Fergus O'Connor
Bornc. 1876
Cork, Ireland
Died12 August 1952
Dublin, Ireland
OccupationPublisher
Notable workFergus O'Connor Collection at the National Library of Ireland

Fergus O'Connor (c. 1876–12 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 holds a collection of his photographic images.

Life

O'Connor was born in Cork c. 1876,[1] later moving to Dublin where he operated a publishing business from Eccles Street.[2]

According to his military pension record, O'Connor was a member of the 1st Dublin Battalion of the Irish Volunteers,[3] and he is described in some sources as a "1916 veteran".[2][4] He printed and published nationalist postcards and other materials,[5] 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.[2][6][7] Arrested for his role in the Rising, O'Connor was interned in England, first in Dartmoor Prison in 1916,[1] and subsequently in Lewes Prison in 1917.[5] 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.[8]

Following his release, O'Connor returned to publishing,[1] and he printed several early works of Seán O'Casey.[5][9] These included two editions of Casey's Songs of the Wren, published in 1918.[10] O'Connor also published A Call to the Women of Ireland, from a lecture by Constance Markievicz, in 1918.[11] He also printed documents associated with the First Dáil of the revolutionary Irish Republic.[12]

O'Connor died in August 1952, and is buried in Kinsale, County Cork.[13] His wife, Maude, inherited a number of his papers. Several of O'Connor's publications, including photographs and ephemera, are held in the National Library of Ireland's "Fergus O'Connor collection".[14]

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 Malone 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Horgan 2017.
  3. ↑ OPW.
  4. ↑ de Róiste 1957.
  5. 1 2 3 NLI O'Connor Collection.
  6. ↑ TCD.
  7. ↑ Novick 2001, p. 204 "O'Connor's establishment on Eccles Street was raided in December 1917, and sixteen seditions publications were seized, including songs by Sean O'Casey".
  8. ↑ McCarthy 2017.
  9. ↑ Ayling 1969, p. 52: "[O'Casey] was engaged by Fergus O'Connor, a Dublin publisher [..who..] occasionally published serious patriotic material [and] this connection, which marked the beginning of O'Casey's career as a professional writer, eventually led to more interesting opportunities".
  10. ↑ Ayling 1969, p. 262: "Songs of the Wren, 1st and 2nd series (Fergus O'Connor, Dublin, 1918)".
  11. ↑ O'Ceallaigh Ritschel 2021, p. 100: "Fergus O'Connor published Constance Markievicz's "A Call to the Women of Ireland" in 1918".
  12. ↑ Comerford 1969, p. 78: "The great documents of Dáil Éireann were generally available - particularly the fine printing to which Fergus O'Connor defiantly attached his name as publisher".
  13. ↑ BillionGraves 23339035.
  14. ↑ Rouse 1998, p. 68.

Sources

  • Ayling, R., ed. (1969). Sean O'Casey: Modern Judgements. Springer. ISBN 9781349153015.
  • O'Ceallaigh Ritschel, Nelson (2021). Bernard Shaw, Sean O'Casey, and the Dead James Connolly. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783030742744.
  • Comerford, Maire (1969). The First Dáil, January 21st 1919. J. Clarke. ISBN 9780950116303.
  • Horgan, John (28 January 2017). "The Press in 1917: Wars and Rumours of Wars" (PDF). 1917 – Aftermath of Rebellion. Dublin City University.
  • Malone, Brenda (1 April 2013). "Republican Easter Card, Fergus O'Connor, 1918". The Cricket Bat that Died for Ireland. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  • McCarthy, Kieran (29 June 2017). "Our City, Our Town - The Wheels of 1917: Amnesty Celebrations". Cork Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2022 – via kieranmccarthy.ie.
  • Novick, Ben (2001). Conceiving Revolution: Irish Nationalist Propaganda During the First World War. Four Courts Press. ISBN 9781851826209.
  • O'Connor, Fergus. "Fergus O'Connor Collection". catalogue.nli.ie. National Library of Ireland. Fergus O'Connor was a Dublin publisher, who published Sean O'Casey's early writings and produced nationalist postcards and related material. Following the Easter Rising he was imprisoned in Lewes prison
  • de Róiste, Liam (1957). "Bureau of Military History, 1913-21. Statement By Witness. Document No WS1698. Witness: Liam De Róiste. Member, Coiste Gnotha, Gaelic League. Member, Dáil Éireann, 1918-1923" (PDF). militaryarchives.ie. Bureau of Military History. David O'Connor was a subscriber to the "Celtic" having been introduced by his brother, Fergus [..] David [..] was a journalist on the staff of a Trade Journal in Stuttgart; Fergus, later, resided in Dublin and took part in the Rising of 1916
  • Rouse, Sarah (1998). Into the Light: An Illustrated Guide to the Photograph Collections in the National Library of Ireland. National Library of Ireland. ISBN 9780907328292.
  • "Fergus O'Connor / Died: 12 Aug 1952". Record 23339035. Billiongraves.com.
  • "People - Fergus O'Connor". Kilmainham Gaol Autograph Book Collection. Office of Public Works. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  • Unattributed (2020). "List of copies of seditious documents seized at Fergus O'Connor's, 44, Eccles St., on 15th December, 1917". digitalcollections.tcd.ie. Trinity College Dublin. doi:10.48495/6969z216t.
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