''Our Boys'' was a boys' magazine published monthly by the Irish Christian Brothers in Ireland. The various

Education Act Education Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States that relates to education. The Bill for an Act with this short title wil ...

s of the late 19th and early 20th century had created a market in Britain for magazines and periodicals which were also popular in Ireland. At a time when there was a growing sense of national self-identity in Ireland, the purpose of the ''Our Boys'' magazine was to compete with

British boys' magazines Magazines intended for boys fall into one of three classifications. These are comics which tell the story by means of strip cartoons; story papers which have several short stories; and pulp magazines which have a single, but complete, novella ...

, which were in the main pro-British Empire and pro-Church of England. It specialised in adventure stories, school stories and historical stories featuring Irish protagonists, competitions and puzzles, as well as lightweight family content. It was sold through the Christian Brothers' schools, as well as being available in newsagents throughout the country. A highlight of the magazine from 1924 on was the series of "Kitty the Hare" stories by Victor O'D. Power. School articles were contributed by

Paddy Crosbie Paddy Crosbie (1 October 1913 – 2 September 1982) was the Irish creator of the radio and television programmes '' The School Around The Corner'' and ''Back To School''.Sunday Independent, 5 September 1982 Youth Crosbie was born in Dublin, Ir ...

Gerrit Van Gelderen Gerrit van Gelderen (1926-1994) was a Dutch-born naturalist, wildlife broadcaster, film-maker, illustrator and cartoonist, who lived and worked in Ireland for a large part of his life. He is famous for his television work on Amuigh Faoin Spéir w ...

provided articles on wildlife. William Hickey wrote the "Murphy" series of school stories. Another contributor was novelist Una Troy. Illustrators whose work was published in ''Our Boys'' included W. C. Mills,

Gordon Brewster William Gordon Brewster (26 September 1889 – 16 June 1946) was an Irish illustrator and editorial cartoonist. Life Gordon Brewster was born at 15 D'Olier Street, Dublin, the son of William Theodore Brewster, secretary, and Susan McConnell. H ...

, George Altendorf, Gerrit van Gelderen, George Monks and M. J. O'Mullane. The magazine had a large circulation for Ireland, and advertising kept the magazine ticking over financially. A list of advertisers from the Christmas 1972 edition includes Raleigh Bicycles, Allied Irish Banks, Hector Value (toys), Department of Health, CBS Records, Walton's (musical instruments), Fred Hanna (books), Corgi Toys, Aer Lingus and Odeon Cinemas.Our Boys, Christmas 1972 The influence of ''Our Boys'' extended beyond Ireland as it was made available to the Irish communities of England, Australia, the US, and even India, where it was distributed through the Christian Brothers' schools.

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{{Authority control Magazines published in Ireland Magazines established in 1914 Magazines disestablished in 1990 Defunct magazines published in Ireland Monthly magazines published in Ireland