Jeff Kildea | The University of New South Wales (original) (raw)

Articles by Jeff Kildea

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2023

Earlier this year, ABC Radio National broadcast in its ‘The History Listen’ series a program call... more Earlier this year, ABC Radio National broadcast in its ‘The History Listen’ series a program called ‘The Missing Magdalens’ about Australia’s Magdalen laundries. The program focussed on St Magdalen’s Retreat, Tempe, which the Sisters of the Good Samaritan ran from 1888 to 1980. In describing life at St Magdalen’s in the early twentieth century, the program relied on an article in the Watchman newspaper. That article included a statement by a former inmate, May Gould, which was discredited more than a century ago.

History Ireland, 2020

The story of the expulsion of Irish-born Hugh Mahon from the Australian parliament in November 1920.

Australasian Catholic Record, 2021

COVID-19 is the worst pandemic Australia has faced since the pneumonic influenza pandemic of just... more COVID-19 is the worst pandemic Australia has faced since the pneumonic influenza pandemic of just over a century ago, commonly referred to as ‘Spanish flu’. Up until 2020, present-day Australians wanting to understand what it was like to live through a major pandemic, such as the Spanish flu, could do so only by browsing old newspaper reports or reading one of the few written accounts of life back then or by watching grainy film footage of men and women wearing masks. Now, it is a lived reality. But how different is the current experience from that of a century ago, particularly in relation to restrictions on religious worship?

Australasian Catholic Record, 1998

During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Waterford-born Mich... more During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Waterford-born Michael Kelly, challenged the federal health authorities over their refusal to allow a priest to enter Sydney's Quarantine Station to administer the last rites to Nurse Annie Egan, who was dying there. The incident sparked a major political controversy that ended when the government reluctantly and against the advice of its medical advisers, agreed to allow clergymen to minister to quarantine station inmates.

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2002

Between 1913 and 1924 the Catholic Federation of New South Wales articulated and advocated the po... more Between 1913 and 1924 the Catholic Federation of New South Wales articulated and advocated the political interests of the Catholic Church in the state. As part of a world wide movement, having its origins in the successful resistance of German Catholics to Bismarck's Kuiturkampfduring the 1870s, the Federation was one of four such bodies that were established in Australia and which enrolled tens of thousands of Catholic men and women as members. At its peak the NSW federation claimed a membership of over a hundred thousand and there were times when its activities dominated news reports in the major metropolitan newspapers for days on end. Yet less than eighty years after its demise, few Catholics have heard of the Catholic Federation of NSW, let alone are aware of what it did during its short existence. This article aims to give an overview of the history of the Catholic Federation of NSW so as to fill that gap in the awareness and understanding of the organisation and its significance in the history of the Australian Catholic community.

Sydney Papers, 2002

Sectarianism is a word whose meaning many Australians living today would understand from personal... more Sectarianism is a word whose meaning many Australians living today would understand from personal experience, but if you were to look it up in the dictionary you would be surprised to find it is not defined in quite the way you understood. This is because in the Australian historical context the word sectarianism is pregnant with meaning that dictionary definitions fail to capture. It has little to do with sects and it derives its distinctive meaning – the one with which many would be familiar – from the fact that religious affiliation was generally identified with the three main national or ethnic groups that constituted European society in Australia: the English, the Irish and the Scots. Competition between religions in nineteenth and twentieth- century Australia reflected not only theological differences but also complex ethnic rivalries, particularly those between Irish Catholics, on the one hand, and English Anglicans and Scots-Irish Presbyterians on the other.

Journal of the Australian War Memorial (Online), 2003

Wartime, 2006

The story of Australian soldiers caught up in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916.

Australasian Catholic Record, 2006

The twentieth anniversary of Pope John Paul (['s address at Alice Springs comes at a time when th... more The twentieth anniversary of Pope John Paul (['s address at Alice Springs comes at a time when the issue of Aboriginal land rights, as distinct from concerns over violence and abuse in indigenous communities, has slipped off the political agenda. Unless the federal government, unrestrained by a hostile Senate, moves to amend the Native Title Act /993 (NTA) it is not likely in the foreseeable future to demand the sort of public attention it did twenty years ago or in the last decade of the twentieth century when Mabo, 'Wik and the Ten Point Plan rocked the nation. It may, therefore, be difficult for many Australians, including those too young to remember, to appreciate the impact of the pope's address, particularly on Australian Catholics. It was refreshing and invigorating at a time when the political wind was blowing the other way, adding legitimacy to a form of Christian witness considered suspect by many mainstream Catholics ever vigilant of communist influence in movements for reform. But more than a licence the pope's address was a mandate for action.

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2006

The story of Sr Liguori is a remarkable tale which, if written as a novel, would be considered to... more The story of Sr Liguori is a remarkable tale which, if written as a novel, would be considered too far divorced from reality to be acceptable as a serious work of fic­ tion. Yet it is a true story, full o f tragedy and farce, in which a young Irish nun flees her convent at Wagga Wagga, fearful she is about to be murdered by her Mother Superior, and places herselfunder the protection of the Orange Order. Arrested as a lunatic at the request o f her bishop, she is declared sane by the Lunacy Court, which orders her release. There are fisticuffs in parliament over the affair and she sues her bishop for false imprisonment. If that is not enough she is also kidnapped off the streets of Kogarah by her brother.

