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Mac-Talla: J. W. Lawlor

Mac-Talla: J. W. Lawlor

Posted by Andrew on Wednesday 27th July 2016
When we look at old newspapers we can see all the ways in which they did things differently from the newspapers of today. This is just as true for old Gaelic newspapers like Mac-Talla, a paper from Nova Scotia, Canada which was published between about 1892 and 1904. Mac-Talla was one of the most successful Gaelic papers ever, and in it we can find numerous news items, stories, letters, poetry, and advertisements, but the writers and editors were learning how to make a newspaper as they went along. As such, a lot of the stories are reported in a way that we’d think is strange. For example this short report from 1892:
 
Capt. J. W. Lawlor, Chelsea, Mass., is preparing to cross the Atlantic in a boat which is only twelve feet in length. If he gets across alive, the boat will be on display at the World’s Fair next year. But it’s likely that neither he nor the boat will be there to be seen.

It’s hard to believe that a modern newspaper would be quite so openly callous!

You’ll be pleased to hear that Captain Lawlor reached Spain safely after 84 days at sea, in spite of the cold-hearted doubts of Mac-Talla.
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