James Daly, editor of the Connaught Telegraph

Newspaper editors play an important role in the delivery and content of a newspaper and rightly great pride is taken in their finished product. Few newspapers in 19th century Ireland had such a celebrated editor as that of the Connaught Telegraph. As the newspaper reported in 1996, quoting extensively from the work of Mayo historian, Gerard Moran, its former editor, Daly lived an interesting life:

James Daly was the Connaught Telegraph's most celebrated editor. He became a part owner of the newspaper with Alfred O'Hea before taking over complete ownership at the beginning of 1879 following the death of Mr. O'Hea a short time earlier. Daly held the reins of editor and proprietor until 1892, during which time he utilised the power of the printed word to campaign forcefully against absentee landlords, rack rents and evictions. James Daly was born in 1838 at Cloonabinna, Boughadoon, near Lahardaun, the eldest son of a family of eight.

Shortly after his birth, the Daly family moved to Coachfield, Belcarra. By the standards of the nineteenth century, the Daly family were relatively well-off, having interests in four different farms, including at Ballyshane, near Breaffy. Daly grew up a staunch Catholic conservative and he was totally against violence and drink.

He began his political career in 1869 when he won a seat, in the Breaffy Electoral Division, on the Castlebar Board of Guardians and later succeeded his father as a guardian for the Litterbrick Division in Ballina union.

The late 1860s and early 1870s was a time of great political change in Ireland, with a number of politically conscious reformers being elected to the poor law unions in the West.

With widespread landlord absenteeism, politically conscious farmers had an opportunity to secure a niche within the local political framework. Daly became a strong defender of the local tenants cause and as such attended a meeting in Louisburgh in 1875, convened to establish a local tenant’s defence association.

This interest and activity on local causes was to become central to his political values as he strove to further the tenants cause in the years ahead. In February of the next year, 1876, he went into partnership with Mr. Alfred O'Hea and purchased the ailing Castlebar-based newspaper, The Connaught Telegraph. He took over complete ownership of the newspaper at the beginning of 1879. Daly's newspaper was to be the land movements most effective propaganda vehicle, giving western farmers an outlet to express their grievances.

Following this, Daly's views on how to act on the tenant’s behalf changed and he abandoned his policy of publishing their grievances and organising demonstrations. Instead he encouraged them to organise meetings, a policy that ultimately resulted in the formation of the Land League in Daly's Hotel (now the Imperial Hotel) on the Mall, in Castlebar. Daly was appointed secretary of the new organisation. In Claremorris in January 1879, Daly was approached by tenants of Canon Burke's Irishtown Estate requesting him to publish their grievances of which the list was extensive. Daly declined in fear of libel but advised a mass meeting be held in Irishtown, which he would publicise. This great historic meeting, for which he was largely responsible for organising, took place on the 20th April, 1879, at Irishtown (Dry Mills). John O'Connor Power was to be the main speaker at the meeting, which had originally been planned for February. The meeting was postponed and, as a result, one Michael Davitt became involved with its organisation. The year 1879 proved to be a busy and fruitful year for James Daly. He was firstly elected chairman of the historic Westport meeting addressed by Charles Stewart Parnell. On August 16th of the same year, he became vice-president of the Land League of Mayo in Castlebar. He was also elected to the committee of the Irish National Land League founded in Dublin on October 21st, 1879. Daly's importance and the liberal approach of his newspaper in furthering the movement's objectives was constantly cited at land meetings throughout Connaught.

For more information on Daly search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchive.com )