Billy Ireland – Our Namesake | Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Billy Ireland – Our Namesake

William Addison Ireland, known throughout his life as Billy, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, on January 8, 1880. Shortly after his graduation from high school, he was hired as a cartoonist by the Columbus Dispatch, where he drew editorial cartoons and spot illustrations.

Black and white candid photo of Billy Ireland inside of the Columbus Dispatch, looking out the window. — Billy Ireland looking out the window of his office at The Columbus Dispatch, c. 1920. Courtesy of the Ohio History Connection’s Columbus Dispatch Photograph Collection

“The Passing Show,” his commentary on current events, began weekly publication in 1908. Ireland described himself as the janitor of “The Passing Show,” and his self-caricatures show a round little man in overalls, as seen throughout our website.

Cartoon illustration self-caricature of Billy Ireland as the janitor.

Humor and his pen were Ireland’s weapons to target what he thought wrong or foolish and to endorse causes he believed in. He was a tireless supporter of community improvements, an avid outdoorsman, and a perceptive critic of political events. As a mentor, Ireland had a significant impact in the life of several young cartoonists, including Noel Sickles, Art Poinier, and our library’s founding donor Milton Caniff, who Ireland hired as a staff artist at the Dispatch when Caniff arrived to attend The Ohio State University in the fall of 1925. Billy Ireland continued to create “The Passing Show” as well as four to seven editorial cartoons per week until his death in 1935.

Cartoon comic strip of The Passing Show by Billy Ireland dated November 2, 1924 from the Columbus Dispatch.

Billy Ireland’s drawing table, as well as a piece of his original art from “The Passing Show,” is permanently on display in the lobby of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. We are grateful to the support of the Elizabeth Ireland Graves Foundation—directed by Billy Ireland’s granddaughter—for their support and investment in our mission.

Learn more about the life and career of one of Ohio’s most famous cartoonists in the 2007 book Billy Ireland by Lucy Shelton Caswell, Professor Emerita and founding curator of The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. See more of Billy Ireland’s work online in our digital exhibit from 2011, Ireland of the Dispatch.

In the video below, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum’s founding curator, Lucy Shelton Caswell, discusses his work and legacy.