Fergus O'Connor (–12 August 1952) was an Irish publisher and supporter of Irish Independence. Born in Cork, but working mostly in Dublin, he was imprisoned for his role in support of the 1916 Easter Rising. He later printed several early works of Seán O'Casey. The

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

holds a collection of his photographic images.

Life

O'Connor was born in Cork 1876, later moving to Dublin where he operated a publishing business from

Eccles Street Eccles Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. History Eccles Street began on 6 March 1769 when Ambrose Eccles, Isaac-Ambrose Eccles leased three parcels of land in the area. The street is named after his family, including his grandfather Joh ...

. According to his military pension record, O'Connor was a member of the 1st Dublin Battalion of the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

, and he is described in some sources as a "1916 veteran". He printed and published nationalist postcards and other materials, a number of which were seized when O'Connor's premises were raided by the Dublin Castle authorities in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising. Arrested for his role in the Rising, O'Connor 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 ...

in England, first in

Dartmoor Prison HM Prison Dartmoor is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, England, Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the mo ...

in 1916, and subsequently in Lewes Prison in 1917. Upon his release from prison, he returned to Cork in June 1917 where he (along with fellow prisoners Thomas Hunter, David Kent, Diarmuid Lynch, Liam Tobin and J. J. Walsh) were met by an "enthusiastic" crowd. Following his release, O'Connor returned to publishing, and he printed several early works of Seán O'Casey. These included two editions of Casey's ''Songs of the Wren'', published in 1918. O'Connor also published ''A Call to the Women of Ireland'', from a lecture by

Constance Markievicz Constance Georgine Markievicz ( ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, and socialist who was the first woman ...

, in 1918. He also printed documents associated with the

First Dáil First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of the revolutionary

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...

. O'Connor died in August 1952, and is buried in

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...

, County Cork. His wife, Maude, inherited a number of his papers. Several of O'Connor's publications, including photographs and

ephemera Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular. On ...

, are held in the

's "Fergus O'Connor collection".

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

National Library of Ireland - Fergus O'Connor Collection

Trinity College Dublin - Digital Collections - Works published by Fergus O'Connor

Bureau of Military History - Archives - O'Connor's military pension application and related correspondence
{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Connor, Fergus Irish publishers (people) People from Cork (city)