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Shaw’s Ireland (and the Irish Shaw) in the International Press (1914–1925)

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Bernard Shaw and the Making of Modern Ireland

Part of the book series: Bernard Shaw and His Contemporaries ((BSC))

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Abstract

Bernard Shaw was one of the most authoritative voices to comment on the years of political and social turmoil leading up to and following the Irish Civil War. Shaw’s political opinions created enormous interest, to the extent that practically every article and open letter he published on the subject was echoed abroad, especially in the rest of the English-speaking world and continental Europe. This chapter assesses what kind of—and how much—attention Bernard Shaw received from the foreign press as a consequence of his political writings on the situation in Ireland between 1914 and 1925. The international effect of Shaw’s views helped to shape the image of Ireland abroad. As an atypical narrator of this period of Irish history, Shaw helped the world visualize the new Ireland that was emerging from the debris.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ernest A. Boyd, Ireland’s Literary Renaissance (New York: John Lane Company, 1916), 8.

  2. 2.

    See, for example, Bernard Shaw, Irish Nationalism and Labour Internationalism (London: The Labour Party, 1920); or “Socialism at Seventy,” In The Socialism of Shaw, ed. James Fuchs (New York: Vanguard Press, 1926), 153–4.

  3. 3.

    Anthony Matthews Gibbs, A Bernard Shaw Chronology (New York: Palgrave, 2001), 288 et passim.

  4. 4.

    “G.B.S. Registers as an Irish Citizen.” The Daily Express (22 July 1936), 3.

  5. 5.

    This Act sought to warrant citizenship rights to those who were not covered by the 1922 Constitution, which only provided for citizenship for people alive on 6 December 1922. The full text of the Act is available online at http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1935/en/act/pub/0013/print.html

  6. 6.

    Shaw, Collected Letters 1926–1950, 725.

  7. 7.

    Martin Meisel, “‘Dear Harp of My Country’; or, Shaw and Boucicault,” SHAW: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies 30 (University Park: Penn State University Press, 2010), 43.

  8. 8.

    Bernard Shaw, “The Limitation Conference. After You, Sir.” The Nation & The Athenaeum (19 November 1921), 302.

  9. 9.

    See Luke 4:24, Matthew 13:57, and Mark 6:4.

  10. 10.

    Dan H. Laurence and David H. Greene, eds. The Matter with Ireland (New York: Hill and Wang, 1962), xiv.

  11. 11.

    To cite but one illustrative example, Henry Blundell (born in Dublin in 1813), after working for almost 30 years at the Dublin Evening Mail, migrated with his family to Melbourne in 1860, and then to New Zealand in 1863, where he worked for the Otago Daily Times and later went on to found The Evening Post (Wellington, NZ) in 1865.

  12. 12.

    “Select Socialists.” The Pittsburg Dispatch (22 September 1889), 18.

  13. 13.

    “Notes and News – British and Foreign.” The Mercury Supplement (4 March 1893), 2.

  14. 14.

    It is well known that some Shaw plays were not performed in public theatres for years after they had been written—and for different reasons (e.g. Widowers’ Houses, Mrs Warren’s Profession). Therefore, the first major London productions took place in the 1900s, with a comparable lag in media coverage throughout Europe. For specific dates and venues, see, for example, Margery Morgan, File on Shaw (London: Methuen, 1989), or Anthony M. Gibbs, A Bernard Shaw Chronology (New York: Palgrave, 2001).

  15. 15.

    For the sake of clarity and brevity, all the quotations from the press in Spanish, French, Italian, and German have been translated into English. The reader can read the original text by consulting the relevant bibliographical reference, most of which are available online (sometimes by subscription) on some of the newspaper archives listed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_online_newspaper_archives

  16. 16.

    “Notizie D’Arte.” La Stampa (30 January 1906), 5.

  17. 17.

    “Playhouse Paragraphs.” The Sunday Star (19 November 1905). The section also lists a notice on the forthcoming dramatization of Cashel Byron’s Profession.

  18. 18.

    Lucile Kelling, “Appendix I: Shaw Around the World,” in George Bernard Shaw: Man of the Century, Archibald Henderson (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1956), 903–944.

