Desmond FitzGerald Photographs

Date

1916/1932

Genre

Photographs

Extent

187 items

Type of resource

still image

Location of original

Original items located in UCD Archives.

Repository

UCD Archives

UCD Digital Library

Repository reference

P80/PH

Language

English

Biographical History

Desmond FitzGerald, christened Thomas Joseph, was born in London in 1888 of Irish emigrant parents. As a young man, an ardent interest in Ireland was reflected in his admiration for the poetry of W.B. Yeats and his learning the Irish language at the Gaelic League class in London, where he met his future wife Mabel Washington McConnell.

Mabel was born in Belfast on 4 July 1884. Her interest in politics and Irish nationalism, demonstrated initially as a student in Queen’s University Belfast, was reflected in her joining the Gaelic League while working as a secretary in London. Desmond and Mabel were married in 1911.

In 1913, Desmond and Mabel FitzGerald moved to Irish-speaking west Kerry, where their knowledge of the Irish language was extended further and political links were established with figures such as Ernest Blythe and The O’Rahilly. In January 1915, Desmond was expelled from county Kerry, having convinced the Royal Irish Constabulary that he was signalling to German submarines from his home on the western peninsula. His consequent move to Bray, county Wicklow, and the organisation of a branch of the Irish Volunteers was curtailed by his arrest and sentence to six month’s imprisonment for a speech discouraging recruitment to the British army. Desmond was released three weeks before the Easter Rising and was present in the General Post Office as a non-combatant. Imprisonment followed until mid-1917.

After his release from a further term of imprisonment in 1919, Desmond was appointed Director of Publicity for the Dáil Government. The Irish Bulletin was launched by him in November 1919 in order to offset the official British accounts of the political situation in Ireland. His editorial work resulted in yet another term of imprisonment, but release enabled him to participate in the Treaty negotiations.

With the resignation of the anti-Treaty members of government in January 1922, and the emergence of the Irish Free State, Desmond became Minister for External Affairs and represented Ireland at the Imperial Conferences and at the League of Nations throughout much of this period. He was appointed Minister for Defence in 1927, a post he held until the defeat of the government in the general election of 1932 and the coming of de Valera to power. After 1932, Desmond served as Opposition Deputy and Senator until 1943. He died in April 1947.

Custodial History

The papers of Desmond and Mabel FitzGerald were deposited by their children, particularly Dr Garret FitzGerald, in May 1987.

Scope and Content

This fine collection of photographic prints forms part of the papers of Desmond FitzGerald (P80). Although it has been catalogued separately, its relationship with its parent collection should not be overlooked. Desmond FitzGerald was responsible for propaganda during the War of Independence. As Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Provisional Government and Minister for External Affairs in the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, he was responsible for the work of their propaganda branch, the Publicity Department. Its director was Sean Lester. These photographs are to a very large extent related to the work of the Publicity Department. They must be viewed in relation to its work and in the context of a substantial amount of material in the FitzGerald papers, notably P80/14-P80/381.

The majority of theses photographs arise out of the Civil War (group 3). Two smaller series relate to the aftermath of the Easter Rising (group 1) and to the War of Independence (group 2). There are also two rather disjointed series which have been grouped as 4, Irish army portraits and panoramas, and 5, historical occasions and portraits. The photographs in groups 2 and 3 would have had obvious propaganda value and many were destined for publication. Others were never published. They are of interest not just because they are an extension of a large section of the FitzGerald papers but also because they contain historical and social information in what is often a vivid, poignant or artistic form.

The photographs in this collection come from a variety of sources: photographic studios, photographic agencies and the press. The majority of photographs in the largest group, 3, were taken by W.D. Hogan of Henry Street, Dublin, who was possibly commissioned by the Publicity Department to maintain a public record of the Civil War. From the system of numbering on the back of the photographs in groups1 and 2, it is clear that what is extant in this collection must represent a tiny fraction of the photographs which were taken at the time.

Aftermath of the Easter Rising, 1916 : The photographs in group 1 form a series and are all the work of one very fine photographer [name unknown]. They were all taken on a wet and murky day in the Sackville Street, Henry Street and Middle Abbey Street area. Although they are concerned with buildings destroyed during the Rising, some of them are quite exquisite both in detail and atmosphere.

