Freeman's Journal
Type | Daily newspaper |
---|---|
Format | Broadsheet |
Founder(s) | Charles Lucas |
Editor | John Turner Fearon |
Founded | 1763 |
Political alignment | Moderate Irish nationalist |
Ceased publication | 1924 |
Headquarters | Dublin |
The Freeman's Journal, which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper.[1]
Patriot journal
It was founded in 1763 by
Voice of constitutional nationalism
In the 19th century it became more nationalist in tone, particularly under the control and inspiration of Sir John Gray (1815–75).
The Journal, as it was widely known as, was the leading newspaper in Ireland throughout the 19th century. Contemporary sources record it being read to the largely illiterate population by priests and local teachers gathering in homes. It was mentioned in contemporary literature and was seen as symbolising
It was challenged on all sides by rivals. On the nationalist side some preferred
Superseded by the Irish Independent
The collapse of the IPP in 1918, and the electoral success of
The Freeman's Journal ceased publication in 1924, when it was merged with the Irish Independent. Until the 1990s, the Irish Independent included the words 'Incorporating the Freeman's Journal' in its mast-head over its editorials.
In fiction
James Joyce drew on his recollection of his visits to the Freeman’s office in 1909 in his novel Ulysses. As the place of Leopold Bloom's employment, the depiction of the paper's offices in the Aeolus chapter has been deemed "an authentic portrait" at a time when the newspaper was "moribund – the Irish Independent having supplanted it as the most popular daily newspaper in Dublin." Its decline is reflected in "the anxious question posed in Aeolus about the Freeman’s editor, WH Brayden: 'But can he save the circulation?'"[7]
Leading proprietors, editors and contributors
- Matthias McDonnell Bodkin
- Henry Brooke
- Edward 'Doc' Byrne
- Wilson Gray
- Sir John Gray
- Charles Lucas
- James Winder Good
- William O'Brien
- Thomas Sexton
See also
- Pádraig Ó Domhnaill
References
- ^ "Freeman's Journal in British Newspaper Archive". Findmypast Newspaper Archive Limited. Retrieved 4 August 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ The Sham Squire and the Informer of 1798
- ^ Lord Edward Fitzgerald
- ^ Rónán Duffy (19 March 2017). "The price of betrayal: Who did the British pay for info on Irish rebels and how much did they pay?". The Journal. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ^ Mellby, Julie L. (6 December 2010). "Weekly Freeman Cartoons". Princeton University Library.
- ^ Freeman's Journal 22 September 1891
- ^ Larkin, Felix (9 May 2019). "James Joyce's joust with journalism: The Freeman's Journal in Ulysses' Aeolus chapter". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 January 2021.