  19. 19.

    Frenzel, Karl (trans. by Michel Delines). “Chronique Théatrale.” Le Temps (8 August 1910), 2–3.

  20. 20.

    Foemina. “Bernard Shaw.” Le Figaro (3 October 1907), 1.

  21. 21.

    Rafael Altamira. “La Decadencia de Francia.” La Vanguardia (16 April 1904).

  22. 22.

    “Noticias de Todas Partes.” La Vanguardia (4 August 1906), 9. This heated argument, echoed by the Spanish press, took place after an interview with Shaw in Die neue Gesellschaft . For further details, see Samuel A. Weiss (ed.). Bernard Shaw’s Letters to Siegfried Trebitsch (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1986), 108n.

  23. 23.

    Marie Oswald. “Le Socialisme en Angleterre.” La Revue Socialiste. Tome XXII (Paris: Librairie de La Revue Socialiste, 1895), 584.

  24. 24.

    José Juan Cadenas. “La Agonía del Socialismo.” ABC (31 August 1907), 2.

  25. 25.

    “Cable Letter.” The Daily Colonist (21 October 1894), 1.

  26. 26.

    Alejandro Plana, “Bernard Shaw: ‘El sentido común y la guerra.’” La Vanguardia (11 August 1915), 6.

  27. 27.

    Ibid.

  28. 28.

    Bernard Shaw, What I Really Wrote About the War (London: Constable, 1930), 1.

  29. 29.

    Bernard Shaw, “Shaw Points Out Folly of Sinn Fein Program.” The Washington Times (29 December 1917), 5. Similar views had already been quoted by the press in France (“Attitude des Partis.” Bulletin Quotidien de Presse Étrangère [9 May 1916], 4) and Australia (“An Irishman on Ireland. Bernard Shaw on American ‘Patriots’. The Humbug of Home Rule.” The Watchman [27 July 1916], 2).

  30. 30.

    Siegfried Trebitsch, “Huns Would Adopt Bernard Shaw.” The Evening Record (16 October 1916), 2. The article reproduces a translation of the original text by Trebitsch—a celebratory birthday paragraph—initially published in Die Neue Freie Presse (Vienna).

  31. 31.

    “Irony for Erin” (Letter to the Editor). Evening Public Ledger (22 August 1917), Sports Extra.

  32. 32.

    Stevenson, J. A. “Britain’s Fight for Democracy.” The Grain Growers’ Guide (1 March 1916), 10.

  33. 33.

    Legouis, Émile. “La Guerre Vue par les Écrivains Anglais.” Revue des Deux Mondes (1 May 1916), 306.

  34. 34.

    Shaw, Bernard. “Neglected Morals of the Irish Rising.” The New Statesman (6 May 1916).

  35. 35.

    “Los Disturbios de Irlanda: Un Comentario de Bernard Shaw.” ABC (18 May 1916), 11.

  36. 36.

    “De Bernard Shaw.” La Vanguardia (18 May 1916), 12.

  37. 37.

    “Bernard Shaw’s Idea.” New Zealand Herald (12 May 1916), 6. The same “idea” was reported elsewhere in New Zealand—as well as in other English-speaking countries. See, for example, “Irish Brigade in France.” Otago Daily Times (12 May 1916), 5.

  38. 38.

    “Novel Proposal.” The Sydney Morning Herald (12 May 1916), 7. A similar view is reported in “A Bernard Shaw Proposal.” The Western Australian (12 May 1916), 7. “Underwood Irish Leaders Died Heroes in the Cause of Liberty Says George Bernard Shaw.” The Washington Post (14 May 1916), 14. The American newspaper quotes several other fragments from Shaw’s original article, including the passage denying the accurateness of the word “traitor” to refer to “he who fights for the independence of his country.”

  39. 39.

    For a representative sample, see, for example, “Bernard Shaw’s Proposal.” Malborough Express (12 May 1916), 5; “A Shavian Suggestion.” Wanganui Chronicle (12 May 1916), 5; “Bernard Shaw’s Idea.” New Zealand Herald (12 May 1916), 6; “A Shavian Solution.” Grey River Argus (12 May 1916), 3; “The Irish Problem Agitates Political Circles.” Wairarapa Age (12 May 1916), 5; “Ireland.” Hawera & Normanby Star (12 May 1916), 5.

