Book Launch - Dublin 6 October 2026

Please join us to launch Freedom of Speech in the Press in Times of Conflict: Historical Perspectives from Ireland and Europe in the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI), 86 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2 at 6pm on Tuesday 6 October 2026.

Edited by Prof Richard C. Allen, Felix M. Larkin, Dr Oliver O'Hanlon and Prof Aoife Whelan, the book will be launched by the historian and broadcaster Dr David McCullagh.

The book came about following a conference organised by the Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland (NPHFI). The book's table of contents is reproduced below and you can order a copy of the book on the publisher's (Peter Lang) website. It is the latest in Peter Lang's series on Studies in Franco-Irish Relations. Thanks to Eamon Maher (Series Editor) and Anthony Mason (Peter Lang) for their assistance during the publishing process.

Register here to attend the book launch on Tuesday 6 October at 6pm.

Book chapter published - Freedom of Speech in the Press in Times of Conflict

Delighted to say that I received a copy of the book Freedom of Speech in the Press in Times of Conflict: Historical Perspectives from Ireland and Europe (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2026), ed. by Richard C. Allen, Felix M. Larkin, Oliver O'Hanlon and Aoife Whelan. Details of this book are available on the publisher's website here.

 

Front cover of Freedom of Speech in the Press in Times of Conflict

My chapter (pp. 55-77) examines the work of Art O'Brien, who was the first Dáil's publicity man in London during the Irish War of Independence. He was responsible for disseminating the message of the 1st Dáil (whose term ran from January 1919 to August 1921) to the foreign press corps based in London and the outside world. He was in constant contact with the Dáil's Publicity Department in Dublin and the various heads of that Department.

The 1st Dáil met for the first time in Dublin's Mansion House before it was outlawed in September 1919. It had to meet in secret thereafter. As such, O'Brien had to be extremely careful when carrying out his mission. You can read more about O'Brien in his entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography or if you want to go further, I would recommend the biography by Mary MacDiarmada Art O'Brien and Irish Nationalism in London, 1900-25.  

 

 

Table of contents.

As you can see from the table of contents reproduced above, the book covers a range of subjects in Ireland, France, Spain and Germany at different times of conflict. I am grateful to my fellow editors, Richard Allen, Felix Larkin and Aoife Whelan, and to the other contributors for all their hard work in bringing this volume to fruition

Andreas Strobl

Michael Foley

Claire Dubois

Claire Guerin

Alan McCarthy +

William Burton

Conor Campbell

Karine Deslandes 

+ Dr Alan McCarthy - sadly Alan did not live to see this volume in print. There is a tribute to Alan on the UCC School of History website, you can read it here. He was a great scholar and a really nice human being. He will be missed.
 

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'. 

Welsh newspapers online - Free resource

The National Library of Wales has digitised millions of articles from the its collection of historic newspapers. 15 million Welsh newspaper articles in English and Welsh are now available to view online for free. You can access the catalogue here.

 

Screenshot of the website for information. 

Through the search boxes, you can also specify if you want to search for cartoons, graphs, illustrations, maps and photographs. Below are some examples of the editorial cartoons you can find on the website.

 

'Leaving for the Gilded Chamber', The Cambria Daily Leader, 19 May 1914. Source.

 

'The Wash Outs', Abergavenny Chronicle, 16 November 1918. Source.

Irish themed covers of Le Petit Journal illustré

Every Monday morning for the last number of years, I have been tweeting (posting) the front page of the weekly French illustrated periodical Le Petit Journal illustré from 100 years ago. Occasionally, events in Ireland made the front page or the back page (they both contained a drawn image of whatever was making the news in France or around the world that week). 

I have listed below some of the covers relating to an Irish story. The first is from September 1920 and deals with the death of the Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, in October 1920 after 74 days on hunger strike in Brixton prison. 

The last cover also refers to MacSwiney, in a way, as it shows prisoners in Mountjoy prison in Dublin on hunger strike in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War. The caption reads A l'exemple du Maire de Cork [following the Mayor of Cork's example]. It says that 424 prisoners have been on hunger strike since 14 October 1923. The images come from Gallica - the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

 

Le Martyr Irlandais - Death of Terence MacSwiney. 19 September 1920. Source

Les Évéments d'Irlande - Irish War of Independence. 5 December 1920. Source

 

Le Sous-Marin Fantôme - Irish War of Independence. 3 July 1921. Source

 

Un assassinat politique - Assassination of Henry Wilson. 2 July 1922. Source
 

Les convulsions sanglantes de l'Irlande - Assassination of Michael Collins. 3 September 1922. Source

A l'exemple du Maire de Cork - Hunger strike in Mountjoy prison. 28 October 1923. Source

Free to view newspapers (archives)

Get access to 1 million pages of historical newspapers for FREE.

For over a decade, The British Newspaper Archive (BNA) has been working with the British Library (BL) to digitise newspapers. So far, 44 million pages of newspapers from Ireland, Britain, Jamaica, New Zealand and India have been made available to view online. You can register and pay a subscription to search and save copies of historical newspapers. 

It was recently announced that 1 million pages are now available to view for FREE online. Check out the BNA's blog and the BL's Newsroom blog for information on how to access the free content. Happy searching!

The burning of Cork (11.12.1920) in six newspaper archives

On 11 December 1920, five acres of property was destroyed in Cork City, Ireland. In a reprisal attack, members of the British Crown forces set fire to buildings including shops on the main street, St Patrick's Street, as well as the City Hall and Carnegie Library. The toll of destruction was unprecedented. All together, 57 buildings were completely destroyed, 20 were badly damaged and a further 12 were wrecked and looted. 

