What was Christmas 1920 in Ireland like as the War of Independence raged all around?

  The radical newspaper, Eire Og: Young Ireland provided an insight into the type of goods and products which were advertised for sale in the weeks leading up to Christmas as the Republican movement called on people to support the war effort. On Pearse Street, George Lyons had a ‘Sinn Fein Series of Xmas Cards’ for sale which were adopted by the Friends of Irish Freedom in USA and Australia. Likewise, G Irvine on Mountpleasant Square, Dublin had ‘Xmas Cards’ for sale with the cry ‘Let Erin Remember’. In Cork, Liam Ruiseal had the following books on sale, all of which were being sold in an effort to promote a love of Ireland and the republican movement: Daniel Corkery’s, The Yellow Bittern, The Labour Leader and the Hounds of Banba. Other books for sale included those of Canon Sheehan and Standish O’Grady. There were Irish calendars with Celtic designs and a host of juvenile books of the same nature. Elsewhere, Wilson Hartnell in Dublin sold a host of books including the ‘Premier Irish Annual’ which included stories such as ‘The victorious Irish at Fontenoy’ and ‘The nobler Belfast’, a story about how the city fought the union. Whelan & Son on Ormond Quay, Dublin advertised the sale of a host of Christmas cards which were designed by Brian O’Higgins, TD. Described as ‘dainty booklets with different coloured covers and neat Celtic borders’, many featured historical scenes including at the aforementioned Battle of Fontenoy.  

Source: Eire Og: Young Ireland, 18 December 1920, page 4

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