The study “‘I cannot give the name of the source to the court’: The Imprisonment of an Irish Political Journalist” by Kevin Rafter looked at the case of a political correspondent with the Irish Press, Joseph Dennigan who was called as a witness in a court case against a member of the quasi-fascist ‘Blueshirts’.
He refused to divulge the official sources he consulted in writing an article about the banning of the organisation. As a result, he was given a one-month sentence, which garnered national and international attention.
The conviction happened in December 1933 and Dennigan became the first journalist in the Irish Free State to be imprisoned for refusing to name a source he consulted, in what was known as the Cronin case. After this, there have been other cases, such as a celebrated ‘contempt’ case against a national television reporter covering the conflict in North Ireland.
Not only newspapers, but also politicians reacted critically to the verdict. Members of the Dublin City Council passed a motion calling for Dennigan’s immediate release, but to no avail. Dennigan was also widely praised for his following of the professional guidelines of journalism.
Despite the lack of success in securing his release, Dennigan was eventually released early from his sentence due to ‘special industry and good conduct’, and he himself had no complaints of his time in prison – recalling that he had played handball and taken classes in Irish and history.
The career of Joseph Dennigan was not negatively impacted by the controversy nor did he seek to leverage his newfound notoriety. He covered Anglo-Irish negotiations in London 1938 and was later appointed an Assistant News Editor for the Irish Press. He left that paper, due to disagreement on certain issues, in 1949 to take up a senior reporter position at the Evening Mail.
However, he passed away soon after that at the age of 40 in May 1950, with the Irish Press reminiscing that he was ‘outstanding among Irish journalists’. The obituaries all referred to the imprisonment, it being considered an accolade due to the reason.
The case has historical significance as a case of imprisonment for source protection, a rare occurrence, and also the context. The political handling shows how the new government decided to not show favoritism. It also highlights the close relationship between a journalist and the sources.
The article “‘I cannot give the name of the source to the court’: The Imprisonment of an Irish Political Journalist” by Kevin Rafter is in Media History. (free abstract).
Picture: Cliffs of Moher by Henrique Craveiro.
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