Book review - 'Art O'Brien and Irish Nationalism in London 1900-25'

My review of Mary MacDiarmada's book, Art O'Brien and Irish Nationalism in London 1900-25, is now live and available on the website of the journal Irish Studies Review. It will be published in the journal in August 2021. Get a free eprint of my review here.

Front cover of book.

Art O'Brien (1872-1949) played an important role in mobilising the Irish diaspora in England during the first twenty-five years of the twentieth century. He was an electrical engineer by training and was fluent in French and Spanish. He put these skills to good use when he became the first Dáil's envoy in London in 1919. His job was to rally the Irish diaspora in England to push for Irish independence. He also acted as a point of contact for the foreign press corps stationed in London. 

The book shines a light on his life and activities for an independent Ireland. Particularly interesting was his interest in the Irish language and Irish dancing. He was born in London to a Cork-born father and an English mother. Art's father died when he was just five years old, so his link to Ireland was broken very early in his life, but he nurtured this aspect of his heritage and it could be said that he became more connected to Ireland's traditional culture and history than many people living in Ireland at the time.

O'Brien was a member of many Irish cultural and nationalist organisations (both legal and illegal) including the Gaelic League in London, Sinn Féin, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). He led a fascinating life and with all the subterfuge, twists and turns that we read about in MacDiarmada's book, it would make for a good film. Read the book and make up your own mind.

Ireland's Own article - The Sullivan brothers

I have just written a piece for Ireland's Own magazine on the Sullivan Brothers, whose tragic story would have profound implications for the US military and lawmakers. Read it here. The five Irish-American Sullivan brothers served on the same ship in the United States navy during the Second World War. They volunteered for the navy after a friend of theirs died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

Photo of the five brothers. Image source.

The five brothers, George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert, were all in their twenties when they joined up. Even though it was established navy policy to separate family members and not allow them serve on the same ship, they appealed and won the right to serve together. They were assigned to the USS Juneau, a light cruiser. 

On the night of November 13th 1942, the Juneau was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. It was hit again the following day when it was trying to make some repairs and this caused it to explode and sink. All but a handful of the almost 700 crew that were on board lost their lives (including the five Sullivans). 

Commemorative plaque to the USS Juneau. Image source.

As well as helping to create the Sole Survivor Policy which protects family members from the draft or combat duty if they have lost family members in military service, the Sullivans' story inspired several books, television documentaries and movies. One of the movies was Steven Spielberg's 1998 film, Saving Private Ryan, which was partially filmed in Co. Wexford, Ireland. In a way, this was like some sort of homecoming as the Sullivans' ancestors left Cork in Ireland for America in the 1840s.

The wreck of the Juneau was located in recent years on the ocean floor (4,200 meters below the surface) off the coast of the Solomon Islands. It's incredible to think that we can carry out such a search and that we can see such clear photographs that really bring history to life. If you want to find out more about the wreck, have a look at this blog.

The wreck of the Juneau. Image source.

Happy New Year!

It's always interesting to look through the newspaper archives to see what was happening at different points in history. The 1st of January of any year always presents us with great editorial cartoons and 1921 was no exception. 

Cartoon from L'Humanité newspaper, 1 January 1921. Image source.

In this cartoon from the left-leaning newspaper, L'Humanité (the daily newspaper of the French Communist party), we can see 1920 being unceremoniously dumped in the bin. The title 'Dans la poubelle' translates as 'In the trash / rubbish bin' and the caption at the bottom reads: 'Je n'en ai pas trouvé aussi sale depuis l'Empire...', which would be 'I haven't had it this bad since the days of the Empire...'.

Happy New Year, hope it's a good one for you and yours!

Charles Stewart Parnell's walking stick - a literary baton

I have just written a piece about a plain walking stick that was once owned by Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891). In fact it was made by him - he cut the whitethorn stick from the wood in Avondale, Co. Wicklow where he lived some 130 years ago. Read it here.

