Frank Gallagher (author)

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Francis David Gallagher (1893–1962), also known by the pseudonym David Hogan, was an Irish journalist, author and Volunteer. Born in Cork, he was the son of James J. Gallagher, secretary to Dwyer & Co. Ltd. He was educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork, Cork and for a short period at University College Cork.[1]

Journalist

As a young journalist, Gallagher was initially employed as London correspondent of William O'Brien's Cork Free Press, subsequently its final editor, though himself a separatist, personally admired O'Brien.[2] The paper suffered closure in 1916 soon after the appointment of Lord Decies as Chief Press Censor for Ireland. Decies warned the press to be careful about what they published. Such warnings had little effect when dealing with such papers as the Cork Free Press. It was suppressed after Gallagher accused the British authorities of lying about the conditions and situation of republican prisoners in the Frongoch internment camp.[3] Gallagher also contributed to the nationalist newspaper New Ireland.

Volunteer

Following the

Prisoner of War status or release (they were released).[5] In his day to day journal while on hunger strike, Gallagher writes about his motivations on the first day of the strike (April 5, 1920) in Mountjoy Prison on (Easter Monday): "There is a queer happiness in me. If it were not so quiet in this cell and in the whole jail, I would sing and call out in sheer gaiety of spirit...The fight is on, the fight that now can have but one ending...triumph and freedom, something done for liberty and the rights of all men."[6]

Later life

In December 1931, Gallagher was prosecuted by an Irish Free State Military tribunal for Seditious libel[7] for publishing articles alleging Gardaí had mistreated the opponents (i.e. Anti-Treaty republicans) of the Irish Free State government, this was facilitated by Amendment No. 17 of Constitution of the Irish Free State, he was convicted and fined £50.[8]

Prior to the establishment of

Radio Éireann in 1936. He would later serve as the director of the Government Information Bureau from 1939 to 1948 and again through 1951–54. Gallagher has composed numerous short stories, biographies and historical pieces.[9]

From 1954 he worked at the National Library of Ireland up until his death on 16 July 1962, at which time he was working on a biography of de Valera. Portions of it were published posthumously as The Anglo-Irish Treaty (1965). Gallagher's implacable hostility to the Anglo-Irish Treaty inevitably colours his analysis; but despite his belief that de Valera was entirely in the right in the ensuing conflict, he makes impressive efforts to be fair to those who negotiated the Treaty, especially Arthur Griffith. He published Days of Fear (1928) and under the pseudonym 'David Hogan', The Four Glorious Years (1953).[10]

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ Garrity, Davin A. 44 Irish Short Stories Seventeenth Edition. Devin-Adair. Co. 1988.
  3. ^ Gallagher, Frank "Days of Fear", p. 166, Harper Brothers Publishers, New York (1929)
  4. ^ Gallagher p. 13
  5. (1-903497-33-7)
  6. ^ Horgan, J. 2001. Irish media: a critical history since 1922. London: Routledge.
  7. ^ [1] Archived 2016-10-05 at the Wayback Machine Gallagher at Ricorso
  8. ^ Cadogan (2006)