There’s a fantastic energy about this photograph. It was taken in the spring of 1939, but so fresh are the expressions of delight from all involved that – apart from the occasional whiff of “costume drama”, especially in the hat department – it might have been snapped yesterday.
If you haven’t recognised the man at the centre of the image, you may well be thinking: a picture of a jolly old gentleman surrounded by kids. So what? Is it a film still, maybe? Or a family party of some kind?
It is, in fact, a picture of the first president of Ireland, Dr Douglas Hyde, surrounded by 600 schoolchildren during his presentation of the prizes at the Féile Náisiúnta Dramiutheachta, the National Drama Awards, in March 1939. These days we're used to our presidents getting out and about, meeting and greeting, being forthright and generally appearing in all kinds of everyday situations. At that time, however – with the presidency barely a year old – stiff lips and protocol were the order of the day.
You can imagine the tut-tutting, therefore, when the newsdesk at The Irish Times was presented with this shot of Dr Hyde barely visible among a gang of boisterous and irreverent kids.
Instead, two considerably more formal pictures were chosen for publication. One was captioned: "The scene on the lawn outside the President's House at the Phoenix Park yesterday, when President Hyde presented the Schools' Gaelic Drama League Cup". The other was a shot of "Ms Sheila O'Flaherty receiving the cup on behalf of the winning school, Presentation Convent Wexford".
With its spontaneous joy and innocent sense of fun, however, our picture is a winner. Despite his trademark droopy moustache, the president – an accomplished linguist whose lifelong passion for the Irish language saw him co-found Conradh na Gaeilge – is clearly in his element. Everybody in the shot is enjoying themselves, even the men in fedoras – presumably security men – at the back.
– Arminta Wallace
These and other Irish Times images can be purchased from: irishtimes.com/photosales
