John P. Irish – Iowa City’s Black Knight.

**John P. Irish** was an Iowa City newspaper editor, state legislator, and a member of the SUI Board of Trustees. *John and Anna were married on November 3, 1875 in Iowa City.*

That man pictured above looks pretty innocent, don’t you think? But don’t be fooled!

In Iowa City – between 1864 and 1882 – John P. Irish – staunch Democrat and the owner/editor of The State Press – was known as the Black Knight. Here’s how one historian describes Irish…

Born in Iowa City on January 1st, 1843, John Powell Irish was the youngest son of Johnson County pioneer – Frederick M. (F.M.) Irish (above left). Along with his two older brothers – Charles Wood Irish (above middle left) and Thomas Myrick Irish (above middle right), there was rarely a moment when the Irish family didn’t have a strong opinion on local, state, or national politics. To say that the Irish men were leaders would be an understatement. Take, for example, John, who received a common school education in Iowa City, but by the age of seventeen, he had made such progress, they made him the teacher!

In July 1864 – at the age of twenty-one – John P. Irish branched beyond education, becoming the owner/editor of the fledgling Iowa City newspaper – The State Democratic Press – purchasing it from the team that had salvaged The Capital Reporter when editor/owner R. H. Sylvester left town in 1862. Read more here.

Changing its name to The State Press, J.P. – a.k.a. The Black Knight – soon made his paper into a major competitor to the Republican-based Iowa City newspaper, developing such strong abilities as a writer and public speaker, that he was soon recognized as one of the key leaders of the Democratic Party across Iowa.

Interestingly, on July 20, 1864 – in one of his first acts as editor of The State Press – Irish ran a copy of the latest editorial printed by the competition – The Iowa City Republican (see above). That editorial “welcomed” the young Irish to his new role, but, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, it offered “advice” for the new editor to not become like his predecessor – R.H. Sylvester – who was considered no better than “the snake that hisses at your feet”!

In the late 1860’s and early 70’s, Irish – while still editing his newspaper in Iowa City – was elected – as a Democrat, of course – to represent Johnson County in the House of the 12th General Assembly in Des Moines, and was twice re-elected – serving a total of six years (1868-1874).

As a former teacher, Irish had seen the harm of electing members of school boards on a partisan ticket, so in Des Moines, he became the author of the law changing the time of electing school officers from the general to a special election, thus taking these elections out of partisan politics. His bill also authorized school board directors to choose a president outside of their own number. Thus, this salutary change in the law destroyed the partisan character of school boards and was commended by the National Commissioner of Education.

While a member of the Legislature, Irish also secured an addition to the endowment fund of the State University of Iowa, and having been elected as one of the regents of that institution, was largely instrumental in securing the establishment of the SUI Law School (1868) and the SUI School of Medicine (1870).

*Did you know that John P. Irish served as a Board Vice President for SHSI?*

By 1880, Irish was getting restless. At the time, the Republican Party ruled the roost across Iowa. In 1877, Irish was nominated as the Democratic candidate for governor, but lost to John Gear in a landslide election. A workaholic – Irish had started a second newspaper in Iowa City – a daily (see below) – but by 1880, his energy had waned and he discontinued it.

Finally, in 1882, the Black Knight decided to move westward – looking to California as a fresh territory in which he could offer his services. So, on September 6, 1882, he relinquished his long reign as editor/owner of The State Press – turning it over to two of his closest partners – A.J. Hershire, and his long-time protege – John A. Springer (below)…

In one final joust, his major competitor – Herbert S. Fairall – editor of The Iowa City Daily Republican – published this “farewell” to Iowa City’s Black Knight…

Read about Irish’s political nemesis – H.S. Fairall – editor of The Daily Republican.

In the large 966-page publication (1883) – History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882 – this biographical review of the Honorable John P. Irish and his time in Iowa City was offered…

So, following his public reception at the St. James Hotel, the Irish’s – along with John’s young niece – Elizabeth Hannah Irish (below) – relocated to San Francisco, where John purchased the Oakland Times…

Read about all the success Elizabeth Hannah Irish found upon her return to Iowa City in 1895.

Later – in 1885 – J.P. transitioned once more – becoming the owner/editor of the Daily Alta Californian newspaper, where he fought many more political battles – both in California and in national politics for the remainder of his years.

Irish became a landowner in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region of California, a fiery and influential public speaker, and an opponent of prejudice against Japanese and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,

John P. Irish died in Oakland, California on October 6, 1923 – at age 80 – from serious injuries he sustained while stepping off a street car. His wife – Anna Fletcher Irish passed – at age 78 – on February 11, 1928 in Alameda, California. Both are buried in California in unmarked gravesites.

In a 1924 article – written for the Old Settlers’ Association of Johnson County – Irish’s long-time protege and printing partner – John A. Springer – wrote these words of remembrance about his former boss who had just passed away. We close with this…

Read the 1924 John A. Springer article in its entirety here.

On July 1, 1976, The Iowa City Press-Citizen published a special 76-page Bicentennial edition. In that edition there were articles and pictures related to stories found on this page. You can read more here.