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Harold Saunders Blackham (; 16 December 1891 – 16 January 1951) was an English-born Irish author, journalist, and editor. He was associated with 20th century
Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...
through movements such as
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
,
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil â€“ The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
and
Clann na Poblachta Clann na Poblachta (; "Family/Children of the Republic") was an Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed var ...
.


Biography


Early life

Harold Saunders Blackham was born in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England; his father William George Blackham was an
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
from
Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...
, while his mother was an Englishwoman named Evison Elizabeth Saunders. An uncle of his was Robert J. Blackham who was the Surgeon General to the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
in Ireland. The Blackham family were evangelical
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
s, against which he rebelled; having been brought up to take the bible literally, Blackham suffered a religious crisis upon the realisation his teachers at school did not. Blackham found the transition to adulthood difficult, particularly due to the early death of his father. For a time Blackham moved in socialist circles, under the influence of Ulster socialist
Robert Wilson Lynd Robert Wilson Lynd (; 20 April 1879 – 6 October 1949) was an Irish writer, editor of poetry, urbane literary essayist, socialist and Irish nationalist. Early life Lynd was born at 3 Brookhill Avenue in Cliftonville, Belfast to Robert John Ly ...
. However, upon the discovery that his father had been a Protestant who had been in favour of
Irish home rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...
and also had some republican sympathies, Blackham turned towards
Irish Nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...
.


Irish nationalism

De Blácam became involved in the
Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...
while in London. Blackham Gaelicized his name to ''Aodh Sandrach de Blácam'' or ''Hugh de Blácam'', despite his non-
Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
ethnic origin. He learnt the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
from the essayist Robert Wilson Lynd. During this time de Blácam sought to synthesize his urge to reclaim his sense of Irish nationality with the works and thoughts of hardline Catholic author
G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 â€“ 14 June 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, journalist and magazine editor, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brow ...
. It was partially because of Chesterton's influence that de Blácam converted to Catholicism, although the conversion of Protestant Irish Nationalists to Catholicism was common throughout the early 20th century. Another influence upon his decision to convert was his desire to marry Catholic Mary McCarville of
County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...
. In May 1914 de Blácam returned to Ireland and began working as a freelance journalist. He joined the ''Enniscorthy Echo'' as a journalist in 1915. During the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
he wrote nationalist propaganda alongside
Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith (; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Trea ...
and Herbert Moore Pim. He was
interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
by the British in 1919. During this time period de Blácam wrote two political manifestoes; ''Towards the Republic'' in 1919 and ''What Sinn Féin stands for'' in 1921. The two books argue that at their root,
Catholic Social Teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...
and
Bolshevism Bolshevism (derived from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined p ...
are essentially identical and that Ireland, having only experienced
Feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
and
Capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
because of external forces, could skip many of the phrases normally described in the Marxist Trajectory of historical development and go straight to a soviet type society (an idea not dissimilar to the
Two-stage theory The two-stage theory, or stagism, is a Marxist–Leninist political theory which argues that underdeveloped countries such as Tsarist Russia must first pass through a stage of capitalism via a bourgeois revolution before moving to a sociali ...
). De Blácam imagined this soviet type society to be an Irish-speaking decentralised rural cooperative commonwealth. Critics of Sinn Féin frequently cited de Blácam's works as proof of the infeasibility of Sinn Féin's aims. De Blácam opposed the
Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...
and subsequently aided the
Anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...
during the
Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
. For this he was interned by the newly created
Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
in 1922. Following his release, de Blácam would continue to pin his flag to the mast of
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
and his newly formed
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil â€“ The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
party. De Blácam believed De Valera fully embodied his own political ideas. During the 1920s de Blácam joined ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'', which he later left to become editor of the ''Catholic Standard''. For 17 years he wrote a feature in the Fianna Fáil aligned
Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' ( Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. History Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 ...
called Roddy the Rover. It was also during the 1920s that de Blácam moved to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, where he began to move in the same circles as
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
, George Russell, and
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...
. De Blácam hoped all three men might one day convert to Catholicism as he did, and as sorely disappointed when each did not. Upon the death of Yeats, de Blácam went so far as to refer to Yeats' poem as "Demonic". De Blácam had similar hopes for
Peadar O'Donnell Peadar O'Donnell (; 22 February 1893 – 13 May 1986) was one of the foremost radicals of 20th-century Ireland. O'Donnell became prominent as an Irish republican, socialist politician and writer. Early life Peadar O'Donnell was born into an I ...
but was similarly disappointed in his lack of interest in conversion. In 1938 de Blácam published ''The Black North'', a book which carried an introduction by de Valera. In the book de Blácam argues that Ulster Protestants (
Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people * Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts ...
) are in actuality both Irish and Catholic, but they simply do not realise it. Amongst his arguments to support this idea are the suggestions that the presbyterian emphasis on self-government is derived from the Gaelic clan tradition, that presbyterian 'kailyard' writers of rural nostalgia such as Lydia Mary Foster exemplify the naturally Irish piety and purity of her co-religionists, and that the fact that some workers commuted from the Armagh borderland to work in
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
factories proved that the south was better off economically than the north. It has been suggested de Blácam was an influence upon De Valera's 1943 (in)famous broadcast "
The Ireland That We Dreamed Of "On Language & the Irish Nation" was the title of a radio address made by Éamon de Valera, then Taoiseach of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on RTÉ Radio 1, Raidió Éireann on Saint Patrick's Day (17 March) 1943. It is often called The Ireland ...
", also known as the "dancing at the crossroads" broadcast. Politically de Blácam was highly considered about rural depopulation and was involved in a number of organisations seeking to end it. De Blácam advocated more economic
autarky Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideology or economic approach has been attempted by a range of political ideologies and movement ...
and cultural protectionism to combat rural depopulation and lamented
urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...
and
industrialisation Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for th ...
. De Blácam also tried to convince the Fianna Fáil executive that they should ban women from emigration as well as ban women from factories in order to force women to remain in rural Ireland. De Blácam's ideas failed to impress the executive, with
Seán MacEntee Seán Francis MacEntee (; 23 August 1889 – 9 January 1984) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from 1959 to 1965, Minister for Social Welfare from 1957 to 1961, Minister for Health from 1957 to 1965, Minister for Lo ...
in particular standing in strong disagreement. De Blácam was a member of the
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil â€“ The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
executive until 1947, when he defected to the upstart Irish Republican party
Clann na Poblachta Clann na Poblachta (; "Family/Children of the Republic") was an Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed var ...
. For this move he was immediately fired from the Irish Press. He stood for Clann na Poblachta in the
Louth (Dáil constituency) Louth is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects five deputies ( Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) on the system of proportional representa ...
constituency at the 1948 general election but was not elected. During the brief period in which Clann na Poblachta was in government, de Blácam served as an official spokesman for the Department of Health and as a speech-writer to Noel Browne, the embattled Minister for Health. De Blácam died while working in The Custom House on 16 January 1951. His funeral was attended by many dignitaries including
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957. He was leader of the opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959 and attorney gene ...
and former Taoiseach
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
. He was buried in New Mellifont Abbey, County Louth.