Photo of the Parnell Monument on Parnell Street, Dublin, Ireland.

The stick has been adopted as a literary baton, handed down from generation to generation of Irish writer. Past guardians of the walking stick include poets, essayists and novelists. The Nobel Prize winner, Seamus Heaney (1939-2013), is probably the most internationally recognisable holder of the stick, but it has also passed through the hands of Conor Cruise O'Brien and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill among others. I wonder who the next recipient will be...

Avondale, Co. Wicklow (home of the Parnell family).

While researching the piece, I came across other walking sticks that were either owned by Parnell or have had some close personal connection to him. In places as far apart as Brighton-on-Hove in England, New York in the USA and Clara in Co. Offaly in Ireland, sticks have come to light that are closely linked to the man himself. In Glasnevin Museum in Dublin and in the National Museum of Ireland, there are also a couple of fancier sticks that are also believed to have been owned by him at one time or another. Perhaps we should do an inventory of all the Parnell sticks out there - we might be surprised by the result! 

One of the more elaborate Parnell walking sticks in Glasnevin Museum. Image source. 

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.

Article on RTE's Brainstorm - Burning of Cork in the French press

The Irish War of Independence, which lasted from January 1919 to July 1921, consumed gallons of newspaper ink in newspapers all around the world. During that time, certain significant events caused the focus to be amplified. One of those events was the Burning of Cork, which happened on the night of 11 December 1920. I have just written a piece for the RTÉ Brainstorm website about French press coverage of the Burning of Cork. Read it here.

Front page of Le Matin, 15 December 1920. Source.

The newspaper that is mentioned in the article on Brainstorm is L'Œuvre. The paper ran from 1904 until 1944 and during those years the paper's ideology altered radically from being non-conformist in the early years, to being a radical republican and pacifist paper in the inter-war years, to ultimately adopting a collaborationist stance during the Second World War. It has been digitised by the French National Library (BnF) and you can search through the archives from 1915 to 1944 on their digital website, Gallica. See here for more. 

If you want to find out more about the Burning of Cork, there is a podcast available on the RTÉ 'Documentary on One' radio programme website. It was made in 1960 and includes interviews with people who witnessed the event that took place on 11 December 1920. It lasts for 29.40 mins and you can listen to it here. There is also a shorter RTÉ radio clip (4.26 mins) on the Burning of Cork available. It was made by Myles Dungan and you can listen to it here.

Bernard O'Dowd - Australia's first national poet

Bernard O'Dowd (1866-1953) was known as Australia's first national poet. He was born in Beauford, Victoria to Ulster-born Catholic parents who had emigrated to Australia. His father was Bernard Dowd, a police constable and his mother was Ann Dowell (née Mulholland). His is said to have read John Milton's 17th century epic, 'Paradise Lost', at age 8, quiet an introduction to poetry. I have just written an Irishman's Diary about O'Dowd's life and times in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

Bronze bust of Bernard O'Dowd by Charles Web Gilbert. Image source.

As mentioned in the newspaper article, O'Dowd corresponded regularly with the American poet, Walt Whitman. There is a great podcast called 'Poetry Militant: Walt Whitman and Bernard O'Dowd' about their letter writing relationship, available on the ABC website. It's well worth a listen. There is even a short clip where you can hear O'Dowd's voice. To my ear, his accent sounds a bit unusual. It's not a very strong Australian accent as you would recognise from Australians today, maybe it was tempered by his parents' Ulster accents? You can listen to it or download it here and make up your own mind. 

Caricature of Bernard O'Dowd by the cartoonist David Low. Image source. 

If you want to learn more about O'Dowd, you can read his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography here. There is also an entry on him on the Australian Postal History & Social Philately available here. You can search on Trove (the National Library of Australia's digital library) for material related to O'Dowd, see here for more. Lastly, there is an article about O'Dowd's socialism in the journal 'Labour History' on JSTOR. It is from 1999 and is entitled 'Bernard O'Dowd's Socialism'. You can access it here.