The damage was estimated at around £2.5 million. 2,000 people lost their jobs and it took years to rebuild the city center. The event, which became known as the Burning of Cork, generated newspaper headlines all over the world. If you are interested in finding out more about what was said in the newspapers, below you will find a list of some of the newspaper archives that you can search for free and discover articles and images from the time. I did a quick search myself and have included some examples of the kind of articles / photographs that can be found. Try it yourself!

1. Chronicling America (American newspapers) Link. Below are a couple of example of the articles and photographs that you can find in this database of American newspapers that is run by the American Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Washington Herald, 13 December 1920, p. 1. Image source.

The Evening World, 23 December 1920, p. 9. Image source.

2. Trove (Australian newspapers) Link - Below are a couple of articles from two different Australian newspapers from December 1920. Trove is a collaboration between the National Library of Australia and other libraries in Australia. 

The Argus, 14 December 1920, p. 6. Image source.

The Armidale Express. 14 December 1920, p. 4. Image source.

3. Papers Past (New Zealand newspapers) Link - Below are a couple of newspaper articles from two different New Zealand newspapers. Papers Past contains digitised copies of newspapers, magazine, journals and much more. It is provided by the National Library of New Zealand.

Northern Advocate, 15 December 1920, p. 5. Image source.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, 14 December 1920, p. 5. Image source.

4. Delpher (Dutch newspapers) Link - below are a couple of examples of the articles and photographs that I found in this easy to use database. I don't speak Dutch, but I searched for 'brand' [fire] and 'Cork' and found a good few articles. I wonder if anyone has done any research on Dutch-Irish relations using this great resource. Delpher was developed by the Dutch National Library.

De Courant, 15 December 1920, p. 1. Image source.

Dagblad van Zuid-Holland, 31 December 1920, p. 3. Image source.

5. Gallica (French newspapers) Link - below are some of the articles and photographs on the Burning of Cork from the Gallica database. This is the database that I am most familiar with and it is relatively easy to navigate, even if you don't speak the language. Gallica is the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Le Matin, 15 December 1920, p. 1. Image source.

'Après les incendies de Cork'. Image source.

6. Hemeroteca (Spanish language newspapers) Link - below are some of the articles that appeared in the Spanish speaking press about the burning of Cork. The database is provided by the Spanish National Library. 

La Voz, 13 December 1920, p. 5. Image source.

El Liberal, 14 December 1920, p. 1. Image source.

La meurte del alcalde de Cork - Spanish language press reporting on Terence MacSwiney's hunger strike and death.

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.

'The Hero Mayor'. Headline from La Accion, 9 September 1920.

'The Mayor of Cork is dead'. Headling from La Voz, 25 Oct 1920.

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.

 

Neuvo Mundo, 17 September 1920.

Caras y Caretas, (Buenos Aires) 30 October 1920.

Mundo Grafico, 3 November 1920.

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. 

El Imparcial, 26 September 1920.

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].

La Voz, 4 October 1920.

With the title, 'Incrédulos' [incredulous, disbelieving, gobsmacked], this cartoon shows two men looking aghast at what they read in a newspaper. 

One man asked the other - 

'Pero usted cree que pueda ya existor el alcalde de Cork?' [do you think the Mayor of Cork exists?]

His friend replies - 

'Hombre, lo que yo creo es que no ha existido nunca' [Man, what I believe is that he never existed]. 

Caricature of MacSwiney, Neuvo Mundo, 17 September 1920.

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). 

Terence MacSwiney's death makes the front page of many French newspapers.

'LE LORD-MAIRE DE CORK EST MORT'

'MORT DU LORD-MAIRE DE CORK'

'LA MORT DE MAC-SWINEY' 

These are some of the headlines from French newspapers on 26 October 1920.

Below are some of the front pages of major French newspapers that featured the Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney's death on their front page. He died in Brixton prison on 25 October 1920 after 74 days on hunger strike. A photograph of a young-looking MacSwiney sits alongside many of the articles. Other French newspapers also covered his death on their front page, but not in such a prominent position and at such length. 

MacSwiney's hunger strike was followed closely by the world press. In the French press, we can see daily articles on his worsening health condition all through his hunger strike, but we can also see lengthy articles on how his case might impact on the Irish War of Independence. His death occured at the same time as the death of the King of Greece. However, newspapers found space to feature MacSwiney's death in a prominent position of their front pages. 

L'Humanité. 26 Oct 1920.

It may seem a little strange, in this day and age, how MacSwiney's story was so interesting to French newspaper readers. A follower on Twitter even commented that they found it strange that their ancestors could have read regular updates on the story. They also said that they thought that most French people would have trouble locating Cork on a map, but that's another days work!

The reasons why the story was so closely followed include an appetite for foreign news and an interest in human interest stories. Newspapers were the internet and social media of the day and readers wanted interesting / unusual stories. In MacSwiney's case that is exactly what they found. 

L'Oeuvre 26 Oct 1920. Source.

Le Journal 26 Oct 1920. Source.

Le Matin 26 Oct 1920. Source.

Le Petit Parisien 26 Oct 1920. Source.

Le Populaire 26 Oct 1920. Source.

L'Humanité 26 Oct 1920. Source.

L'Intransigeant 26 Oct 1920. Source.