James Hogan

James Hogan I Clongowes in 1910-1915

James Hogan (1898-1963), revolutionary, soldier and historian, was a native of Kilrickle, County Galway, who attended Clongowes in 1910-15. He graduated in history from UCD in 1918. He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1915, but was on holidays when the Easter Rising took place, although he subsequently played an active role with the IRA’s east-Clare flying column in the war of independence. Having completed his MA thesis, he published his first book Ireland in the European system in 1920. Aged twenty-two, he was appointed professor of history at UCC, although excused from immediately taking up duty on account of his national work. He was adviser to Arthur Griffith during the treaty negotiations in London. He supported the treaty and served as assistant adjutant general of the new army and later as its director of intelligence. Demobilised in 1923, he resumed his scholarly career. He was an inspirational teacher and mentor of young historians. He played a leading role in the establishment of the Irish Manuscripts Commission and edited its journal Analecta Hibernica for more than thirty years. He edited the d’Avaux correspondence of 1689-90 and published books on modern democracy and the communist challenge. He also served on the advisory committee of the bureau of military history. The vocationalism of the 1930s attracted him to politics, but a brief flirtation with the Blueshirts terminated when he became disillusioned with O’Duffy, the Blueshirt leader. In 1936 he was the unsuccessful Fine Gael candidate in the Galway by-election caused by the death of his brother, but after a short spell as party secretary, he withdrew from further active political involvement.