Political views

For a while de Blácam was involved in socialist politics while under the influence of socialist
Robert Wilson Lynd Robert Wilson Lynd (; 20 April 1879 – 6 October 1949) was an Irish writer, editor of poetry, urbane literary essayist, socialist and Irish nationalist. Early life Lynd was born at 3 Brookhill Avenue in Cliftonville, Belfast to Robert John Ly ...
and after converting to Catholicism believed Ireland's social problems could be solved with the ideas of the
papal encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...
Rerum novarum ''Rerum novarum'', or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, passed to all Catholic patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops, which addressed the condi ...
. During the 1920s, de Blácam praised
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
as an apostle of national renewal, although he criticised Mussolini for not being sufficiently Catholic. In the 1930s during his writing for Catholic periodicals, de Blácam frequently voiced his support for fascist regimes across Europe. He defended the dictatorships of
Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuss (alternatively Dollfuß; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian politician and dictator who served as chancellor of Federal State of Austria, Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and ...
in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and
António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...
in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
as upholders of Catholic social teaching. During the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, de Blácam was a vocal supporter of the Nationalist side and worked alongside Cardinal Joseph MacRory to organise aid for Franco. He also organised a boycott of publications that supported the Spanish republicans. De Blácam was later dismayed to learn that many of his Irish Republican friends supported the Spanish Republican side.


Legacy

The journalist Michael Joseph McManus said of de Blácam: However, Historian Patrick Maume was less sympathetic, summarising that


Personal life

De Blácam married Mary McCarville, who came from County Monaghan; they had two sons. De Blácam died 13 January 1951. One of his wife's brothers, Patrick MacCarvill, was active in the war of independence, and a Fianna Fáil TD.


Bibliography


''Dornán Dán''
(1917)
''Towards the Republic: a study of new Ireland's social and political aims''
(1918) *''The Ship That Sailed Too Soon and Other Stories'' (1919) *''The Druid's Cave'' (1920) *
Songs and Satires
' (1920)
''Holy Romans: A Young Irishman's Story''
(1920) *''Sinn Féin and Socialism'' (1920) *''What Sinn Féin Stands For'' (1921) *''From a Gaelic Outpost'' (1921) *''The Story of Colmcille'' (1929) *''Gentle Ireland'' (1930) *''The Flying Cromlech'' (1930) *''The Lady of Cromlech'' (1930) *''The Bard of Clanrye'' (1932) *''Roddy the Rover and His Aunt Louisa'' (1933) *''A First Book of Irish Literature'' (1934) *''Old Wine: Verses from the Irish, Spanish and Latin Done Chiefly in Irish Metres'' (1934) *''The Story of Wolfe Tone: Set in a Picture of His Time'' (1935) *
For God and Spain: The Truth About the Spanish War
' (1936) *''The Black North. An Account of the Six Counties of Unrecovered Ireland'' (1938) *''Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland'' (1941) *''The Saints of Ireland: The Life-Stories of Ss. Brigid and Columcille'' (1942) *''Golden Priest: A Three-Act Drama on the Martyrdom of Blessed Oliver Plunkett'' (1943) *''O'Kelly's Kingdom'' (1943) *''Dhá rioghacht'' (1944) *''Ambassador of Christ: A Three-Act Drama of Saint Patrick'' (1945) *''St. John of God, 1495-1550'' (1950)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:de Blácam, Aodh 1890 births 1951 deaths 20th-century Irish male writers 20th-century Irish journalists Clann na Poblachta politicians Fianna Fáil politicians Irish anti-communists Irish newspaper editors 20th-century Irish-language writers People from County Louth Politicians from London Sinn Féin politicians The Irish Times people 20th-century Irish writers