IT IS now almost 73 years since the closure of The Freeman's Journal. With the death of Kathleen Bowles on June 11th, 1997, at the age of 86 years, a final link with that great Irish newspaper has been broken. She was the last surviving child of Martin FitzGerald, owner of The Freeman's Journal in the turbulent years immediately before it ceased publication.
Kathleen was devoted to the memory of her father, a rumbustious figure who was prominent in the commercial and sporting life of Dublin in the early years of this century. A native of Co Mayo, FitzGerald founded the well known Dublin firm of wine merchants which bore his name. He amassed a considerable fortune from this endeavour, a good portion of which was subsequently lost through his involvement with The Freeman's Journal. His main sporting interest was in horse racing, and he was an intimate of "Boss" Richard Croker of Tammany Hall who had retired to Ireland and established a famous stables at Glencairn - now the residence of the British Ambassador.
Another associate in horse racing circles was Hamilton Edwards, a British journalist who had worked with Lord Northcliffe in London and had also retired to Ireland. FitzGerald and Edwards jointly purchased The Freeman's Journal in October 1919. It had been the semiofficial organ of the Irish Parliamentary Party at Westminster since Parnell's time. Accordingly, after the 1918 General Election and Sinn Fein's triumph over that older nationalist tradition it lost its raison d'etre and was forced into liquidation some weeks before its purchase by FitzGerald and Edwards.
While Martin FitzGerald relished being a "press baron", he encountered extraordinary difficulties. The newspaper was suppressed by the British military authorities in Ireland for seven weeks in December 1919 and January 1920; FitzGerald, Edwards and their editor, Patrick J. Hooper, were imprisoned in Mountjoy Jail for a month at Christmastime 1920 following the publication of a story of police brutality; and during the Civil War, in which the Freeman was vociferous in support of the Free State Government, its printing presses were smashed by Republican raiders in March 1922. FitzGerald, however, was able to use his standing as a newspaper proprietor to act as an intermediary between Sinn Fein and Dublin Castle in the period before the Truce of July 1921. He is known to have been in regular contact with Michael Collins and with Alfred ("Andy") Cope, the ubiquitous Assistant Under Secretary in Dublin Castle who was instrumental in arranging the Truce. FitzGerald's role as go between is well attested in contemporary documents.
Cope was a frequent visitor to the FitzGerald family home. Thus, in September 1994, Kathleen Bowles featured in a BBC Radio 4 programme compiled by Julian Putkowski about Cope and reminisced vividly about him - to Putkowski's obvious incredulity! She recalled that Cope was a great favourite of the FitzGerald children with whom he played with gusto. He used the nom de guerre Mr Clements on his visits to disguise his true identity from the domestic staff.
After the establishment of the Irish Free State, FitzGerald was nominated to the Senate and served in that forum until his death in 1927. Sadly, The Freeman's Journal did not survive its many tribulations; and the partnership of FitzGerald and Edwards ended in grief when the latter attempted unsuccessfully to corner the market in Swedish newsprint and then absconded, leaving debts which the enfeebled Freeman could not meet. The last edition appeared on December 19th, 1924 and it was later absorbed into The Irish Independent.
When I started to research the history of The Freeman's Journal in the early 1970s, I had the immense good fortune to make contact with Kathleen Bowles. She responded immediately to my request for assistance and enthusiastically supported my work by sharing her knowledge with me and putting me in touch with various other people who were in a position to help. She had in her possession her father's personal copies of The Freeman's Journal in bound volumes covering the years of his proprietorship and she later donated these to the late Professor R. Dudley Edwards at the UCD Archives Department. They are available there today for use by scholars of the period.
Kathleen was married for over 50 years to Michael Bowles, the distinguished Irish conductor who was director of music in Radio Eireann from 1941 to 1948. He was responsible for the establishment of the Radio Eireann Symphony Orchestra, now the National Symphony Orchestra, whose 50th fiftieth anniversary is celebrated this year. Kathleen accompanied Michael when his career subsequently brought him to New Zealand and to the United States of America, but they happily returned to Ireland in 1970. At first, they settled in West Cork and ran a fine guest house at The White House in Rosscarbery. They later moved to Co Wicklow and ultimately to Dublin.
Kathleen Bowles was a lovely lady: full of spirit, gracious in manner, intelligent and kind. She took particular pleasure in entertaining friends and relatives, enjoyed the company of her dogs and was also a dedicated gardener. She will be greatly missed by her husband Michael, her nieces and nephews and her many relatives and friends.