Recorder, 2011

Hugh Mahon is not exactly a household name in Australian political history. Among those who recog... more Hugh Mahon is not exactly a household name in Australian political history. Among those who recognise the name, most know little more than that Mahon was the Labor member for Kalgoorlie who was expelled from the federal parliament, the only member of the House of Representatives to have suffered that ignominy. Yet Hugh Mahon deserves to be remembered for more than that singular act of unsolicited notoriety.

Inside History, 2013

This article looks at how the Irish in Australia spent St Patrick's Day in the 19th century.

History Ireland, 2015

So closely do Australians identify with Gallipoli that they often think they were the only ones t... more So closely do Australians identify with Gallipoli that they often think they were the only ones there, apart from their Anzac partners from New Zealand—and the Turks, of course. Yet the campaign was a multi-national affair, with the Allied forces including soldiers from Britain, France, India, Nepal, North Africa, Newfoundland and Ireland. And while Australians in their enthusiasm to build their new nation might be forgiven for having overlooked such details, in Ireland many have forgotten the Gallipoli campaign altogether, notwithstanding the
significant part that Irish soldiers played in it and its impact on their own national development.

Familia: Ulster Genealogical Review, 2015

This article describes the Irish Anzacs Project that aims to identify all those of Irish birth wh... more This article describes the Irish Anzacs Project that aims to identify all those of Irish birth who enlisted in the Australian military forces during the First World War and to compile a publicly accessible database containing information on each of them.

The Irish Sword, 2015

During the Spring of 1914 Ireland appeared to be lurching uneasily towards civil war, but as Spri... more During the Spring of 1914 Ireland appeared to be lurching uneasily towards civil war, but as Spring turned to Summer events in Europe put that unhappy prospect into perspective when the major powers of Europe embarked on the road to a disaster far worse than that which Ireland ever threatened – a conflagration that would ultimately bring down empires and kill more than ten million people, including tens of thousands of Irishmen and Australians. But for Ireland and Australia the significance of the conflict extends beyond the shocking death toll. The Great War turned out to be crucial in the development of these two emerging nations. Its effects continue to be felt to this day.

Reveille, 2015

This article critically examines and refutes the claim by New Zealand historian Christopher Pugsl... more This article critically examines and refutes the claim by New Zealand historian Christopher Pugsley that in the fighting for Chunuk Bair during the Gallipoli campaign, soldiers of the Leinster Regiment fled in the face of a Turkish attack.

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2016

During the First World War the Australian government twice asked the Australian people by plebisc... more During the First World War the Australian government twice asked the Australian people by plebiscite to approve the introduction of military conscription for overseas service. On each occasion, in October 1916 and December 1917, the Australian people by a narrow margin said no.
After the defeat of the first referendum supporters of conscription casting around for a scapegoat to blame for their loss found one in the Irish Catholic community, which at the time made up about 22 per cent of Australian voters. Even the prime minister, William Morris Hughes, agreed, claiming that ‘the selfish vote, and shirker vote and the Irish vote were too much for us’. In August 1917 Hughes told his British counterpart David Lloyd George, ‘The [Catholic] Church is secretly against recruiting. Its influence killed conscription’.
But it was not only supporters of conscription who believed that it was Irish Catholics embittered by Britain’s treatment of Ireland in the wake of the Easter rising who swung the vote. This article reflects on Catholic attitudes to conscription and to examine whether it was the Catholic Church, as Hughes claimed, which killed conscription and whether the Easter Rising had influenced the result.

Boho Heritage Supplement, 2016

The story of Thomas Reid from Boho, County Fermanagh, Ireland who served in the Australian Imperi... more The story of Thomas Reid from Boho, County Fermanagh, Ireland who served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War.

The Irish Sword, 2017

The Battle of Kosturino is a little-known action in the little-known Macedonian campaign during t... more The Battle of Kosturino is a little-known action in the little-known Macedonian campaign during the very well-known First World War. While this minor clash in the Balkans in December 1915 is of little significance in the overall context of the war, its interest for me as an Australian is that the battle involved troops from the 10th (Irish) Division, recently transferred from Gallipoli where the Division’s 29th Brigade had served alongside the Anzacs during the August offensive at Lone Pine, Quinn’s Post, Chunuk Bair and Hill 60. At the Battle of Kosturino a small contingent of Australian soldiers served alongside the Irish.

The Irish Sword, 2017

This article describes the part played by Australian and New Zealand soldiers in assisting to sup... more This article describes the part played by Australian and New Zealand soldiers in assisting to suppress the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin as related by contemporary Irish commentators and by the soldiers themselves and then considers how their actions during Easter week were perceived at home and how we might regard them today.

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2023

Earlier this year, ABC Radio National broadcast in its ‘The History Listen’ series a program call... more Earlier this year, ABC Radio National broadcast in its ‘The History Listen’ series a program called ‘The Missing Magdalens’ about Australia’s Magdalen laundries. The program focussed on St Magdalen’s Retreat, Tempe, which the Sisters of the Good Samaritan ran from 1888 to 1980. In describing life at St Magdalen’s in the early twentieth century, the program relied on an article in the Watchman newspaper. That article included a statement by a former inmate, May Gould, which was discredited more than a century ago.

