French Newspaper Cartoons - Ireland's Easter Rising

Ireland's Easter Rising was reported in the French press through the form of articles, photographs and even some editorial / political cartoons. Editorial cartoons have long been a regular feature of many popular French newspapers.

Here, we can see cartoons on the front pages of Le Matin from 1 May 1916 and from Le Petit Journal from 27 April 1916 and 5 May 1916. In the first cartoon we can see what appears to be a soldier complete with German style military helmet with a sword marked 'Dublin'. The caption reads 'un coup d'épée dans l'eau'. This is an idiomatic expression that means - a complete waste of time.

The second cartoon shows the Kaiser and suggests that there is an error in a newspaper report relating to the Rising and the landing of German arms in Ireland. Should it not read that the Germans were repelled from Ireland, they wonder. The last cartoon again refers to the German army and shows a soldier (or possibly Kaiser Wilhelm) being attacked by Asquith's project.

Le Petit Journal was one of the main four dailies in France during the first half of the 20th century. It was a conservative newspaper that sold around 2 million copies at the beginning of the 20th century. Le Matin was one of France's main dailies between the 1910s and 1920s, selling around 1 million copies in 1914.

Le Matin, 1 May 1916. Source: Gallica, BnF.

Le Petit Journal, 27 April 1916. Source: Gallica, BnF.

Le Petit Journal, 5 May 1916. Source: Gallica, BnF.

Ireland's Easter Rising in France's Le Monde illustré

Le Monde illustré was the leading French illustrated weekly news magazine of the late 19th and early 20th century. It began publication in 1857 and was similar in style to The Illustrated London News, which was the world's first illustrated news magazine. By 1916, Le Monde illustré ran to 14 pages and cost 60 centimes. The format normally consisted of a mix of full page illustrations, a selection of several different illustrations grouped together and text articles.

Ireland's Easter Rising was covered on several occasions in the news magazine, beginning on 6 May 1916 and again on the following two weeks, 13 May 1916, 20 May 1916. In much of the French press at the time, the rising was portrayed simply as a German inspired plot to attack France's ally, Great Britain, and not as a push for Irish independence. The Germans are mentioned frequently in the coverage and Roger Casement, the man who uncovered large scale human rights abuses in the Belgian Congo, was labeled a traitor.

Le Monde illustré, 6 May 1916. Source: Gallica BnF.

Le Monde illustré, 13 May 1916. Source: Gallica BnF.

Le Monde illustré, 20 May 1916. Source Gallica BnF.

Gallica is the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France [French National Library]. It contains a wealth of material including books, newspapers, magazines, photographs, letters, manuscripts and sound recordings. Here, you can search 58 years of Le Monde illustré - http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb32818319d/date

Susan Langstaff Mitchell - An Irishman's Diary

Today, a new Irishman's Diary by me appears in the Irish Times newspaper. It is about the poet, journalist and editor, Susan Langstaff Mitchell (1866-1926). Born in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, Mitchell played a part in the Irish Literary Revival at the turn of the 20th century. Read it here.

Below is a copy of the front page of the Irish Homestead of 9 January 1904. This was the weekly magazine that Mitchell wrote for and also edited along with her colleague and friend, the poet and painter, George William Russell (AE).

Image source: http://cas.umt.edu/english/joyce/notes/020077homestead.htm

Book Review - Irish Studies Review

I recently reviewed the book, The Bordeaux-Dublin Letters, 1757: Correspondence of an Irish Community Abroad, for the journal Irish Studies Review. It has been published online and is available to read at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09670882.2016.1147138

The book tells the fascinating story of a bundle of letters that were seized when a Dublin-registered ship was stopped by a British privateer in the Bay of Biscay in 1757. The letters and other related items formed part of a court case and were held in the British National Archives until they were rediscovered by accident by an American researcher in 2011.

Photograph of front cover of The Bordeaux-Dublin Letters, 1757.

It really was like finding a time capsule, a time capsule that transported the reader back 250 years witnessing how friendships, private relationships, as well as societies, operated. This was such an amazing find and reminds us of the fascinating discoveries still to be made in archives and libraries around the world.

'The Irish Whip': Danno O'Mahony - RTÉ's Sunday Miscellany

I recently recorded a short piece on the RTÉ Radio 1 programme 'Sunday Miscellany' about the Irish wrestler, Danno O'Mahony (1912-1950). Born in the townland of Derrenlomane, outside the village of Ballydehob, County Cork, O'Mahony won the World Heavyweight Championship in 1935.

Danno's wrestling move was known as the 'Irish Whip'. He used it to great effect to disarm his opponents. Listen to it here (from 9 min 25 seconds).

 

Photo of Danno's statue on Ballydehob's main street.

Alexis de Tocqueville in Ireland - An Irishman's Diary

I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times about the French political thinker, politician and historian, Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859), who visited Ireland in 1835. In a six week period between July and August 1835, he traveled over 600 miles and visited several counties including Dublin, Carlow, Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork, Kerry, Clare and Mayo. Read the article here.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859). Image source.

Tocqueville is known to us today for his important, ground-breaking examination of politics in the United States of America, Democracy in America, but his lesser known writings on Ireland are also worth examining. His first hand account of what he witnessed on his travels around Ireland and of his conversations with all classes of Irish people makes for very interesting reading. An English language translation of Tocqueville's writings on Ireland was published in 1990 - Alexis de Tocqueville's Journey in Ireland, July-August 1835, trans. by Emmet Larkin (Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1990).

Ireland was a very interesting destination for European visitors in the early 19th century. They were fascinated by the difference between Ireland and her near neighbour, England, in terms of economy, politics and religion. Tocqueville intended to write a book about Ireland, but it was his friend and travelling companion, Gustave de Beaumont, who later wrote a book about Ireland.

NPHFI Conference 2015 - University College Dublin

The Eighth Annual Conference of the Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland (NPHFI) took place in the UCD Humanities Institute on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November 2015.

This year's theme was: 'Reporting Revolution: What the papers said'. Speakers, including academics, journalists and independent scholars, came from Ireland, the UK, Canada, South Africa to present their research. A selection of photographs from the conference can be viewed on the Forum's Facebook page.

I presented a paper on the French journalist and author, Joseph Kessel (1898-1979). Kessel, who visited Dublin, Cork and Belfast during the Irish War of Independence, has been called the French Ernest Hemmingway.