In 1931, the Pathé Gazette
newsreel held a poll among its audiences to determine which was the most popular
of a selection of stories featured over the past twenty-one years. Top of the
poll came the coronation of King George V in 1911; next came scenes from the
First World War, the King's illness (1928), the R101 airship disaster (1930),
the investiture of the Prince of Wales (1911), the spectacular burning of Smyrna
(1922), and the British Empire Exhibition (1924). Bottom came 'pictures of
Soviet Russia' and 'war conditions in Ireland'.
The poll is an interesting
reflection of what one newsreel felt were the highlights of its past, and a not
surprising reflection of audience tastes. It is an indication of the commitment
to hard news stories, for which the newsreels of this time aren't always given
credit, that Topical Budget devoted between ten and twenty percent of its
output to Ireland in the early 1920s, covering the creation of the Irish Free
State and the ensuing civil war. Its coverage was extensive, varied, and
relatively free from comment. Its stance was the declared position of the
British government, hoping for an equitable peace settlement and upholding the
validity of the Irish Free State. Chiefly it was interested in providing
dramatic pictures, and these it was able to provide in
abundance.
The background history comes from
the growing Irish demands for Home Rule that began in the 1870s. Ireland was
then united with Great Britain as a single country, following the Act of Union
in 1801. After two Home Rules bills had failed, the Liberals introduced a third
in 1912, only for it to be shelved on the outset of the First World War. A
rebellion took place in Dublin in Easter 1916, which sought immediate
independence for Ireland and proclaimed a provisional Irish Republic. The
rebellion was overturned and the leaders executed by the
British.
The process resumed after the
war, with Ireland being given dominion status in December 1921. However, this
excluded six of the nine counties of Ulster, where the Protestant majority
wanted to remain with Great Britain, and which was given limited self-government
as Northern Ireland. The Irish Free State was proclaimed on 6 December 1922, but
it was held to be unacceptable by Eamonn de Valera's Fianna Fáil party, which
sought independence for the totality of Ireland. Civil war ensued, which lasted
through into 1923.
Luke McKernan
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