North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

Oscar wasn't the only Wilde to fall foul of the legal system. His father, Sir George Wilde, enjoyed what is coyly described in the Encyclopaedia of Ireland as an energetic private life. One of his lovers sued him in 1864 which didn't do his reputation any good at all. Oscar, of course, famously sued the father of his lover, Sir Alfred "Bosie" Douglas for libel. Given that Douglas pere had accused Wilde of being a homosexual, it probably wasn't the wisest move, and Wilde ended up in prison as a result.

Funnily enough, Bosie ended up on the wrong end of a criminal libel case himself almost a quarter of a century after Oscar's death. During World War I, Winston Churchill (who was then, as First Lord of the Admiralty, in charge of the Royal Navy) had gave a rather glowing account of the Battle of Jutland, really the only pitched battle between the British and German fleets. The battle had been something of a draw, but given that there had been plenty of bad news around the same time, and there was a war on, his statement was hardly surprising (in fact, he had asked to 'talk up' the battle by the government at the time). Anyway, in 1924, Lord Douglas claimed that the reason for Churchill's positive statement was to manipulate the stock exchange for the benefit of a Jewish syndicate, who had subsequently rewarded Churchill with 40,000 pounds. Bad move - Douglas was naturally sued for libel and upon losing, spent six months in jail. Jail obviously agreed with him better than for Oscar – he lived until 1945. No-one remembers his poetry, though.