  40. 40.

    Shaw, Bernard. “The Easter Week Executions.” The Daily News (10 May 1916). For an example of the reception of this article see, for example, “Dublin Executions Stir Irish Wrath (Shaw Defends Irish Rebels).” The Evening Star (10 May 1916), 1.

  41. 41.

    “Famous Writer Pleads for Irish (George Bernard Shaw Decries Executions of Rebels of Ireland Uprising by the British).” The Rock Island Argus (10 May 1916), 1; “Stirs His Irish (George Bernard Shaw Resents Execution of Rebels).” The Topeka State Journal (10 May 1916), 12; Associated Press. “Bernard Shaw Declares Shot Irishmen Martyrs.” The Harrisburg Telegraph (10 May 1916), 14.

  42. 42.

    “Irish Critic Calls Asquith College Boy.” New York Tribune (11 May 1916), 2.

  43. 43.

    “La Represión en la Isla de Irlanda.” El Nacional (10 May 1916), 5.

  44. 44.

    Shaw, Bernard. “Shall Roger Casement hang?” Manchester Guardian (22 July 1916), 4.

  45. 45.

    “Bernard Shaw als Verteidiger Sir Casements.” Hamburger Anzeiger (27 July 1916), 2.

  46. 46.

    “Bernard Shaw über Casement.” Altonaer Nachrichten (28 July 1916), 6.

  47. 47.

    “Bernard Shaw germanophile.” Le Siècle (6 June 1916), 1; “Nos Échos: On dit que…” L’Intransigeant (23 February 1916), 2.

  48. 48.

    “Amerikanische Entrüstung über Casements Hinrichtung.” Berliner Börsenzeitung (6 August 1916), 6.

  49. 49.

    Shaw, Bernard. “Casement’s Crime was ‘Being an Irishman’, Says G. Bernard Shaw.” The New York American (13 August 1916), 1–2.

  50. 50.

    “The Appeal of Bernard Shaw.” Goodwin’s Weekly (15 July 1916), 2.

  51. 51.

    “Bernard Shaw Makes Protest.” The Ogden Standard (9 July 1916), 5.

  52. 52.

    “No Real Defense Put Up for Sir Roger Casement.” Richmond Times-Dispatch (9 July 1916), 5.

  53. 53.

    Araquistáin, Luis. “Casement y Torras.” España II. 81 (10 August 1916), 1.

  54. 54.

    “Au Jour le Jour. Lettre Ouverte de M. Henry Arthur Jones à M. Anatole France.” Le Journal des Débats Politiques et Littéraires (5 January 1922), 1. The opinion that Jones professed towards Shaw accounts for some amusing press releases. For example, “Mr. Henry Arthur Jones is engaged on a new book dealing with ‘Bernard Shaw as a Thinker’. The title is, presumably, a sarcasm.” From “News and Notes.” New Zealand Herald (31 March 1923), 6.

  55. 55.

    Shaw, Bernard. “How to Settle the Irish Question” (Three-article series). Daily Express (27, 28 and 29 November 1917).

  56. 56.

    “Irish Solution: Suggestion by Mr. B. Shaw.” Examiner (30 November 1917), 5; “The Irish Question: Mr. Bernard Shaw’s Solution.” Daily Telegraph (30 November 1917), 5; “The Irish Problem: Mr. Bernard Shaw’s Scheme.” The Register (30 November 1917), 9; “The Irish Problem: Mr. Bernard Shaw’s Solution.” The Age (30 November 1917), 7; “The Irish Question: Mr. G. B. Shaw’s Solution.” The West Australian (30 November 1917), 6; “The Irish Question.” Western Mail (7 December 1917), 22; “Perambulator.” Kilmore Free Press (6 December 1917), 3.

  57. 57.

    Bernard Shaw, “Shaw Points Out Folly of Sinn Fein Program.” The Washington Times (29 December 1917), 5.

  58. 58.