History Ireland, 2020

The story of the expulsion of Irish-born Hugh Mahon from the Australian parliament in November 1920.

Australasian Catholic Record, 2021

COVID-19 is the worst pandemic Australia has faced since the pneumonic influenza pandemic of just... more COVID-19 is the worst pandemic Australia has faced since the pneumonic influenza pandemic of just over a century ago, commonly referred to as ‘Spanish flu’. Up until 2020, present-day Australians wanting to understand what it was like to live through a major pandemic, such as the Spanish flu, could do so only by browsing old newspaper reports or reading one of the few written accounts of life back then or by watching grainy film footage of men and women wearing masks. Now, it is a lived reality. But how different is the current experience from that of a century ago, particularly in relation to restrictions on religious worship?

Australasian Catholic Record, 1998

During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Waterford-born Mich... more During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Waterford-born Michael Kelly, challenged the federal health authorities over their refusal to allow a priest to enter Sydney's Quarantine Station to administer the last rites to Nurse Annie Egan, who was dying there. The incident sparked a major political controversy that ended when the government reluctantly and against the advice of its medical advisers, agreed to allow clergymen to minister to quarantine station inmates.

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2002

Between 1913 and 1924 the Catholic Federation of New South Wales articulated and advocated the po... more Between 1913 and 1924 the Catholic Federation of New South Wales articulated and advocated the political interests of the Catholic Church in the state. As part of a world wide movement, having its origins in the successful resistance of German Catholics to Bismarck's Kuiturkampfduring the 1870s, the Federation was one of four such bodies that were established in Australia and which enrolled tens of thousands of Catholic men and women as members. At its peak the NSW federation claimed a membership of over a hundred thousand and there were times when its activities dominated news reports in the major metropolitan newspapers for days on end. Yet less than eighty years after its demise, few Catholics have heard of the Catholic Federation of NSW, let alone are aware of what it did during its short existence. This article aims to give an overview of the history of the Catholic Federation of NSW so as to fill that gap in the awareness and understanding of the organisation and its significance in the history of the Australian Catholic community.

Sydney Papers, 2002

Sectarianism is a word whose meaning many Australians living today would understand from personal... more Sectarianism is a word whose meaning many Australians living today would understand from personal experience, but if you were to look it up in the dictionary you would be surprised to find it is not defined in quite the way you understood. This is because in the Australian historical context the word sectarianism is pregnant with meaning that dictionary definitions fail to capture. It has little to do with sects and it derives its distinctive meaning – the one with which many would be familiar – from the fact that religious affiliation was generally identified with the three main national or ethnic groups that constituted European society in Australia: the English, the Irish and the Scots. Competition between religions in nineteenth and twentieth- century Australia reflected not only theological differences but also complex ethnic rivalries, particularly those between Irish Catholics, on the one hand, and English Anglicans and Scots-Irish Presbyterians on the other.

Journal of the Australian War Memorial (Online), 2003

Wartime, 2006

The story of Australian soldiers caught up in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916.

Australasian Catholic Record, 2006

The twentieth anniversary of Pope John Paul (['s address at Alice Springs comes at a time when th... more The twentieth anniversary of Pope John Paul (['s address at Alice Springs comes at a time when the issue of Aboriginal land rights, as distinct from concerns over violence and abuse in indigenous communities, has slipped off the political agenda. Unless the federal government, unrestrained by a hostile Senate, moves to amend the Native Title Act /993 (NTA) it is not likely in the foreseeable future to demand the sort of public attention it did twenty years ago or in the last decade of the twentieth century when Mabo, 'Wik and the Ten Point Plan rocked the nation. It may, therefore, be difficult for many Australians, including those too young to remember, to appreciate the impact of the pope's address, particularly on Australian Catholics. It was refreshing and invigorating at a time when the political wind was blowing the other way, adding legitimacy to a form of Christian witness considered suspect by many mainstream Catholics ever vigilant of communist influence in movements for reform. But more than a licence the pope's address was a mandate for action.

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2006

The story of Sr Liguori is a remarkable tale which, if written as a novel, would be considered to... more The story of Sr Liguori is a remarkable tale which, if written as a novel, would be considered too far divorced from reality to be acceptable as a serious work of fic­ tion. Yet it is a true story, full o f tragedy and farce, in which a young Irish nun flees her convent at Wagga Wagga, fearful she is about to be murdered by her Mother Superior, and places herselfunder the protection of the Orange Order. Arrested as a lunatic at the request o f her bishop, she is declared sane by the Lunacy Court, which orders her release. There are fisticuffs in parliament over the affair and she sues her bishop for false imprisonment. If that is not enough she is also kidnapped off the streets of Kogarah by her brother.

