Aodh De Blácam

Harold Saunders Blackham (; 16 December 1891 – 16 January 1951) was an English-born Irish author, journalist, and editor. He was associated with 20th century Irish nationalism through movements such as Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Clann na Poblachta.

Biography Early life Harold Saunders Blackham was born in London, England; his father William George Blackham was an Ulster Protestant from Newry, while his mother was an Englishwoman named Evison Elizabeth Saunders. An uncle of his was Robert J. Blackham who was the Surgeon General to the British Army in Ireland. The Blackham family were evangelical Protestants, against which he rebelled; having been brought up to take the bible literally, Blackham suffered a religious crisis upon the realisation his teachers at school did not.

Blackham found the transition to adulthood difficult, particularly due to the early death of his father.

For a time Blackham moved in socialist circles, under the influence of Ulster socialist Robert Wilson Lynd. However, upon the discovery that his father had been a Protestant who had been in favour of Irish home rule and also had some republican sympathies, Blackham turned towards Irish Nationalism. For 17 years he wrote a feature in the Fianna Fáil aligned Irish Press called Roddy the Rover. However, Historian Patrick Maume was less sympathetic, summarising that

Personal life De Blácam married Mary McCarville, who came from County Monaghan; they had two sons. De Blácam died 13 January 1951. One of his wife's brothers, Patrick MacCarvill, was active in the war of independence, and a Fianna Fáil TD.