Dublin Castle scandal
The Dublin Castle scandal was a controversy involving the administration of British rule in Ireland in 1884. Irish nationalists, including William O'Brien,[1] alleged homosexual orgies among the staff at Dublin Castle, the seat of the British government's administration in Ireland until 1922.[2][3][4][5] Following a failed libel action, a number of members of the administration were convicted of participating in male homosexual acts.[6]
Indictees
Amongst those charged with conspiracy to commit gross indecency was Martin Oranmore Kirwan (1847–1904), a captain in the Royal Irish Fusiliers who was the son of a County Galway Anglo-Irish landlord,[7][8] following testimony from prostitute John Saul.[9][10] Kirwan was acquitted on the grounds that the Crown did not produce sufficient evidence, but he resigned his commission.[11][12]
General Post Office secretary Gustavus Cornwall, was acquitted, but was relieved of his position.[6]
Aftermath
Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Kevin Dettmar has claimed that the scandal "paved the way" for the Labouchere Amendment, which made "gross indecency" a crime in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[13][4]
References
- ^ Davis, Michael F. (2016). "A Little Cloud of Queer Suspicion". Joyce Studies Annual: 235. JSTOR 26288846. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ Cocks, H.G. (2003). Nameless Offences: Homosexual Desire in the 19th Century. I.B. Tauris. p. 140.
- ^ O'Riordan, Tomás (Winter 2001). "The Theft of the Irish Crown Jewels". History Ireland.
- ^ a b Gillespie, Patrick Michael, ed. (October 18, 2021). James Joyce and the Fabrication of an Irish Identity. Netherlands: Rodopi. pp. 136–138. ISBN 9789004488243.
- ^ Earls, Averill (2020). "Solicitor Brown and His Boy: Love, Sex, and Scandal in Twentieth-Century Ireland". Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques. 46 (1): 84. JSTOR 48729161. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ a b Walshe, Éibhear (2005). "The First Gay Irishman? Ireland and the Wilde Trials". Éire-Ireland. 40 (3–4 (fall-winter)): 38–57. Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
- ^ "Earl Euston's Libel Action". Northampton Mercury. No. 8826. January 18, 1890. p. 3.
- ^ "The Cornwall Fiasco". Freeman's Journal. Sydney, Australia. 13 December 1884. p. 5 – via Trove.
- ^ "The Dublin Scandals". The Weekly Mail. Cardiff. 23 August 1884.
- ^ Kaplan, Morris (2005). Sodom on the Thames. Cornell University Press. p. 201. ISBN 9780801436789.
- ^ "The Dublin Scandals". North Australian. Darwin, Australia. 13 February 1885. p. 5 – via Trove.
- ^ "Trial of Cornwall and Kirwan". Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser. Dublin, Ireland. October 29, 1884.
- ^ Backus, Margot Gayle (2008). "'Odd Jobs': James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and the Scandal Fragment". Joyce Studies Annual: 109. JSTOR 26288723. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
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