Propaganda and Nation Building: Selling the Irish Free State

244 Pages·2017·7.131 MB·English

by  Kevin Hora

Many histories of the Irish revolution have recognised thevital importance of
propaganda, but this is the first to carry the story beyond the creation of the
Irish Free State. Equally conversant with the perspectives of political history
and public relations, Kevin Hora has written an original, incisive, and often
witty study which historians of modern Irelandwill ignore at their peril.
David Fitzpatrick, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
In this book, Kevin Hora reclaims propaganda for the public relations
industry in Ireland, and, to a certain extent, legitimises its use. His study
ranges across propagandists, symbolism, censorship, promotion and the spe-
cific audiences addressed by Cumann na nGaedheal and Fianna Fáil. He
reviews,analyses,dissectsandoffersconclusionsabouttheroleofpropaganda
in the formation of the modern Irish state. This is abook which needed to be
written. It is fascinating to read, breath-taking in its depth and largely benign
in its assessment of the rationale behind the propaganda.
Ellen Gunning, Director of the Irish Academy of Public Relations and
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dublin City, Ireland
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Propaganda and Nation Building
This bookexamines the origins of Ireland in its first independent incarnation,
the Irish Free State (1922–1937). It explores how contemporary public rela-
tionsandpropagandatechniqueswereusedtoconstructanidentityforthisnew
state – a state which after enduring seven years of insurrection and civil war,
became oneofthemoststabledemocraciesinEurope.Thisstability,thebook
argues,wasconstructednotsolelythroughpoliciesenactedbygovernments,but
through the construction of a Gaelic, Catholic and Celtic national identity.
By shifting the perspective to how nation building was communicated, it
weaves an interdisciplinary narrative that initiates a new understanding of
nation building - providing insights of increasing relevance in current world
events. Avoiding a simplistic cause and effect history of public relations, the
bookexaminestheusesandeffectsofearlypublicrelationsfromapoliticaland
societal perspective and suggests that while governments were only modestly
successful in their varied propaganda efforts, cumulatively they facilitated a
transition from violence to peace.
Thiswillbeofinteresttoresearchersandadvancedstudentswithaninterest
in public relations, propaganda studies, nation building and Irish studies.
Kevin Hora lecturesinpublicrelationsandpublicaffairsinDublinInstituteof
TechnologyandRathminesCollegeofFurtherEducation,andisamember of
the Public Relations Institute of Ireland.
Routledge New Directions in Public Relations & Communication
Research
Edited by Kevin Moloney
Routledge New Directions in Public Relations and Communication Research is
a new forum for the publication of books of original research in PR and
related types of communication. Its remit is to publish critical and challen-
ging responses to continuities and fractures in contemporaryPRthinkingand
practice, and its essential yet contested role in market-orientated, capitalist,
liberal democracies around the world. The series reflects the multiple and
inter-disciplinaryformsPRtakesin apost-Grunigianworld;theexpandingroles
whichitperforms,andtheincreasingnumberofcountriesinwhichitispractised.
The serieswill examine currenttrends and explore new thinking on the key
questions which impact upon PRand communications including:
(cid:1) Is the evolution of persuasive communications in Central and Eastern
Europe, China, Latin America, Japan, the Middle East and South East
Asia developing new forms or following Western models?
(cid:1) What has been the impact of postmodern sociologies, cultural studies and
methodologieswhich are often critical of the traditional, conservative role of
PRincapitalistpoliticaleconomies,andinpatriarchy,genderandethnicroles?
(cid:1) What is the impact of digital social media on politics, individual privacy
and PR practice? Is new technology changing the nature of content com-
municated, or simply reaching bigger audiences faster? Is digital PR a
cause or a consequence of political and cultural change?
Books in this series will be of interest to academics and researchers
involved in these expanding fields of study, as well as students undertaking
advanced studies in this area.
A full list of titles in this series is available at: www.routledge.com/Routledge-
New-Directions-in-Public-Relations–Communication-Research/book-series/RND
PRCR.Recentlypublishedtitles:
Propaganda and Nation Building
Selling the Irish Free State
Kevin Hora
Communicating Statehood
Public Relations Strategies in Promoting Palestine
Ibtisam Abu-Duhou, Jeannie Fletcher, Chris Galloway
Propaganda and Nation Building
Selling the Irish Free State
Kevin Hora
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Firstpublished2017
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Unehistoiredelapropagandeportedoncsurdeuxobjets:d’unepart
il s’agit de montrer qu’il a existé dans l’univers politique des phé-
nomènes comparables (mais non identiques) à ce que nous appelons
aujourd’hui de ce nom (et dans cette perspective, il faut cerner les
caractères spécifiques de ce phénomène en fonction de chaque soci-
étéougroupepolitique),etd'autrepart,ils’agitdemontrer,pourla
période plus récente, comment la propagande actuelle s’est con-
stituée,commentelleestdevenuecequ’elleest,parévolutionoupar
mutation.
JaquesEllul,HistoiredelaPropagande(2ièmeed.,Paris,1976),p.5.
A history of propaganda thus involves two things: firstly, it is about
showing that in the political universe there were phenomena com-
parable (but not identical) to what we give that name today (and
from this perspective we must identify the specific characteristics of
this phenomenon according to each society or political group), and
secondly, it is about showing, for the most recent period, how pro-
paganda was formed, how it became what it is, by evolution or
mutation.
(Author’s translation)
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Contents
List of illustrations x
Acknowledgements xi
Nomenclature xiii
Abbreviations xiv
Propaganda and Nation Building: Selling the Irish Free State 1
1 Influences on the development of Free State propaganda 15
2 Funding propaganda 39
3 New media and propaganda 59
4 Propaganda and nation-building 85
5 Securing the state through propaganda 112
6 Commercial propaganda 135
7 Tourism propaganda 155
8 ‘A transient ornament of statehood’: External affairs and
diplomatic propaganda 177
Conclusion 199
Appendix I 203
Appendix II 208
Appendix III 217
Index 219