Recorder, 2011

Hugh Mahon is not exactly a household name in Australian political history. Among those who recog... more Hugh Mahon is not exactly a household name in Australian political history. Among those who recognise the name, most know little more than that Mahon was the Labor member for Kalgoorlie who was expelled from the federal parliament, the only member of the House of Representatives to have suffered that ignominy. Yet Hugh Mahon deserves to be remembered for more than that singular act of unsolicited notoriety.

Inside History, 2013

This article looks at how the Irish in Australia spent St Patrick's Day in the 19th century.

History Ireland, 2015

So closely do Australians identify with Gallipoli that they often think they were the only ones t... more So closely do Australians identify with Gallipoli that they often think they were the only ones there, apart from their Anzac partners from New Zealand—and the Turks, of course. Yet the campaign was a multi-national affair, with the Allied forces including soldiers from Britain, France, India, Nepal, North Africa, Newfoundland and Ireland. And while Australians in their enthusiasm to build their new nation might be forgiven for having overlooked such details, in Ireland many have forgotten the Gallipoli campaign altogether, notwithstanding the
significant part that Irish soldiers played in it and its impact on their own national development.

Familia: Ulster Genealogical Review, 2015

This article describes the Irish Anzacs Project that aims to identify all those of Irish birth wh... more This article describes the Irish Anzacs Project that aims to identify all those of Irish birth who enlisted in the Australian military forces during the First World War and to compile a publicly accessible database containing information on each of them.

The Irish Sword, 2015

During the Spring of 1914 Ireland appeared to be lurching uneasily towards civil war, but as Spri... more During the Spring of 1914 Ireland appeared to be lurching uneasily towards civil war, but as Spring turned to Summer events in Europe put that unhappy prospect into perspective when the major powers of Europe embarked on the road to a disaster far worse than that which Ireland ever threatened – a conflagration that would ultimately bring down empires and kill more than ten million people, including tens of thousands of Irishmen and Australians. But for Ireland and Australia the significance of the conflict extends beyond the shocking death toll. The Great War turned out to be crucial in the development of these two emerging nations. Its effects continue to be felt to this day.

Reveille, 2015

This article critically examines and refutes the claim by New Zealand historian Christopher Pugsl... more This article critically examines and refutes the claim by New Zealand historian Christopher Pugsley that in the fighting for Chunuk Bair during the Gallipoli campaign, soldiers of the Leinster Regiment fled in the face of a Turkish attack.

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2016

During the First World War the Australian government twice asked the Australian people by plebisc... more During the First World War the Australian government twice asked the Australian people by plebiscite to approve the introduction of military conscription for overseas service. On each occasion, in October 1916 and December 1917, the Australian people by a narrow margin said no.
After the defeat of the first referendum supporters of conscription casting around for a scapegoat to blame for their loss found one in the Irish Catholic community, which at the time made up about 22 per cent of Australian voters. Even the prime minister, William Morris Hughes, agreed, claiming that ‘the selfish vote, and shirker vote and the Irish vote were too much for us’. In August 1917 Hughes told his British counterpart David Lloyd George, ‘The [Catholic] Church is secretly against recruiting. Its influence killed conscription’.
But it was not only supporters of conscription who believed that it was Irish Catholics embittered by Britain’s treatment of Ireland in the wake of the Easter rising who swung the vote. This article reflects on Catholic attitudes to conscription and to examine whether it was the Catholic Church, as Hughes claimed, which killed conscription and whether the Easter Rising had influenced the result.

Boho Heritage Supplement, 2016

The story of Thomas Reid from Boho, County Fermanagh, Ireland who served in the Australian Imperi... more The story of Thomas Reid from Boho, County Fermanagh, Ireland who served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War.

The Irish Sword, 2017

The Battle of Kosturino is a little-known action in the little-known Macedonian campaign during t... more The Battle of Kosturino is a little-known action in the little-known Macedonian campaign during the very well-known First World War. While this minor clash in the Balkans in December 1915 is of little significance in the overall context of the war, its interest for me as an Australian is that the battle involved troops from the 10th (Irish) Division, recently transferred from Gallipoli where the Division’s 29th Brigade had served alongside the Anzacs during the August offensive at Lone Pine, Quinn’s Post, Chunuk Bair and Hill 60. At the Battle of Kosturino a small contingent of Australian soldiers served alongside the Irish.

The Irish Sword, 2017

This article describes the part played by Australian and New Zealand soldiers in assisting to sup... more This article describes the part played by Australian and New Zealand soldiers in assisting to suppress the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin as related by contemporary Irish commentators and by the soldiers themselves and then considers how their actions during Easter week were perceived at home and how we might regard them today.

Connor Court Publishing, Redland Bay (Qld), 2024, 2024

A true story stranger than fiction. When an Irish Catholic nun, fearful she was about to be murde... more A true story stranger than fiction. When an Irish Catholic nun, fearful she was about to be murdered by her mother superior, fled her convent in Wagga Wagga and sought the protection of the Orange lodge, she sparked a sectarian war that divided the Australian nation. Arrested as a lunatic at the request of her bishop she was declared sane by the Lunacy Court and released. She then sued the bishop for damages in the Supreme Court in a case that lasted two weeks and attracted the attention of the press across Australia and around the world. In parliament, demands by opposition members for an inquiry into Catholic convents led to threats of violence between Catholic and Protestant MPs. When the nun’s brother kidnapped her off a suburban Sydney street, intending to take her back to her family in Ireland, the police intervened. But when the brother was allowed to leave the country without charge, the opposition moved a censure motion that threatened to bring down the Labor government.

