One of the most intriguing and influential Irishmen of the 20th century, Brendan Bracken grew up in Dublin, but had an uneasy relationship with Ireland, and was a notorious inventor of his own past. Winston Churchill’s son, Randolph, once described Bracken as “the fantasist whose dreams came true.”

The son of a prominent Fenian and founder member of the GAA, Bracken left Ireland for Australia in the spring of 1916. He was fourteen years old. Later he spent a term in an English public school, before rising to prominence as a publisher – of the Economist and, later, the Financial Times. Bracken also enjoyed a successful career as a Conservative MP, and was Winston Churchill’s closest friend in politics for many years. During the Second World War he served as a very successful Minister of Information in the wartime cabinet.

“Without him Churchill might not have survived politically, let alone become Prime Minister,” said curator Charles Lysaght. “He was also a spin doctor par excellence half a century before the term was invented. And he was the effective founding father of the modern Financial Times, Britain’s highest quality daily newspaper.”

Bracken’s letters home to his mother are a key piece of evidence in this exhibition. They constitute the most intimate record of this elusive subject in his own words. Reflecting on subjects like Churchill, WB Yeats and Anglo-Irish relations, the letters reveal the inner thoughts of a brash young man in a hurry. They were purchased at auction by the Little Museum of Dublin.

“The twists and turns of Bracken’s life are an affront to anyone who has a narrow view of what it means to be Irish,” said museum founder Trevor White. “We can’t wait to share this extraordinary story with a new generation of global adventurers.” 

Churchill & the Irishman is located on the 1st floor of the Little Museum.

© Images Colourised by Tom Marshall at PhotograFix 2016