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Thomas Fitzpatrick (1860-1912)

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Thomas Fitzpatrick (b. Cork, 27 March 1860; d. Dublin, 16 July 1912) was a political cartoonist. A native of Cork, he moved to Dublin where he drew cartoons for Pat, under the tutelage of John Fergus O'Hea, from 1881 to 1883, when the magazine folded. He briefly moved to London, but having failed to make his fortune, returned to Dublin a few years later, where he turned to design and photoengraving. He drew cartoons for the early issues of the unionist paper The Union in 1887, before the paper found a cartoonist, Richard Moynan, with genuine unionist sympathies.

Fitzpatrick went on to be one of the most prominent cartoonists for nationalist papers. In 1891 he became chief cartoonist for the anti-Parnellite National Press, drawing a weekly colour cartoon as a supplement to the weekend edition, printed by chomolithography. The National Press merged into the Freeman's Journal in 1892, after which Fitzpatrick continued to draw the weekly cartoon supplement for the Weekly Freeman, taking over from O'Hea. He also joined O'Hea on The Irish Figaro, a weekly magazine edited by Sydney Brooks. He also drew cartoons for the Irish Emerald, The Nation and Punch.

He was a master illuminator and with his daughter, artist Mary Fitzpatrick O'Brien, he produced many illuminated and richly decorated scrolls and paintings, many reflecting the influence of the early Celtic Revival.

There were strips signed "Fitzpatrick" in British comics of the first decade of the 20th century, including "Samuel Simons" in The Big Budget (1901) and "Cholly and Gawge" in The Jester and Wonder (1902). His grandson Jim Fitzpatrick (private communication) confirms that his grandfather did work in the UK for a period of time, but whether this is the same artist I won't be able to tell until I can compare signatures.

In 1905 he launched his own satirical magazine, The Lepracaun, which he edited and drew most of the cartoons and illustrations for. James Joyce contributed short pieces and cartoon ideas. When Fitzpatrick's health began to fail in 1911, he handed over the editorship to his daughter Mary, and his former mentor, O'Hea, stepped in to draw the cartoons. He died in 1912.

ReferencesEdit

"Mr. Thomas Fitzpatrick", The Irish Times obituary, 20 July 1912
Alan Clark, Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors, The British Library, 1998, p. 58
Lewis P. Curtis Jr., Apes and Angels: The Irishman in Victorian Caricature, David & Charles, 1971, pp. 72, 77-81
Theo Snoddy, Dictionary of Irish Artists: 20th Century, Merlin Publishing, 2002
Jim Fitzpatrick - biography part 2 page 1