Connor Court Publishing
ISBN: 9781923224063
Paperback 254 pages
RRP $34.95.
Orders: https://www.connorcourtpublishing.com.au/Sister-Liguori-The-Nun-who-Divided-a-Nation--Jeff-Kildea_p_602.html

Citadel Books, Sydney, 2021

Having lived all my life in one country, indeed one city, I have no experience of what it means t... more Having lived all my life in one country, indeed one city, I have no experience of what it means to leave home and make a new life in a new country. Yet for eighteen of my ancestors that was their lived reality. Arriving in Australia between 1839 and 1877, most came by choice, some by force of circumstance and one by compulsion of law. In this book I tell the stories of each of my emigrant ancestors: where they came from, how and when they came to Australia, what motivated them to leave home, their experiences in their new country, and who their descendants were. I have written this book both as a tribute to my emigrant ancestors and as a legacy to their descendants, so that our ancestors who left home for a new life in a new country will not be forgotten.

The book is available from Amazon as an eBook, a paperback with coloured images, and a paperback with black and white images.
ISBN: 9780958101929 (Coloured Images)
ISBN: 9780958101936 (Black and White Images)

Citadel Books, Sydney, 2002

This book examines the impact of sectarianism on Australian society between 1910 and 1925 – a per... more This book examines the impact of sectarianism on Australian society between 1910 and 1925 – a period of intense ethnic and religious conflict as well as industrial and political turmoil, made worse by the dislocation of the Great War and adjustment to peace at war’s end. Issues and events such as the Irish struggle for independence, the quest for a distinctly Australian national identity, conscription, working class radicalism, the Labor Party split, state aid for Catholic schools, the deportation of Father Charles Jerger and the Sister Liguori affair made the period one of the most turbulent in Australian history. The book examines the period from the Irish Catholic perspective by tracing the history of the Catholic Federation of New South Wales, a mass organisation that was part of a worldwide movement for Catholic defence, which at its peak claimed a membership of 100,000 out of the 400,000 Catholics living in the State. To present-day Australians, for whom social harmony is the accepted norm, this book will be a revelation of a very different Australia, one characterised by deep divisions and social conflict that at times threatened the social fabric of the nation. Available from Amazon.

Citadel Books, Sydney, 2007

The church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Kensington was built in 1926, with Archbishop Michael Kelly... more The church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Kensington was built in 1926, with
Archbishop Michael Kelly laying the foundation stone on 2 May and presiding at the opening ceremony of the completed building on 28 November. From the 1930s a number of stained glass windows were
installed above the sanctuary and along the north and south walls of the church mostly under the supervision of Irish-born parish priest Father Edmond McAuliffe, OBE, and with the generous support of parishioners
who donated money for particular windows or as part of fund raising efforts in the parish as a whole. Through the words of Jeff Kildea and the photography of Scott Wajon, this book describes the windows, records their history and acknowledges the people who donated them and their loved ones whom they commemorate.

University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 2007

The people of Australia and Ireland have much in common based on genealogy and a shared heritage.... more The people of Australia and Ireland have much in common based on genealogy and a shared heritage. The connections between Anzacs and the Irish in World War I have been little known until now. This book tells the story of how those connections were forged. Australian and Irish soldiers fought alongside each other at Gallipoli, the Western Front and in Palestine, and thousands of Irish- born men and women enlisted in the Australian forces. But it was in Ireland itself that Australian soldiers cemented their relationships with Ireland and its people, as tourists on leave, in some cases becoming involved in the Easter Rising of 1916, while some failed to return and are buried in Irish soil.

Department of Veterans' Affairs, Canberra, 2008

A short biography of William Morris ("Billy") Hughes, who was Australian prime minister from 1915... more A short biography of William Morris ("Billy") Hughes, who was Australian prime minister from 1915 to 1923

Anchor Books Australia, Spit Junction, NSW, 2020

Co-authored with Richard Reid and Perry McIntyre, this is the centenary history of the Irish Nati... more Co-authored with Richard Reid and Perry McIntyre, this is the centenary history of the Irish National Association of Australasia which was formed in Sydney in 1915. For more than a century it has been a significant ‘Irish’ organisation in Sydney. Irish sports, language, dancing, literature, history and culture have been central to its existence. Above all, the association has never swerved from its total support for the undivided freedom of Ireland. The INA’s first decade was marked by controversy as the Irish fight for independence resonated in Australia, further dividing a community already split over the First World War, conscription, industrial relations and religious sectarianism. At times the INA had a large and sometimes surprising impact on the Irish and Australian-Irish community which extended into social, political, sporting and cultural areas. This history draws on many sources to tell the story of the INA and the people who worked to drive the organisation and its vision into the twenty-first century. The interaction of committee members, the community, rivals and friends resulted in victories and losses which make this story so engaging.

