Iconic image not a picture-perfect symbol of Irish struggle after all
The cover of 'The War for Ireland', which was thought to be a real picture, but is a still from the film 'Irish Destiny'
FOR decades it symbolised a key moment in Irish history.
It showed British intelligence officer Lt Gilbert Arthur Price engaging the IRA seconds before he was killed in a gun battle with republicans on Dublin's Talbot Street on October 14, 1920.
Featured in such seminal accounts as Dan Breen's book 'My Fight for Irish Freedom' (1973) and as recently as Peter Cottrell's respected book 'The War For Ireland: 1913-1923' published just last year.
The mythology of the picture has also grown due to the fact it was taken by John J Horgan, a then 15-year-old apprentice photographer.
However, the continuing restoration work done on this country's film archives by the Irish Film Institute has revealed this dramatic picture is not a real engagement between a British agent and the IRA but a still from a 1926 film called 'Irish Destiny'.
Written and produced by Dublin GP Isaac Eppel, it was the first drama set in Ireland about the War of Independence.
The hero of the film is IRA man Denis O'Hara, played by noted Irish horseman of the day, Paddy Dunne Cullivan.
In the film O'Hara travels to Dublin and is involved in a shootout with British forces. It is a still from this scene that has confused Irish historians for decades.
Rather than being British agent Lt Price opening fire on the IRA, it is actor O'Hara playing an IRA man on screen.
Another similar still from 'Irish Destiny' seen alongside the historical picture proves its true origins.
Mix-up
Historian Tommy Graham, editor of the magazine 'History Ireland', believes the mix-up occurred due to a newspaper article which featured a series of pictures from the War of Independence.
A spokesman for Osprey Publishing, which produced 'The War for Ireland: 1913-1923', said it was unaware of the real background of the picture it choose for the cover. "It's a very striking image of the period. That was why we choose it," he said.
Meanwhile, John J Horgan (1904-64) went on to become chief photographer of the Irish Independent.
His career and the real story of this famous photograph will be told by historian Patrick Maume in a forthcoming article on website www.historyireland.com.
- Ken Sweeney
Irish Independent