    “British Politics: The Coming Elections. Nomination Day.” Timaru Herald (6 December 1918), 5; “Mr. Bernard Shaw as Candidate.” North Otago Times (6 December 1918), 4; “British General Election: Bernard Shaw a Candidate.” Otago Daily Times (6 December 1918), 4; “British Elections: Bernard Shaw a Candidate.” The Ballarat Courier (5 December 1918, 3); “British Elections: Bernard Shaw a Candidate.” The Brisbane Courier (5 December 1918), 7; “Mr. G. Bernard Shaw a Candidate.” Barrier Miner (5 December 1918), 1; “Bernard Shaw a Candidate.” Darling Downs Gazette (7 December 1918), 5; “G. Bernard Shaw Labor Candidate.” The Washington Times (4 December 1918), 4; “Shaw Becomes Candidate.” Arizona Republican (4 December 1918), 2; “G. Bernard Shaw is Labor Candidate.” The Ottawa Citizen (4 December 1918), 3.

  59. 59.

    Taylor, A. J. P. English History, 1914–1945 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001[1965]), 125.

  60. 60.

    Beynon, Francis Marion. “The Country Homemakers.” The Grain Growers ’ Guide (13 December 1916), 10.

  61. 61.

    See, for example, Warren Sylvester Smith (ed.), The Religious Speeches of Bernard Shaw (University Park: Penn State University Press, 1963).

  62. 62.

    “Little Stories of Big Men.” The Edmonton Bulletin (26 July 1917), 10.

  63. 63.

    “The Irish as George Bernard Shaw Sees Them.” El Paso Herald (2 January 1919), 2.

  64. 64.

    Grant M. Overton, Why Authors Go Wrong and Other Explanations (New York: Moffat, Yard, and Co., 1919), 193.

  65. 65.

    The NZ Truth exploited the “lazy Irish” stereotype a few years later when it quoted Shaw as declaring that “labor for everybody and idleness for nobody is the only policy that can make Ireland sound.” “The Critic.” (29 December 1923), 1.

  66. 66.

    “He Didn’t Mention Ireland.” The Washington Herald (7 September 1919), 6.

  67. 67.

    “Mr. Shaw Tells Us.” The Irish Statesman (30 August 1919), 245–246; “Wanted: A Strong Government.” The Irish Statesman (11 October 1919), 378–380.

  68. 68.

    “Formed Republic of Sinn Feiners.” The Gettysburg Times (22 January 1919), 2.

  69. 69.

    “La Cuestión Minera.” La Vanguardia (16 September 1920), 13.

  70. 70.

    “The Big Six.” The Washington Herald (10 November 1921), 3. The other five were William Allen White, Frank H. Simonds, Mark Sullivan, Ida M. Tarbell, and William Jennings Bryan.

  71. 71.

    “Bernard Shaw in Russia.” L’Unitá (27 August 1924), 4; “Giudizio di B. Shaw su Lenin: ‘il piú grande statista europeo vissuto.’” L’Unitá (13 February 1924), 1.

  72. 72.

    “Bernard Shaw candidat au Parlement.” Le Petit Parisien (18 January 1922), 3; “Invitation to G.B.S.” The Evening Post (16 January 1922), 8; “British Politics. General Election Prospects.” The Press (17 January 1922), 10 and “Bernard Shaw a Candidate. A Labour Invitation.” New Zealand Herald (17 January 1922), 7.

  73. 73.

    “The Dail Debates Are a Storm in a Teacup; Ireland Will Have to Govern Itself in the Future.” The New York American (25 December 1921). Reprinted as “The Irish Crisis” in The Manchester Guardian (27 December 1921), 3–4.

  74. 74.

    See, for example, “Interdependence.” The Watchman and Southron (7 January 1922), 4.

  75. 75.

    “India and Egypt Rise Against the Oppressor.” The Advocate (5 January 1922), 21.

  76. 76.

    See, for example, “Oath to King Mere Incident, and Erin is Free, Says Shaw.” The Washington Herald (25 December 1921), 1.

  77. 77.

    See, for example, “Questions and Answers.” The Arizona Republican (7 September 1921), 4 or “Questions Answered.” The Evening Public Ledger (21 October 1921), 17.