Anchor Books Australia, Melbourne, 2020

As a political agitator, journalist, businessman and politician, Hugh Mahon had a varied and fasc... more As a political agitator, journalist, businessman and politician, Hugh Mahon had a varied and fascinating life. Born in Offaly, he and his family migrated to America in 1869, but returned to Ireland in 1880 after their American dream failed. He was active in the Land League in County Wexford which led to his arrest and imprisonment with Parnell in 1881, and exile to Australia. As a crusading journalist he exposed corruption and became a thorn in the side of the Forrest government in Western Australia during the 1890s. He was elected to the first Commonwealth parliament in 1901 and served in four Labor ministries, rising to Minister for External Affairs during the First World War. He has the distinction of being the only person expelled from the Commonwealth parliament after he criticised British rule in Ireland.
This book, the second part of a two-volume biography of Mahon, covers the period from his election to parliament in 1901 until his death in 1931. It describes his almost 20 years as a backbencher and a minister during which he gained a reputation as one of the brainiest men in parliament as well as one of the most controversial. It provides an insight into his reluctant decision to oppose conscription in 1916 and examines in depth his commitment to Irish self-government and the circumstances of his dramatic expulsion from parliament in 1920. The volume also looks at Mahon’s career as managing director of the Catholic Church Property Insurance Co. and his intervention in Irish politics during the debate over the Anglo-Irish treaty. It is the story of a flawed genius who simultaneously evoked high praise and damning criticism.

Anchor Books Australia, Melbourne, 2017

As a political agitator, journalist, businessman and politician, Hugh Mahon had a varied and fas... more As a political agitator, journalist, businessman and politician, Hugh Mahon had a varied and fascinating life. Born in Offaly, he and his
family migrated to America in 1869, but returned to Ireland in 1880 after their American dream failed. He was active in the Land League
in County Wexford which led to his arrest and imprisonment with
Parnell in 1881, and exile to Australia. As a crusading journalist he
exposed corruption and became a thorn in the side of the Forrest
government in Western Australia during the 1890s. He was elected to the first Commonwealth parliament in 1901 and served in foiu* Labor
ministries, rising to Minister for External Affairs during the First World War. He has the distinction of being the only person expelled
fi'om the Commonwealth parliament after he criticised British rule in Ireland.
This book, the first part of a two-volume biography of Mahon, spans the period fi-om his birth in 1857 to his election to parliament. Pulling
together the many facets of Mahon's life, it reveals the forces which drove this complex man who was reviled by many for denouncing the
British Empire while remaining a hero to those who supported self- determination for Ireland.

Susan Arthure, et al (eds), Irish Women in the Antipodes Foregrounded, 2024

During the First World War the Australian people were deeply divided over the government’s plans ... more During the First World War the Australian people were deeply divided over the government’s plans to introduce compulsory overseas military service. In referendums held in 1916 and 1917 they twice voted to reject conscription. It was widely accepted that the Australian Irish were strongly against conscription. So much so that empire loyalists, including the prime minister and the governor-general, blamed them for the defeat of the referendums. When we look back at those times, the anti-conscription campaigners among the Australian Irish whose names readily spring to mind include Melbourne’s archbishop Daniel Mannix and Queensland’s premier Tom Ryan. Yet, many Irish-Australian women also played a part in galvanising public opinion against conscription. Although well-known at the time, over the years their contribution to the anti-conscription campaign has faded into obscurity. This paper will look at three of them: Agnes Murphy, Agnes Macready and Bella Guerin, three remarkable women whose stories deserve to be brought back to the foreground of the historiography of that campaign.

Peter Kuch and Lisa Marr (eds), New Zealand’s Responses to the 1916 Rising, Cork University Press, Cork, 2020, 2020

In Easter week 1916, while the citizens of Australia and New Zealand were commemorating the first... more In Easter week 1916, while the citizens of Australia and New Zealand were commemorating the first anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli, that monumental event in the emergence of their two nations, in far away Dublin Anzac soldiers were battling Irish men and women fighting for the emergence of a nation of their own. Many of the Anzacs were veterans of Gallipoli who had been invalided to England suffering from wounds or illness and had taken convalescent leave in Ireland. For them, Ireland was supposed to be a haven from the horrors of modern industrialised warfare. But it soon become a battle front. Anzacs who had enlisted to fight Germans in the fields of France were given rifles and ordered to fight Irishmen on the streets of Dublin. This paper looks at the part played by Anzac soldiers in supressing the Easter Rising, particularly in the defence of Trinity College, and examines the question asked at the time and again recently: Did those Anzacs added “lustre to the deeds of the heroes who fought and died in Gallipoli for the ‘Rights of Small Nations’?”

Peter Walter Gray (ed), Passing the Torch: The Aisling Society of Sydney, 1955-2005, Aisling Society, Sydney, 2005

Despite the fact that during the early years of the twentieth century Irish-Australians considere... more Despite the fact that during the early years of the twentieth century Irish-Australians considered themselves to be victims of British Protestant persecution and identified with Ireland and its struggle, in truth there was a world of difference between what the Irish in Ireland and the Irish in Australia were fighting for, and it was only when the Irish in Ireland won their struggle for independence and proceeded to argue among themselves as to what it truly meant, that this difference became apparent.

