Denis Rolleston Gwynn (1893–1973) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

journalist, writer and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of modern Irish history. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Life

Denis Gwynn was born on 6 March 1893, the third son of

Stephen Gwynn Stephen Lucius Gwynn (13 February 1864 – 11 June 1950) was an Irish journalist, biographer, author, poet and Protestant Nationalist politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party he represented Galway city as its Member of Parliament ...

, the Irish patriot, writer and

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...

Member of Parliament. His mother was Mary ('May') Louisa Osborn Gwynn; his parents were first cousins. The middle name Rolleston was derived from Denis Gwynn's great grandmother Catherine Rolleston, who married his great grandfather John Gwynne.''Burke’s Irish Family Records'', Burke’s Peerage Ltd, 1976. Along with his mother and siblings, but not his father, Denis Gwynn was received into the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Church in 1902. He was educated at

St. Enda's School St. Enda's School (( ga, Scoil Éanna)) was an Irish language secondary established in 1908 by Irish nationalist Patrick Pearse. Originally Pearse's school was established in 1908 at Cullenswood House, Ranelagh before moving to the Hermitage i ...

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...

and at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

where he graduated BA (1914), MA (1915) and D.Litt. (1932). During

, in 1916, Gwynn enlisted in the

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...

. He served on the Western Front in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1916 to 1917, but was then invalided home and worked for the remainder of the war at the British Ministry of Information.''A Biographical Dictionary of Cork'', Tim Cadogan and Jeremiah Falvey, Four Courts Press, 2006 After the war Gwynn worked as a journalist. He became assistant editor of the periodical ''Everyman'' in London, joined the National Press Agency, worked for a while as a reporter in Brittany and Paris, then in 1922 returned to London where he was active for many years as a journalist specialising in Irish Catholic issues. He was on the editorial staff of the

Westminster Gazette ''The Westminster Gazette'' was an influential Liberal newspaper based in London. It was known for publishing sketches and short stories, including early works by Raymond Chandler, Anthony Hope, D. H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, and Saki, an ...

and edited the Dublin Review from 1933 to 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Gwynn retired to the

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

countryside and became a farmer. In 1948 Gwynn returned to Ireland and took up the post of research professor of Modern Irish History at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

. He remained in this post until his retirement in 1962. Professor Gwynn also acted as editor of the

Cork University Press Cork University Press (CUP) is a publisher located in Cork, Ireland. It was founded in 1925 and is associated with University College Cork. The Press publishes under its own imprint and two others: Attic (which specializes in women's studies) a ...

(1954–1962) and wrote a regular column called ''Now and Then'' in the

Cork Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

. He wrote several works of history and biography and was a contributor to ''Encyclopedia Britannica''. Denis Gwynn was married to Alice Trudeau (born in the US, 1904), the only daughter of Dr Edward Livingston Trudeau and Hazel Martyn, an American beauty who later became the wife of Irish artist

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast a ...

; for many years Hazel Lavery's face, as drawn by Lavery, featured on Irish banknotes.McCoole, Sinéad, ''Lavery, Lady Hazel'' in ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'', Cambridge University Press Denis Gwynn died at his home in

Malahide Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of over 17,000. Malahide Castle dates from th ...

Dublin, on 10 January 1973 and was buried at

Stamullen Stamullen () is a village in County Meath, Ireland on the border with County Dublin. It lies just off the M1 motorway some 35 km north of Dublin City and beside the Delvin River. In the late 1990s and early 21st century, it expanded signif ...

Cemetery

Co Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the s ...

Literary Connection

The novelist Jessie Victor Rickard lived the final years of her life, until her death in 1963, at Denis Gwynn's house in

Montenotte, Cork Montenotte is an area in the northeast of Cork City, Ireland, which was home to merchants and a prosperous middle class from the early to mid-19th century. It was named after the late 18th century Napoleonic battle, the Battle of Montenotte, whic ...

. Jessie Rickard was a close friend of Alice Gwynn.

Works

* ''The Catholic Reaction in France'' (1924) * ''The

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

, 1922-1927'' (1928) * ''A Hundred Years of Catholic Emancipation'' (1929) * ''

Daniel O’Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

, the Irish Liberator'' (1929) * ''The Life and death of

Roger Casement Roger David Casement ( ga, Ruairí Dáithí Mac Easmainn; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during Worl ...

'' (1930) * ''

Edward Martyn Edward Martyn (30 January 1859 – 5 December 1923) was an Irish playwright and early republican political and cultural activist, as the first president of Sinn Féin from 1905–08. Early life Martyn was the elder son of John Martyn of Tullira ...

and the Irish revival'' (1930) * ''

John Keogh John Keogh (1740 – 13 November 1817) was an Irish merchant and political activist. He was a leading campaigner for Catholic Emancipation and reform of the Irish Parliament, active in Dublin on the Catholic Committee and, with some ...

: the pioneer of Catholic Emancipation'' (1930) (1934) * ''Daniel O’Connell and Ellen Courtney'' (1930) * ''The Life of

John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as lead ...

'' (1932) * '' De Valera'' (1933) * ''The O'Gorman Mahon'' (1934) * ''The Vatican and the War in Europe'' (1940) * ''

William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien ( ga, Liam Mac Gabhann Ó Briain; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and a leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He ...

'' (1946) * ''Young Ireland and 1848'' (1949) * ''Cardinal Wiseman'' (1950) * ''The history of

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

'' (1950)

Biographical sources

* A Dictionary of Irish History since 1800, D. J. Hickey & J. E. Doherty, Gill & MacMillan (1980) * A Biographical Dictionary of Cork, Tim Cadogan & Jeremiah Falvey (2006), p. 117

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynn, Dennis Rolleston 1893 births 1973 deaths Academics of University College Cork Alumni of University College Dublin Irish Examiner people Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers Irish people of World War I People educated at Clongowes Wood College People from County Kildare People from Malahide 20th-century non-fiction writers People educated at St. Enda's School British Army personnel of World War I Royal Munster Fusiliers soldiers