Charles Edward Kelly (15 June 1902 – 20 January 1981) was an Irish

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

, and one of the founders and editors of the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

magazine ''

Dublin Opinion ''Dublin Opinion'' was an Irish satirical magazine, published monthly from 1922 to 1968. It was founded by cartoonists Arthur Booth and Charles E. Kelly and writer Thomas J. Collins. Booth was its first editor, and drew the covers of the early ...

''. His prolific contributions to the magazine were drawn in a variety of styles, from cartoony to illustrative. Kelly was educated at Synge Street CBS, and joined the

Irish civil service The Civil Service ( ga, An Státseirbhís) of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the departments of state and certain state agencies who advise and work for the Government of Ireland. It consists of two broad components, t ...

as a messenger boy at the age of 15. At the age of 19 he, fellow cartoonist Arthur Booth, a 28-year-old clerk, and writer Tom Collins, founded ''Dublin Opinion'' in 1922, on the eve of the Irish Civil War, with Booth becoming its first editor. Kelly had no formal art training, and developed his style by studying the work of the leading cartoonists of the time. After Booth's death in 1926, Kelly co-edited the magazine with Collins, while continuing to work in the civil service, eventually becoming Director of Broadcasting and Director of National Savings. Kelly's cartoons were also published in '' The Capuchin Annual'' from 1942 to 1955. He began painting watercolours in the 1930s, and became a member of the Dublin Sketching Club and the Water Colour Society of Ireland: he exhibited over 60 pieces at the latter from 1941 to 1980, and had a solo exhibition of his watercolours in Dublin in 1972. After Collins' death Kelly struggled on with ''Dublin Opinion'' for a few years, before it was voluntarily wound up in 1968. He received an honorary doctorate from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

in 1979, and was president and chairman of PEN. His eldest son, Frank, was an actor best known for playing Father Jack in the Channel 4 sitcom ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until ...

''. His daughter, Pauline Bracken, is a journalist who wrote a memoir, ''Light of Other Days: A Dublin Childhood'', published in 1992.

References

*Thomas J. Collins & Charles E. Kelly (eds.), ''Fifteen Years of Dublin Opinion'', Dublin Opinion Ltd, 1937 *Louis McRedmond (ed.), ''Modern Irish Lives: Dictionary of 20th Century Biography'', Gill & McMillan, 1998, p. 154 *Theo Snoddy, ''Dictionary of Irish Artists: 20th Century'', Merlin Publishing, 2002 *Frank Kelly
The Story of Dublin OpinionInterview with Frank Kelly
Sunday Mirror, 14 March 1999
Pauline Bracken, ''Light of Other Days''
at Amazon.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Charles E. 1902 births 1981 deaths Irish editorial cartoonists Irish civil servants Civil servants in Ireland (1801–1922) Artists from Dublin (city) Irish magazine editors People educated at Synge Street CBS