Jeff Brownrigg, et al (eds), Echoes of Irish Australia: Rebellion to Republic, St Clement's Retreat and Conference Centre, Galong (NSW), 2007

This chapter looks at the anti-Irish and ant-Catholic statements of William Morris ("Billy") Hugh... more This chapter looks at the anti-Irish and ant-Catholic statements of William Morris ("Billy") Hughes, Australian prime minister 1915-1923, and explores whether they were the result of his paranoia or prejudice.

Laurence M Geary and Andrew McCarthy (eds), Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: History, Politics and Culture, Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 2008

This chapter explores how the First World War has been commem- orated over the years in Ireland a... more This chapter explores how the First World War has been commem- orated over the years in Ireland and Australia. In particular, it examines the interrelationship between remembrance and the expression of national identity in each country. Although for the most part remembrance in Australia has been a unifying national influence, it has at times and for a variety of reasons been contentious. Relevantly, in the context of this chapter, there were divisions along sectarian lines lasting into the 1960s. In Ireland, on the other hand, remembrance became a battleground upon which unionists and nationalists, each in their own way, continued the national struggle, particularly in Northern Ireland, long after the guns fell silent.

Brad Patterson and Kathryn Patterson (eds), Ireland and the Irish Antipodes: One World or Worlds Apart?, Anchor Books Australia, Sydney, 2010

To Australians and New Zealanders the Gallipoli campaign is so well known as to form part of the ... more To Australians and New Zealanders the Gallipoli campaign is so well known as to form part of the cultural makeup of our two nations. We first imbibed the mythology of the Anzac legend with our mother’s milk and it has been reinforced ever since, while we were at school and generally through the media, particularly each year on 25 April, officially known as Anzac Day and a public holiday to boot. It says a lot about the sense of self irony of our two peoples that we so enthusiastically celebrate the defeat of our armed forces in battle. So imbued are our two nations with this mythology and the tales of the glorious deeds of the Anzacs that many Australians and New Zealanders are surprised to learn that other nationalities took part on the allied side in that faraway campaign against the Turks and that the British and French armies suffered many more casualties at Gallipoli than either the Australians or New Zealanders. They are even more surprised to learn that among the British army contingent were Irishmen, who died in greater numbers than New Zealanders, and that Irish regiments actually served alongside Anzac units in some of the most important battles of the campaign, including Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair, names that to this day respectively resonate with Australians and New Zealanders.

Colin Barr and Hilary M. Carey (eds), Religion and Greater Ireland: Christianity and Irish Global Networks, 1750- 1950, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 2015

This chapter examines four episodes of sectarian conflict that occurred in Australia in 1920 in t... more This chapter examines four episodes of sectarian conflict that occurred in Australia in 1920 in the context of the endemic sectarianism that existed there from the founding of the British colony at Sydney in 1788 until well into the 20th century.

Anders Ahlqvist and Pamela O'Neill (eds), Fír Fesso: A Festschrift for Neil McLeod, Celtic Studies Foundation, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2018

During the First World War the Australian government arrested and interned without trial members... more During the First World War the Australian government arrested and interned without trial members of the Irish National Association who were alleged to be members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood pledged to overthrow British rule in Ireland. The case raises legal and human rights considerations, such as as how far governments can and should go in stifling free speech in war time. Those considerations have relevance today given recent legislation dealing with national security in the so-called “war on terror”.

26th ISAANZ Conference, 2023

The Sister Liguori affair occurred more than a century ago. Yet, the story refuses to die. At the... more The Sister Liguori affair occurred more than a century ago. Yet, the story refuses to die. At the time it dominated newspaper headlines for weeks on end. Since then, it has continued to be told in newspaper and magazine articles. Its most recent appearance was in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald in April 2023. In 2017 a ‘narrative non-fiction’ book, The Extraordinary Case Of Sister Liguori, was published in Ireland and a movie of the same name is planned by writer/director Colin McIvor. The Liguori affair provides a lurid illustration of Australia’s sectarian past. But it is also a personal story of a young woman who, in attempting to leave a system she finds oppressive, ends up in no-man’s land, caught between two powerful forces keen to use her in their struggle over good versus evil. This paper explores why the Liguori story continues to captivate the public imagination.

24th ISAANZ Conference held at Flinders University, Adelaide, 9 – 12 December, 2019

During the First World War the Australian people were deeply divided over the government’s plans ... more During the First World War the Australian people were deeply divided over the government’s plans to introduce compulsory overseas military service. In referendums held in 1916 and 1917 they twice voted to reject conscription. It was widely accepted that the Australian Irish were strongly against conscription. So much so that empire loyalists, including the prime minister and the governor-general, blamed them for the defeat of the referendums. When we look back at those times, the anti-conscription campaigners among the Australian Irish whose names readily spring to mind include Melbourne’s archbishop Daniel Mannix and Queensland’s premier Tom Ryan. Yet, many Irish-Australian women also played a part in galvanising public opinion against conscription. Although well-known at the time, over the years their contribution to the anti-conscription campaign has faded into obscurity. This paper will look at three of them: Agnes Murphy, Agnes Macready and Bella Guerin, three remarkable women whose stories deserve to be brought back to the foreground of the historiography of that campaign.

