with two children on the streets of Dublin. From Swiss newspaper, L'Impartial, 19 March 1923. Image source.

 

 

Front page of French sport's magazine, Le Miroir des Sports, 22 March 1923. Image source. 

 

Inside page of Le Miroir des Sports. Image source.

 

Front page of the Richmond Planet, 24 March 1923. Image source. 

Description of the match in the Richmond Planet. Image source.

Alfie Lambe - An Irishman's Diary

Alfie Lambe (1932-1959) is a modern-day Irish Christian missionary. I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about Alfie Lambe's life and times. Read it here.

 Photograph of Alfie Lambe. Image source.

Alfie Lambe was born in Tullamore in County Offaly in 1932. He wanted to join the Christian Brothers but had to leave due to his delicate health. He joined the Legion of Mary in his hometown and worked for the organisation in Ireland before being sent to South America as a Legion envoy. He died there in 1959 and is still remembered today in many of the South American countries that he visited.

Estella Solomons - An Irishman's Diary

Estella (Stella) Solomons (1882-1968) was a talented Irish painter who also played her part in the Irish independence struggle. I have just written about her life and painting career in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

Portrait of Estella Solomons (1882-1968). Image source.

Solomons came from a wealthy Dublin Jewish family and was very fortunate in that she did not have to rely on commissions to earn a living. Stella's parents, Maurice and Rosa were prominent philanthropists in the capital, raising funds for all kinds of needy causes, including the construction of the Adelaide Road Synagogue and school, as well as worthy ad hoc causes as they arose. 

Stella's sister, Sophie, was an opera singer. Her older brother, Edwin Maurice (1879-1964), who was a stockbroker was the first member of the Dublin Stock Exchange. Her younger brother, Bethel (1885-1965), was a gynecologist and served as Master of Dublin's Rotunda Maternity Hospital. Bethel also played rugby for Ireland and acted on the stage of the Abbey Theatre. 

I first became interested in Stella Solomons when I saw one of her paintings in the National Gallery in Dublin. It's called 'On Parole' and I added below a photograph that I took of it when it was on display in the National Gallery. It was painted in 1920 during the Irish War of Independence. I was struck by the amazing detail and the tension in the sitter's face. It is not known who he is, but the painting is just one her powerful portraits of those involved in the independence movement and in Irish society in general during the fist half of the 20th century.

'On Parole', 1920 by Estella Solomons. National Gallery of Ireland.

The recent exhibition of her work in the National Gallery (Estella Solomons: Still Moments) that I mention in my article was a wonderful opportunity to see her work gathered in one place. It included paintings held in galleries in Ireland as well as in private hands. Find out more about the exhibition here. 

It seems that the last time that there was such an exhibition was during the 1980s in the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork. Held in 1986, it consisted of oils on board or canvas and the pieces were works that were in her studio when she died in 1968. Therefore, it's thought that they held sentimental value for her and that is why she kept on to them.