Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
IF YOU’VE NEVER thought about sitting down to watch an hourlong documentary on Oireachtas TV, this might be the film to change your mind.
Narrated and presented by Ardal O’Hanlon, The Geneva Window – Through a Glass Darkly tells the story of the virtuosic and enigmatic Irish artist Harry Clarke and his most controversial project: a window meant for the League of Nations that the Irish state ended up selling back to Clarke’s widow just months after it was completed.
Best known for the iconic windows in Bewley’s Grafton St cafe, Clarke’s stained glass installations can be seen in churches throughout Ireland and in Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery. The Geneva Window saw him become embroiled in a dispute with Taoiseach WT Cosgrave, over its depictions of nudity, sexuality, drunkenness and the work of censored writers such as Liam O’Flaherty.
The titular window, which Clarke was commissioned by the Irish government to design as a gift to the headquarters of the newly-formed League of Nations in Geneva, was described at the time by a civil servant as depicting “bizarre, almost viciously evil people steeped in sex and drunkenness and sin”.
Directed by Gerry Hoban, an IFTA winner for directing A Fanatic Heart: Geldof on Yeats, The Geneva Window tells the story of how an newly-sovereign Ireland made the choice to constrain one of its finest artists. Its themes rather seamlessly into modern-day discussions around the role played by art and artists in politics, and indeed the role that politics play in art. The decades-old tensions highlighted in Through A Glass Darkly feel especially timely in light of recent controversy surrounding an item of digital political art by Irish artist Spicebag.
In that case, an edited image which showed Gardaí overseeing a historical eviction caused furore when some TDs and other public figures condemned it over its apparent criticism of policing in Ireland.
In 1920s Ireland, art was causing similar ructions. O’Hanlon reads from correspondence between Clarke and then-Taoiseach WT Cosgrave, who was personally involved in commissioning the work.
We get an overview of the tension between the two Irelands that were beginning to emerge from the War of Independence and Civil War: a liberal and pluralistic Ireland aflush with mystical and artistic expression, or a more orderly Ireland, shaped by adherence to the Catholic church. By the end of the 1920s, the latter school of thought had won out, and the Censorship of Publications Act was introduced.
Clarke, in turn, was horrified in his letters that the Taoiseach would suggest replacing an offending panel, and suggested – in an amusing show of self-importance – that the Taoiseach make an appointment with him as soon as possible.
Clarke’s own ill health is a noteworthy subplot to the window’s inception, as it was designed and made between 1927 and 1930. Clarke would die in 1931, in the Swiss town of Chur, near where he had been receiving treatment at a sanatorium in Davos. In letters home shortly before his death, Clarke complained of being owed £450 by the government. Months later, and with Eamon De Valera taking over as Taoiseach, it was proposed that the window – which had become cracked in the government’s possession, according to the minutes of an Executive Council meeting – be sold back to the widow at the same price it was bought.
The piece itself – which is shown in extensive detail – comprises of eight stained glass panels, bearing 15 passage from a work of Irish literature admired by Clarke. Each passage is accompanied by an illustration from Clarke’s own imagination, in some cases not reflecting the content of the literature at all.
One of the most contentious panels, based on the poem The Others by Seumas O’Sullivan, depicts “a mischievous-fairy man” who appears to be taking the hand of a fair maiden and placing it on his genitals. Another shows Joxer from Sean Casey’s play Juno and the Paycock looking lascivious and in a state of drunkenness. Clarke’s rendition of Playboy of the Western World also features a male character groping a woman in a red dress.
Dr Róisín Kennedy further notes that the male characters depicted in the window are androgynous out of kilter with a desire to make Ireland seem less feminine. Through A Glass Darkly calls to mind questions of decency, morality, and cultural standards in Ireland – questions that continue to be picked apart on Liveline semi-regularly.
Clarke’s work continues to be hotly sought after today and in December of last year, one of his rarest pieces – based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream – became part of the national collection at the National Gallery of Ireland.
The documentary aired on Oireachtas TV at 6pm yesterday evening, and will be shown again at 9pm on Sunday.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Fianna Fáil TD apologises after claiming in Dáil that British Army never shot civilians in Ireland
3 hrs ago
33.5k
206
Middle East
'What are you going to do?': Tánaiste brands Israeli actions as 'genocidal' in fiery Dáil clash
2 mins ago
37
0
United Arab Emirates
Kinahan gang figure Sean McGovern to appear in Dublin court after his extradition flight lands
Updated
1 hr ago
39.0k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 197 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 137 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 177 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 139 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 101 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 102 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 47 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 43 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 161 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 73 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 96 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 102 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 45 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 60 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 29 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 112 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 115 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 63 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 107 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 90 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say