Exhibition at Kerry Library marks early years of the party in Kerry constituency
The Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil, Micheál Martin, has officially opened a new exhibition on the origins and early years of the Fianna Fáil party in Kerry. This year marks the centenary of the foundation of the party in 1926 and the exhibition, presented by historian Dr Owen O’Shea, focuses on how the party developed and grew in Kerry in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
At Tralee Library on Monday morning, Mr Martin said the exhibition “has provided a deep insight into the foundations and rapid growth of one of democratic Europe’s most successful political parties.”
The exhibition is called “Soldiers of Destiny, Fianna Fáil in Kerry 1926-1933” and is supported by a Commemorations Bursary from the Royal Irish Academy. It tells the story of Fianna Fáil from its foundation in May 1926 to the general election of 1933 when the party’s vote in the Kerry constituency was the highest in the entire country. It will be on display at Tralee Library until 28 February and at Killarney Library from 10 to 31 March.
Mr Martin said: “This exhibition draws on the work carried out for Owen’s brilliant thesis and book ‘From Bullets to Ballots: Politics and Electioneering in Post-Civil War Kerry.’ This work, completed under the supervision of Professor Diarmuid Ferriter and published by UCD Press is a striking example of the type of work being carried out by a new generation of historians.”
He continued: “Owen’s past work on the Civil War in Kerry was one of the most important contributions to the national remembrance of its centenary. In a balanced and fair way, he showed how the war was more intense and prolonged here than anywhere else. What Owen has done is to make a major contribution to answering the question of another leading historian – after the division of the Civil War, how did we so quickly move forward as a country and leave that conflict behind?”
New research about the establishment of party branches, the results of elections, the role of newspapers and propaganda all form part of the display as do profiles of the seven Fianna Fáil TDs who represented Kerry between 1926 and 1933. Relatives of those TDs were present for the official opening on Monday.
“The foundation of Fianna Fáil was a transformative moment in Irish politics and represented a new phase of Civil War politics in Ireland. In this, its centenary year, I am presenting the story of the party in Kerry where its organisational and electoral successes were without parallel in this period,” said Owen O’Shea.
“I am very grateful to the Royal Irish Academy for funding this exhibition and I hope it will attract anyone with an interest in Irish history and politics,” he added.
