University of Galway History Research Seminar: ‘below and above and beyond all quarrels’: The Irish Free State in the British tabloids, 1922-1932

University of Galway History Research Seminar:

‘below and above and beyond all quarrels’: The Irish Free State in the British tabloids, 1922-1932 

Dr Elspeth Payne (Trinity College Dublin) 

Abstract

In this talk, I explore how the British popular press engaged with the newly independent Irish Free State. While situating content in its wider political context, I focus on the continued cultural and social entanglement found across the diverse tabloid news content. I consider how notable events like Saint Patrick’s Day, the Dublin Horse Show, and the Eucharistic Congress focused attention and betrayed continued press enthusiasm for all things Irish. I discuss the multifaceted types and tropes appearing daily and the ideas about Anglo-Irish connections underpinning them. Finally, I reflect on how this non-political content can be used to better understand how the tabloids navigate the political changes of the decade.

Biography

Dr Elspeth (Ellie) Payne is the Coordinator of The Democracy Forum and Research Fellow at the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute in Trinity College Dublin. The Democracy Forum brings together Arts and Humanities researchers and media practitioners to interrogate questions relating to democracy, media, and technology. She is the co-creator and co-host of History of the Future podcast series and involved in the Critical ChangeLab, an EU-funded project on democracy education. She is currently writing  working on a monograph on the British tabloids and Ireland after independence. She holds a PhD and MPhil from Trinity College Dublin and a BA from the University of Oxford.

Registration

This is a hybrid event. The paper will be delivered in-person, in Room G010, Hardiman Research Building, University of Galway (ground floor) and livestreamed simultaneously on Zoom: https://universityofgalway-ie.zoom.us/j/97267209505.

Seminars are not recorded.

To attend via Zoom, please register at: https://forms.office.com/e/4LfJ8JhVCn

This talk is part of the University of Galway History Seminar series.

Image: selection of pages from the British press, 1922.