De Valera, Fianna Fail and the Irish Press: The Truth in the News The Truth in the News

by O'Brien, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780716527336
• ISBN10: 0716527332
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-12-01
• Publisher: Irish Academic Press

Summary

The relationship between the Fianna F���¡il party and the Irish Press, both founded by Eamon de Valera in an era of political revolution, has been much misunderstood. Blamed for causing the bitter civil war and isolated in its aftermath by the political establishment, de Valera took what seemed the only course of action and founded his own political party and newspaper. In the aftermath of independence, nation building began with both Fianna F���¡il and Fine Gael competing to influence the process as much as possible. The Irish Press gave voice to de Valera's vision for Ireland and Irishness, and defended it from its detractors, namely the Fine Gael party, providing him with a means to counter hostility in the media, orchestrated particularly by the Irish Independent and the Irish Times. The author gives a fascinating view of the war of words between the two papers, their fight for rural readership and the role of Irish Press in bringing Fianna F���¡il to power. He explores the possibility of the Irish Press being de Valera, rather than, party-dominated and analyses the gradual disintegration of the relationship between the party and the paper as the de Valera family found itself gradually alienated from the paper's readers, a modernising Ireland and a changing Fianna F���¡il party.

Author Biography

Mark O'Brien is a Ph.D. graduate of the National University of Ireland. He has lectured in media studies at NUI Maynooth, Dublin Institute of Technology, and Dublin City University

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. viii
Foreword	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xxi
The Origins of the Irish Press	p. 1
The Launch of the 'Truth in the News'	p. 29
De Valera Rule at the Irish Press	p. 56
Expansion and Exposure	p. 85
A Changing Ireland--A Changing Media	p. 114
Troublesome Times--The 1970s	p. 141
One Leader, One Voice--The Haughey Years	p. 170
Endgame--The Collapse of the Irish Press	p. 200
Epilogue	p. 228
Notes	p. 235
Bibliography	p. 255
Index	p. 261
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