Ireland’s ‘Charlie Hebdo’: the remarkable run of Dublin Opinion

Founded in 1922, the satirical magazine poked fun at governments for almost
50 years

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Felix M Larkin

Eamon de Valera was often the butt of Dublin Opinion’s satire. When he
sought to replace PR with the “straight vote” system, this cartoon,
capitalising on de Valera’s reputation as a maths genius, had him

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upwards and distorts the text above it, with the caption “High Treason”

Eamon de Valera was often the butt of Dublin Opinion’s satire. When he
sought to replace PR with the “straight vote” system, this cartoon,
capitalising on de Valera’s reputation as a maths genius, had him

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When recently I published an essay on Ireland’s most celebrated
satirical magazine, Dublin Opinion, little did I know that soon
afterwards the tragic Charlie Hebdo massacre would spark off a lively
debate about the extent to which a cartoon may offend.

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from the scene, and it did not have the measure of the next generation.
Moreover, its humour now seemed very timid compared to the vicious
satire in, for example, the British magazine Private Eye and the BBC
television programme That was the week that was. Kelly and Collins sold
up in 1968, though the journal struggled on under new ownership for a