This is the fourth essay in our series written for Roscommon Life on the subject of  Roscommon books and ephemera - those fragments of history that are often discarded but which hold so much interest for the student of history. In the first part we covered receipts and documents and in parts 2 & 3 we mentioned local annual newspapers and school magazines. All these items remind the reader of the nostalgia associated with the past – the good old days, and are useful to historians in conducting their researches. This year, with a local election in the offing, we thought it opportune to return to the subject of documents – this time the topic of political ephemera.

Political ephemera has a long history. The “campaign souvenir” dates from the late 1820’s in America and the presidential campaign’s of 1840, 1896 and 1900 are especially noted for the quantity and quality of their output. The Harrison campaign of 1846 included banners, posters, slogans, songs and souvenirs – the very items that we all associate with political campaigning today.

The entire range of advertising novelty has been used at some stage, including pin-back buttons, umbrellas, ties, hats, badges of every type, medallions, flags & banners, and paper items such as postcards, stickers, posters, leaflets, songs & ballads, newspapers, advertising cards etc. What new phenomenon will we see next year? We’ll have to wait and see how creative our political parties and individuals can be!

The amount of materials used in campaigns elsewhere declined somewhat in the latter half of the twentieth century, due mainly to the impact of television, however it was only at this time that Irish politicians discovered how useful these things were in influencing public opinion and the amount of Irish political ephemera grew substantially as a result. I recall the story of an Irish politician who was in America during the 1970’s during a political campaign there. It might have been the recently deceased Seamus Brennan (then General Secretary of Fianna Fáil) who went to the US in 1976 to monitor the Carter/Ford campaign there. He was so impressed by the use of campaign material that he took the idea home and convinced the party of its efficacy for the next major Irish campaign. They then implemented the “razzmatazz” for the 1977 General Election and Fianna Fáil won a landslide victory.[i] Irish political ephemera collectors haven’t looked back since! But why would anyone be interested in this “junk mail”?

In some cases the individual producing the material might be famous or might become famous - this is particularly true with people like Eamon De Valera, Charles J. Haughey and perhaps, Bertie Aherne? Sometimes the person concerned did something of historical significance, like Noel Browne for example, but usually the people who collect this material do so for the light it sheds on history.

One of the biggest collections of political ephemera in Ireland is in the Linen Hall Library, Belfast. From the earliest days of “The Troubles” the library collected posters, flyers, leaflets and local newspapers from every side in the conflict. Today this collection is one of the most significant resources about the history of the period, anywhere in the world. The National Library of Ireland also has a significant collection of Irish material, collected over many years. There are also a number of smaller collections including Roscommon and Athlone Libraries, as well as our own modest accumulation of Roscommon material. But why collect it?

The answer lies in the fallibility of the human mind! Do you remember what the local politicians said, the time before the last time they ran? Political ephemera can sharpen the recall of historians (and others) writing about past events and may also be used to remind historians and journalists of the major issues that were current at the time. It can also be used to illustrate the “mechanics of persuasion” – in other words, propaganda! Collections of ephemera are regularly used by students of design history and the University of Reading even has it’s own Centre for Ephemera Studies! For these reasons, and others, this material deserves to be collected and preserved.

My own interest in these items grew slowly over many years, from a chance find of a 1950’s Noel Browne poster some years ago, to collecting local political literature for a collection in Dublin. My Roscommon interest began with a move to the county in 2001 and with a growing interest in local history, collecting the local political material seemed a logical step. I have also been lucky to have met a number of local politicians who value the collecting and preservation of these items and they have added greatly to the collection.[ii] So what is political ephemera.

Posters. Posters date from the 15th century and have many uses. They are perhaps the best known form of political literature because of the huge number of them that adorn every pole and post during a campaign. They are the oldest form of political advertising and the few that survive from the early 20th century in Ireland all tend to be similar. All are of paper, usually printed in one (rarely two) colours. They measured about 30 X 20 inches in size and carried such slogans as “No Goods Taken From the Window”, “A Hot Record” and “Our Own New Half-Sovereign”. These are all from Anti-Fianna-Fail posters from the 1932 / 33 campaign. Many posters from this period were quite vindictive and some of the sentiments expressed might not be at all acceptable today. As the century progressed the posters increased in size, colour was added and perhaps the tone of the comments became a bit more subdued! In the modern age the use of corrugated plastic has replace paper. This has had the fortunate / unfortunate effect that they last longer (for collectors to find) but are difficult to recycle. They are also rather large and are difficult to store!

Leaflets. Leaflets evolved from handbills and were the most widely used form of printed publicity during the 19th century. They are perhaps the most popular form of political publicity vehicle and campaigns usually generate two or three different leaflets per participant. Leaflets are quite rare from the early days (I don’t know at what period they started to be used in Roscommon), but they have certainly been around since the 1980’s? Do you recall the Fianna Fail campaigns – “Programme for National Recovery”, “The Way Forward” and “Caring for Ireland’s Future”? What will be the new catchphrase for 2009? Can we expect a repeat of Councillor Paddy Kilduff’s memorable and successful “Write 1 for the job” slogan of 2004? (see opposite). [iii]

Election papers. These are a prominent means employed by prospective politicians to persuade voters to support their campaigns. “Ballots” or “tickets” were an early US form where the candidates name and supporters were listed and handed out at polling stations. Later examples include broadsides and election addresses and with examples from the local scene, candidate cards.

Our own modest collection of Roscommon political ephemera contains modern Roscommon general election items and local election material, mainly from Mid-Roscommon. We also have a few examples of earlier material and local items from South Roscommon which were kindly donated by the individuals concerned. The earliest item we have dates from the 1918 “Election of the Snows” (see below). We would welcome donations from individuals and parties, either currently active or who were once involved in politics within the county, at national or local level, who would like to see the evidence of their contribution to the county and state collected, studied and preserved. Our collection is available to bona fide researchers and an illustrated catalogue of most of our archive can be viewed by following this link..

Political leaflets for a political dynasty – Senator Terry Leyden, 35 years in local & national politics and his daughter, Orla, a Roscommon County Councillor since 2004.

A sample of Cllr. Anthony Geraghty’s campaign souvenirs including leaflet, sticker & pin-back badge.

The way to win? A selection of candidate cards for then Senator Frank Feighan’s successful election in 2007. A wide range and variety of material was used in his campaign.

Cllr. Paddy Kilduff's memorable “Write 1 for the job” leaflet from the 2004 local elections.

Independent minds: Cllr. John Kelly and Cllr. Tony Ward, political leaflets for two Independent councillors on Roscommon County Council.

Cllr. Domnick Connolly, Fine Gael. A leaflet and an unusual plastic business card.

A Poster for the Lisbon Treaty Referendum of 12th June 2008. Local support for the issue from Michael Finneran TD.

Illustrations are not to scale.

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