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Mr. Dooley

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This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page.

The result was: scheduled for Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 31, 2016 by  — Chris Woodrich (talk) 11:14, 11 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Mr. Dooley, by Gordon Ross (1909)

Mr. Dooley is a fictional Irish immigrant bartender created by American journalist Finley Peter Dunne. Dooley was the subject of many Dunne columns between 1893 and 1915, and again in 1924 and 1926. Dunne's essays, which contain the bartender's humorous but pointed commentary on various topics (often American politics or international affairs), became extremely popular during the 1898 Spanish–American War, and remained so afterwards; they are collected in several books. The essays are in the form of conversations in the Irish dialect of English between Mr. Dooley, who in the columns owns a tavern in the Bridgeport area of Chicago, and one of the fictional bar's patrons (in later years, usually Malachi Hennessy) with most of the column a monologue by Dooley. From 1898 onwards, the essays, and the books collecting them, gained national acclaim. Dunne became famous and a friend to President Theodore Roosevelt, although this did not stop the writer from satirizing presidential doings. Beginning around 1905, Dunne had increasing trouble finding time and inspiration for new pieces, and, except for a brief resurrection in the mid-1920s, they ended in 1915. Even before Dunne's death in 1936, his work was becoming obscure due in part to his use of dialect, and the unusual spellings that it required have proved a lasting barrier for potential readers. Obscure today, the columns originated lasting sayings such as "the Supreme Court follows the election returns". (Full article...)