St Fridolin - an Irishman with power and influence in Europe in the Middle Ages

Saint Fridolin was an Irish-born saint who became well-known and influential through his travels and evangelising around Europe in the 6th century. I have just written an Irishman's Diary about Fridolin in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

Fridolin of Säckingen. Image source.

He spent a long period of time in Germany and Switzerland, so much so in fact, that he became known as 'Fridolin of Säckingen' and the 'Enlightener of the Upper Rhine'.

Throughout Europe today, you can still find references to Fridolin, whether it is in churches, monasteries or in cultural traditions, such as the bonfires that are lit in the Swiss canton of Glarus on 6 March each year. Fridolin is the patron saint of the canton and the day marks his feast day. The fires are known as 'Fridolin's fire'.

St. Fridolin by Albrecht Dürer. Image source.

Book review - Packy Jim: Folklore and Worldview on the Irish Border

I have written a book review of Packy Jim: Folklore and Worldview on the Irish Border by Ray Cashman, for the peer-reviewed academic journal, Irish Studies Review. It has just been published online. Read it here.

Front cover of the book.

Ray Cashman is a professor of folklore at Indiana University. He first visited County Tyrone in August 1998. He initially stayed there for one year, conducting ethnographic fieldwork. In subsequent years, he made return trips to the area, usually for one or two week periods. Over the years, he made 65 hours of audio recordings of local man, Patrick James (Packy Jim) McGrath. He also took 5 hours of video recording. 

The book recounts Cashman's encounters with Packy Jim and his tales of local legends and family history. He also recites poems and sings ballads relating to the area. Cashman is full of praise for his interviewee, hailing him as "a master of tradition" (p. 5) and "one of the best storytellers I am ever likely to meet" (p. 24). The book was first published by University of Wisconsin Press in 2017. See here for more information on the book. 

This 3.5 minute clip of Packy Jim gives us a flavour of his storytelling abilities.

This is not the first time that folklore has been gathered in this part of rural Ireland. In the 1930s, the Irish Folklore Commission collected folklore (oral history, sayings, folktales, legends, riddles, proverbs, games, etc.) from school children in Lettercran, County Donegal. They were encouraged to collect folklore from their parents / relatives and neighbours in the area. This now forms part of The Schools' Collection.  

One of the copybooks from Lettercran. Source.

François Thurot - 18th century French privateer in Ireland.

The capture of the town of Carrickfergus by a French naval officer and privateer in February 1760 was a very interesting episode in Franco-Irish relations.

On February 25th, 1760, the French privateer, François Thurot, sailed from Carrickfergus. He had occupied the town with a force of several hundred men for almost a week by that stage. Three days later, his fleet was attacked by British men-of-war near the Isle of Man and Thurot was killed in what subsequently became known as The Battle of Bishops Court or The Defeat of Thurot.

François Thurot. Image source.

François Thurot (1726-1760) who has been described as "one of the boldest and most accomplished privateers"(1), was commissioned into the French navy during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Some have said that the War was the original 'world war', as Franco-British fighting in North America and India led to a general war in Europe, involving most major European states.

During the War, Thurot commanded a frigate. Together with his men, he captured a large number of British merchant ships. You can read about Thurot in this book on French buccaneers, Les Frères de la Coste: Flibustiers & Corsaires (pages 239-299). It is available to read and download on Gallica, the French National Library's digital library. 

18th century French map of Ireland. Image source

1. The Oxford Companion to Ships and The Sea.

Josephine McNeill - Ireland's first female diplomatic head of mission

Josephine McNeill about to present her letter of credence. Image source.

Josephine McNeill (1895-1969) was Ireland's first female head of a diplomatic mission. She took up the post of Irish Minister to the Netherlands in early 1950. She subsequently served as envoy to several other European countries. She remained in the Department of External Affairs until her retirement in 1960. I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about her. Read it here.

Portrait photograph of Josephine McNeill. Image source.

Josephine McNeill packed an awful lot into her life and was involved with many different organisations and had a wide circle of friends. This can be seen in her private papers that are held in the University College Dublin (UCD) Archives. If you look at the descriptive list, you can see who she corresponded with and on what topic. There are references to a whole range of personalities from the world of the Arts and Politics. For example, she frequently wrote to Lady Augusta Gregory, Shane Leslie, and Lennox Robinson. There are also letters from WB Yeats, Sean O'Casey, George Bernard Shaw, and Mícheál Mac Liammóir.

