Ernie O’Malley Lecture: The Treasonous Irish

The Treasonous Irish: Vigilantes, Conspiracies and the Mainstream Press, 1917-1918

In this nineteenth annual Ernie O’Malley lecture, Mick Mulcrone, Emeritus Associate Professor at University of Portland, delivers “The Treasonous Irish: Vigilantes, Conspiracies and the Mainstream Press, 1917-1918”.

During World War I, editions of five Irish-American newspapers were barred from the mail by the United States Post Office. Two newspapers and a magazine were forced to permanently suspend publication. These actions were ostensibly taken for reasons of national security under powers granted by the Espionage Act. This paper suggests that a public mood of vigilantism bordering on hysteria contributed to the suppression of the Irish-American press. Many mainstream daily newspapers inflamed public sentiment against Irish-Americans through the use of rumor, innuendo and unsubstantiated reports of German-Irish plots. Such coverage served to endorse and encourage the anonymous censors who monitored the Irish-American press.

Introductions by Marion R. Casey, and Cormac O’Malley, member of Glucksman Ireland House NYU Advisory Board, son of Ernie O’Malley, and sponsor of the annual Ernie O’Malley Lecture on Irish-American History.

From Glucksman Ireland House NYU.