War of Independence, 1920 : This small group of photographs has obvious propaganda value. They document some of the well know incidents of the War of Independence although all of the ‘atrocities’ illustrated here are those involving the Auxiliaries and Black and Tans.. The incidents documented include Kilmichael (November 1920), Cork City (December 1920), the destruction of creameries and the visit of the British Labour Party Commission (December 1920) to investigate the atrocities and reprisals in Ireland. All of the photographs in group 2 have captions which assist in identification.

Civil War, 1922 : This is the largest group of photographs in the collection. Most of them are the work of W.D. Hogan (with the exception of some in sub-groups 3.8 and 3.9, and all of 3.10). One must assume that Hogan was commissioned to photograph events during the Civil War from an Irish Free State perspective. The resulting work tends to reflect either anti-Treaty destruction or Irish Free State military success. Hogan was probably not in the firing line on many occasions although there are some action shorts (notably P80/PH/23-24) and photographs of the Irish Free State army advancing on land and by sea (sub-groups 3.2 and 3.3). Much of his work includes the presence of civilians, suggesting that major confrontation was over when he was in action. The civilian presence often provides photographs with interesting vignettes particularly in the form of small boys who seemed to materialise when the photographer was around. The civilian presence is also important from a propaganda viewpoint as inevitably people appear supportive and approving of the Irish Free State troops. It must be noted that a strict dress code does not appear to have been adhered to by the early Free State Army. Troops often wear a mixture of military and civilian dress, therefore distinguishing soldiers from civilians is often a matter of guesswork. There is also evidence that the Irish Free State army was reinforced on occasion by armed youths (P80/PH/88, 90), probably unofficially. These photographs in 3 have been grouped into loosely described subject categories because it would be impossible to establish any chronology among them and most have no captions. There are some coherent categories, notably 3.1, the destruction of the Four Courts, 3.3 coastal landings and 3.10, Belfast pogroms.

Groups 4 and 5 : The photographs in 4, Irish army portraits and panoramas, and 5, historical occasions and portraits, are rather mixed. P80/PH/160 is an interesting panorama of the first IRA unit in Irish Free State Army uniform (4 February 1922) and P80/PH/162 is a fine group photograph by the Lafayette studios of the officers and men of the Army Equitation School, possibly taken at the time Desmond FitzGerald was Minister for Defence (1927-32).

Arrangement

Photographs which appear related are usually listed in sequence. If separated, cross references are used to help their integration.

Note

This collection contains images which may cause distress.

Subjects

Ireland--History--Easter Rising, 1916

Ireland--History--War of Independence, 1919-1921

Ireland--History--Civil War, 1922-1923

Ireland--Politics and government--1910-1921

Ireland--Politics and government--1922-

Ireland--History--Civil War, 1922-1923--Propaganda

Ireland--History--War of Independence, 1919-1921--Propaganda

Irish Free State. Army

War damage--Ireland--1910-1930

Buildings--Ireland--1910-1930

People--Ireland--1910-1930

Soldiers--Ireland--1910-1930

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Related Material

W.D. Hogan photographs in the National Photographic Archive, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.

Bibliography

Desmond FitzGerald, Desmond's Rising. Memoirs 1913 to Easter 1916, Liberties Press, 2006.

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Record source

Finding aid encoded in EAD by UCD Digital Library - DM 26 February 2013.

Finding aid author

Ailsa Holland

1. Aftermath of the Easter Rising, 1916

2. War of Independence, 1920

3. Civil War, 1922

1. Destruction of the Four Courts

2. Army actions

3. Coastal landings

4. Army and civilian response

5. Army at ease and on parade

6. City, town and country

7. Destruction of buildings

8. Civilian groups and portraits

9. Army and civilian casualties

10. Belfast pogroms

4. Irish Army portraits and panoramas

5. Historical occasions and portraits

1.   Aftermath of the Easter Rising, 1916

2.   War of Independence, 1920

3.   Civil War, 1922

4.   Irish Army portraits and panoramas

5.   Historical occasions and portraits

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