  78. 78.

    “G.B.S. on Ireland [statement on the eve of civil war].” Irish Times (21 August 1922), 4.

  79. 79.

    “Ireland. Misguided People. Memories of the Past. Idiotic Battle Song.” The Hawera and Normanby Star (23 August 1922), 8; “Sanctified Idiocy. Time to Live for Ireland. Mr. Bernard Shaw’s Comments.” The Evening Post (23 August 1922), 5; “Irish Rebels’ Folly. Mr. Bernard Shaw’s View.” The Press (24 August 1922), 7.

  80. 80.

    “Government or “Self”?” The Evening Post (28 August 1922), 6; “Bernard Shaw’s Views.” The Kalgoorlie Miner (26 August 1922), 5; “In Name of Patriotism.” The Tweed Daily (26 August 1922), 5.

  81. 81.

    “Situation in Ireland. Bernard Shaw’s Views. Open Warfare Ended.” The Daily Telegraph (23 August 1922), 5; “Rebel Idiots. Bernard Shaw on Ireland.” The Register (23 August 1922), 7; “Ireland. Bernard Shaw’s Criticism: Rebel Idiots.” The Bathurst Times (23 August 1922), 1; “Bernard Shaw’s Opinion.” The Southern Cross (25 August 1922), 9.

  82. 82.

    “The Curse on Ireland.” The New York Times (22 August 1922).

  83. 83.

    “La situation en Irlande. La mort de M. Arthur Griffith.” Bulletin Périodique de la Presse Américaine (13–14 September 1922), 14.

  84. 84.

    The article was originally published in three parts in The New York American (5–7 Mar. 1923). For further details, see Dan H. Laurence (ed.), Bernard Shaw: A Bibliography (Volume II). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983: 696; “How to Restore Order in Ireland.” The Maoriland Worker (2 May 1923), 1.

  85. 85.

    See, for example, “No Armistice.” The Auckland Star (1 May 1923), 5. “George Bernard Shaw in the ‘New Leader’, an original contribution toward the solution of the question, ‘How to Restore Order in Ireland’.” The Houston Post (8 April 1923), 21. “Shaw Suggests Irish Peace Plan.” The Ottawa Evening Journal (16 March 1923), 1.

  86. 86.

    See, for example, “Freedom in Ireland.” The Australian Worker (16 May 1923), 8.

  87. 87.

    For the international repercussion of this article see, for example, “Democracy.” Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners ’ Advocate (5 April 1923), 5.

  88. 88.

    “Holidays in Ireland.” The Times (31 July 1923), 5.

  89. 89.

    See, for example, “Holiday in Ireland. G. Bernard Shaw’s View.” The Cairns Post (30 October 1923), 6; “Ireland the Safest Country in the World, Says Shaw.” The Advocate (20 September 1923), 11; “Shaw Finds Cork and Kerry Safe.” The Southern Cross (5 October 1923), 15; “Items of Interest.” Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette (17 October 1923), 6.

  90. 90.

    “On Throwing Out Dirty Water.” The Irish Statesman (15 September 1923), 8–9.

  91. 91.

    “On Throwing Out Dirty Water.” The Living Age (20 October 1923), 105–108; “Irish Policy and Prospects. Bernard Shaw’s Criticism.” The Catholic Press (8 November 1923), 7; “Bernard Shaw on Ireland.” The Maoriland Worker (12 December 1923), 13.

  92. 92.

    See, for example, Arthur Ganz, George Bernard Shaw (New York: Grove Press, 1983), 202.

  93. 93.

    “La Expresión Nacional.” ABC (26 July 1924), 8.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Extremadura, Caceres, Spain

    Gustavo A. Rodríguez Martín

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of English, Drama and Film, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Audrey McNamara

  2. Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Pocasset, MA, USA

    Nelson O’Ceallaigh Ritschel

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Rodríguez Martín, G.A. (2020). Shaw’s Ireland (and the Irish Shaw) in the International Press (1914–1925). In: McNamara, A., O’Ceallaigh Ritschel, N. (eds) Bernard Shaw and the Making of Modern Ireland. Bernard Shaw and His Contemporaries. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42113-7_12

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