List of publications - Weebly

I have just started using Weebly. On it https://oliverohanlon.weebly.com/ you can see a list of my interests and experience, writings and other projects. I started it because I noticed that the old list of writings I had kept on Blogger was appearing funny when it was published (strange formatting, words missing etc.).

Screenshot of my page on Weebly.

I do like Blogger and will continue to use it for the moment to keep you updated on specific events and publications, but I will also use Weebly to give you an overall picture of what I am doing.

Gaetano de Gennaro - Italian artist who made a temporary home in Ireland

Gaetano de Gennaro (1890-1959) arrived in Ireland in 1940. The Italian-born artist had trained in France and settled in Ireland for a number of years, mixing with a range of artists, singers, and actors. He left behind a great legacy in the form of portraits of these characters (some are shown below). I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about him. Read it here.

Portrait of the Abbey Theatre actress, Anne Merry by Gaetano de Gennaro. Image source.

Portrait of 1916 veteran, Eamon Martin by Gaetano de Gennaro. Image source. 

Portrait of Jack Butler Yeats by Gaetano de Gennaro. Image source.

Newspaper photograph showing de Gennaro, his model and the portrait he was painting of her.

Newspaper photograph of the portrait of Seán Keating by Gaetano de Genanro. 

100 Years ago - French newspaper cartoons from 1 January 1920

I was interested to see what people were concerned about 100 years ago at this time. To satisfy my curiosity, I looked at Gallica, the digital library of the French national library. As I have said before on this blog, Gallica is a wonderful resource of (mostly free) digitised old newspapers, books and other such priceless historical items. It is a great online window on the past.

The first cartoon is from L'Oeuvre, a left-leaning daily. The title is 'Bolchevisme et Bloc National' [Bolshevism and National Bloc]. The Bloc National was a conservative liberal coalition that was in power from 1919 to 1924. One character says to the other, "I wish you a prosperous and happy year". The other character says in reply: "Thanks, I wish you the same".

1.

L'Oeuvre, 1 January 1920. Source

The second cartoon is from L'Humanité, the organ of the French Communist Party. The title is 'Bonne et Heureuse' [Good and Happy]. 'They asked for peace' and 'we gave it to them', says the figure of the woman on the right of the cartoon dressed in a cloak of 1920, before adding 'and they're still not happy'. 

2.

L'Humanité, 1 January 1920. Source

The third cartoon is from L'Intransigeant, a popular daily. The title is 'Le superflu' [The superfluous]. 'But...but...there is no fireplace', says one character to the other. 'A fireplace? To do what?', comes the reply from the character on the right of the cartoon, who looks like the landlord holding a set of keys.

3.

L'Intransigeant, 1 January 1920. Source

The forth cartoon is from Le Journal, another popular daily. The title is 'Les Restrictions' [Restrictions] and it shows a group of elegantly dressed diners enjoying champagne and being served what looks like fine food. They do not seem to have been impacted by the restrictions alluded to in the title and in the smoke emanating from the man's cigarette on the right of the cartoon. The caption underneath reads: "Honni soit qui mal dépense" [Shame on those who do not spend well]. It seems to be a play on the expression 'Honi soit qui mal y pense' [May he be shamed who thinks badly of it]. 

4.

Le Journal, 1 January 1920. Source

The fifth and final cartoon is from Le Matin, a daily newspaper which was one of the four biggest newspapers in France before the First World War. The cartoon contains five separate cases which give a recap on the events of the year 1919. I have reproduced the first case below - to see the whole cartoon, just click on the link. It refers to the Paris Peace Conference, the Victory March and the departure of American soldiers. Other cases in the cartoon refer to Fiume, demobilisation, a public transport strike, the end of press censorship etc.

5.

Le Matin, 1 January 1920. Source

The cartoons that appeared in these French newspaper on 1 January 1920 are not too different from the ones that will appear online and in newspaper to mark 1 January 2020. They deal with current issues affecting the country and reflect peoples' concerns. 

Bonne Année ! Happy New Year!