GOGARTY, Oliver. An Offering of Swans and Other Poems (Signed Presentation Copy from the Author to George Russell)

With portrait frontis. by Augustus John and a preface by W.B. Yeats. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, n.d. [1924?]. First edition. pp. 57. Original blue cloth, titles to spine and front board in gilt. Signed presentation copy from the author “To George Russell / The Magnanimous / from Oliver Sn. Gogarty / 5.VII,’24”. Usual faded to spine, otherwise a near fine copy.
Miller 34 refers to the Dublin edition.
Oliver St. John Gogarty and George Russell (known by his pen name “AE”) were two towering figures in the Irish literary and cultural revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but their friendship was marked more by respect than deep personal intimacy and at times by tension, given their very different personalities and worldviews.
Oliver St. John Gogarty (1878-1957): A poet, satirist, surgeon, and senator, known for his wit, flamboyant personality, and for being the real-life model for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce’s Ulysses.
George Russell / AE (1867-1935): A mystical poet, painter, editor, and key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. A spiritual thinker and theosophist, AE was also politically active, especially in cooperative movements.
Gogarty was loud, irreverent, and humorous with a reputation for satire and sharp wit. AE was serene, spiritual, and philosophical, deeply involved in mysticism and Ireland’s national cultural identity.
These differences created some tension but also a kind of mutual fascination. Both moved in the same cultural and literary circles in Dublin, particularly during the early twentieth century. AE was editor of The Irish Homestead and The Irish Statesman, and he frequently published and supported young writers, including Gogarty early in his career. Gogarty, despite his sharp tongue, often expressed admiration for AE’s poetry and spiritual depth. Gogarty could be more cynical and combative, particularly in politics and satire. He could be irreverent about AE’s mysticism and earnestness. For instance, in his memoirs and verse, he sometimes poked fun at AE’s otherworldliness.
The title refers to Gogarty’s flamboyant gesture of releasing a pair of swans on the Liffey, after he had escaped an attacker by diving into the river and swimming to safety.
A superb association between three central figures of the Irish Literary Revival: Gogarty (author), A.E. (inscribed), and Yeats (prefacer).

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