Name Aodh Blacam | Role Journalist | |
Died January 1951, Dublin, Republic of Ireland Books Gaelic Literature Surveyed, A first book of Irish literature, Gentle Ireland | ||
Hugh Saunders Blackham (Irish: Aodh Sandrach de Blácam; 16 December 1891–January 1951) was an Irish journalist, writer and editor. He was associated with Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Clann na Poblachta.
Biography
Hugh Saunders Blackham was born in London, England; his father William George Blackham was an Ulster Protestant from Newry, while his mother was an Englishwoman named Evison Elizabeth Saunders. A cousin of his was the Surgeon General to the British Army in Ireland. The Blackham family were fundamentalist Christians, which Hugh rebelled against when he converted to the Catholic Church and married Mary McCarville of County Monaghan (with whom he had two children).
Hugh became involved in the Gaelic League while in London, learning the Irish language and had visited family in Newry numerous times as a child. As an adult, he returned to his father's place of birth. He joined the Enniscorthy Echo in 1915. During the Irish War of Independence he wrote nationalist propaganda. He was interned in 1922.
After writing a number of books he joined The Irish Times, which he left to become editor of the Catholic Standard.
He was a member of the Fianna Fáil executive until 1947, when he defected to Clann na Poblachta. He stood for election as party of this party for County Louth in 1948 but was not elected.