Irish Bulletin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Irish Bulletin'' was the official
gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...
of the government of the
Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...
. It was produced by the Department of Propaganda during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...
. and its offices were originally located at No. 6
Harcourt Street Harcourt Street is a street located in Dublin City, Ireland. Location It is a little over in length with its northerly start at the south-east corner of St Stephen's Green and terminates in the south at the point where Adelaide road become ...
,
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. The paper's first editor was Desmond FitzGerald, until his arrest and replacement by Erskine Childers. ''The Bulletin'' appeared in weekly editions from 11 November 1919 to 11 July 1921.


Genesis

In April 1919,
Terence MacSwiney Terence James MacSwiney (; ga, Toirdhealbhach Mac Suibhne; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He ...
proposed the establishment of a daily paper by the Dáil for the purpose of publicity. His suggestion was not implemented until November, when 'Desmond Fitzgerald decided that some form of printed counter-propaganda was vital to republican aims and to take advantage of the success of
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
and the increasing international interest in Ireland'. Fitzgerald succeeded
Laurence Ginnell Laurence Ginnell (baptised 9 April 1852 – 17 April 1923) was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Irish Parliamentary ...
in the Ministry following the latter's arrest in April 1919, though he did not take up the position until July. At a Cabinet meeting held on 7 November, there was agreement that there should be "A scheme for daily news bulletin to foreign correspondents, weekly lists of atrocities; entertainment of friendly journalists approved, and £500 voted for expenses under Mr. Griffith's personal supervision." Four days later the ''Irish Bulletin'' made its début, in a run consisting of just thirty copies. Five issues of the bulletin were issued each week for the next two years, despite efforts by the British authorities to suppress it.


Personnel and contributors

In the early days, the paper was produced mainly by Frank Gallagher and Robert Brennan. Brennan, as Sinn Féin's Director of Publicity since April 1918, had played a leading role in that party's success in the 1918 General Election. Following Fitzgerald's arrest in 1921, Erskine Childers was appointed Director of Propaganda taking charge of publicity and thus becoming the paper's new editor. On 9 May 1921, both Childers and Gallagher were arrested and taken to
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...
. Following the intervention of 'Andy' Cope, both were released that night and 'went on the run'. The hasty release of the two led to speculation between Art O'Brien and
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
that there was a rift developing between the British military authorities and the civil administration. Despite the arrests, the ''Bulletin'' 'continued to appear on schedule'. Alan J. Ellis, a journalist with the ''Cork Examiner'' made occasional contributions to the paper. Kathleen Napoli McKenna was 'a key force behind the daily news-sheet.


Content

In the early days, the ''Bulletin'' consisted mainly of lists of raids by the security forces and the arrests of suspects. In order to stimulate interest, this was expanded in 1921 at the behest of the Irish President in his direction to Childers to give more detailed accounts of events. Extracts from foreign publications, particularly sympathetic English papers, were frequently included. A regular feature was accounts from the
Dáil Courts The Dáil Courts (also known as Republican Courts) were the judicial branch of government of the Irish Republic, which had unilaterally declared independence in 1919. They were formally established by a decree of the First Dáil on 29 June 1920 ...
, which were reported in detail. The ''Bulletin'' was more graphic in its coverage of violence than was usual for its time. An example was its reporting on the deaths of two prominent Sinn Féin leaders, Henry and Patrick Loughnane, from Shanaglish,
Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, wh ...
,
County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...
. The men had been handed over by the
Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
to local members of the Auxiliary Division.
On Dec 6th, the bodies were found in a pond. The skulls were battered in and the flesh was hanging loose on both bodies.The two men were evidently tied by the neck to a motor lorry and dragged after it until they were dead. Before the bodies were hidden in a pond an effort was made to burn them.


Counterfeit edition

On the night of 26–27 March 1921, the offices of the Irish Bulletin were discovered by the British authorities. Captured typewriters and duplicators were used to fabricate bogus issues of the paper. These were distributed to the usual subscribers using lists found at the office.
Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (28 May 1863 – 6 October 1931), known as Henry Cavendish-Bentinck until 1880, was a British Conservative politician. Biography Cavendish-Bentinck was the eldest son of Lieutenant-General Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck ...
MP on receiving some of the counterfeit papers through the post, asked in the House that those responsible 'not (to) waste their money in sending me any more of their forgeries.' The initial efforts of the forgers, Captains Hugh Pollard and William Darling were of poor quality and easily identified as counterfeit.Kenneally pp 21, 51


See also

*''
Iris Oifigiúil ''Iris Oifigiúil'' (; "''Official Journal''") is the official gazette of the Government of Ireland. It replaced ''The Dublin Gazette'', the gazette of the Dublin Castle administration, on 31 January 1922. ''The Belfast Gazette'' was established ...
'' *''
Dublin Gazette ''The Dublin Gazette'' was the gazette, or official newspaper, of the Irish Executive, Britain's government in Ireland based at Dublin Castle, between 1705 and 1922. It published notices of government business, including Royal Proclamations, the ...
''


Notes


Sources

*''The Origin and Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland in 1920'', Brian P Murphy, Aubane Historical Society and Spinwatch (2006), *''The Paper Wall: Newspapers and Propaganda in Ireland 1919-1921'', Ian Kenneally, The Collins Press (Cork 2008), * ''The four glorious years'', Frank Gallagher,
Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...
, (1953) reprinted Blackwater Press, (2005)


External links


''An Phoblacht''
{{Authority control Newspapers established in 1919 Publications disestablished in 1921 Irish War of Independence Defunct newspapers published in Ireland Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom 1919 establishments in Ireland 1921 disestablishments in Ireland