A paper presented at 11th Annual Shamrock in the Bush Conference of the Canberra & District Historical Society, 5-8 June, 2003

This paper examines the influence of the Irish struggle for independence on the competition in ea... more This paper examines the influence of the Irish struggle for independence on the competition in early twentieth-century Australia to define the nation and its relationship to the British Empire.

A paper presented at 13th Australasian Irish Studies Conference, Melbourne, 28 September, 2004

This paper discusses Australian War Graves and War Memorials in Ireland

14th Annual Shamrock in the Bush Conference, 3-6 August, 2006

This paper examines the relationship between Australian soldiers and Ireland during the First Wor... more This paper examines the relationship between Australian soldiers and Ireland during the First World War.

15th Annual Shamrock in the Bush Conference, 2-5 August, 2007

This paper looks at the Irish Anzacs – ie. the Irish-born members of the AIF – from a number of ... more This paper looks at the Irish Anzacs – ie. the Irish-born members of the AIF – from a number of aspects: who they were and what they thought of the war; what did some of them do during the war; and how they have been remembered in the land of their birth; and finally, how do these Irish men and women fit into the Anzac legend?

A paper given at the Australian Catholic Historical Conference at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, 12 September, 2009

This paper looks at the life of Hugh Mahon in order to understand why it was that he was expelled... more This paper looks at the life of Hugh Mahon in order to understand why it was that he was expelled from parliamen for his criticism of British rule in Ireland. It explores what it was that drove him to such a passionate condemnation of British rule in Ireland and why in a liberal democracy did the prime minister move, and the parliament approve, his expulsion for the mere utterance of words, intemperate though they may have been?

A paper given at the 17th Australasian Irish Studies Conference, Queen’s University Belfast, 1-4 July, 2010

Hugh Mahon was the Labor member for Kalgoorlie in the Australian federal parliament, who in 1920 ... more Hugh Mahon was the Labor member for Kalgoorlie in the Australian federal parliament, who in 1920 was expelled from the House of Representatives for having criticised British rule in Ireland and describing the British Empire as "this bloody and accursed Empire". This paper explores a possible explanation for Mahon’s politically fatal outburst based on information on his activities in Ireland prior to emigrating to Australia.

A paper presented at the 18th Australasian Irish Studies Conference, National Museum of Australia, Canberra on 1 July, 2011

The 'Not Just Ned' exhibition about the Irish in Australia at the National Museum of Australia in... more The 'Not Just Ned' exhibition about the Irish in Australia at the National Museum of Australia in 2011 included a number of exhibits relating to Archbishop Daniel Mannix. With reference to those exhibits, this paper examines in detail Mannix's visit in 1920 to America, where he met De Valera, and his attempted visit to Ireland en route to Rome. It describes how the Royal Navy removed him from the liner taking him to Ireland and landed him in England. It also examines his visit to Ireland in 1925 that caused embarrassment to both sides of the Treaty debate.

A paper delivered at the 20th Shamrock in the Bush, Galong NSW 2 – 5 August, 2012

Just after 2.40 on the afternoon of Thursday 11 November 1920 Prime Minister Billy Hughes approac... more Just after 2.40 on the afternoon of Thursday 11 November 1920 Prime Minister Billy Hughes approached the despatch box of the House of Representatives, which in those days sat in the parliament building in Melbourne. He cast his eyes around the galleries high above the chamber. They were filled to overflowing. Outside in Spring Street at the top of Bourke Street it was a mild Spring day, cloudy but dry. Inside, however, the atmosphere was stormy and electric. The public and the pressmen, tightly squeezed into their respective galleries, fell silent in expectation. Like spectators at the Roman Coliseum they had come to witness an execution, albeit a political one. They would not be disappointed. This paper examines the events surrounding the expulsion of Hugh Mahon and the context in which those events took place.

A paper presented at 19th Australasian Irish Studies Conference at the University of Otago, Dunedin 7-10 November, 2012

In 1905, both houses of the Australian Commonwealth parliament, then sitting in Melbourne, debate... more In 1905, both houses of the Australian Commonwealth parliament, then sitting in Melbourne, debated, and eventually passed, resolutions in favour of home rule. This paper examines how those resolutions came to be passed, paying particular attention to the role of Hugh Mahon, the Irish-born Labor member of the House of Representatives for the Western Australian goldfields seat of Coolgardie.

A paper given at the 21st annual Shamrock in the Bush, St Clement’s Retreat & Conference Centre, Galong, 1-4 August, 2013

For ten months in 1883 John Redmond, the Irish Party member of the House of Commons for the seat ... more For ten months in 1883 John Redmond, the Irish Party member of the House of Commons for the seat of New Ross, County Wexford, and his brother William toured Australia and New Zealand promoting the cause of Irish self-government and raising funds for the Irish National League. Beset from the start by controversy and a wave of anti-Irish sentiment, particularly in Victoria, the tour caused division both between the colonial Irish and their fellow colonists and within the Irish-Australian community itself. In the end, however, the tour proved a success – in financial terms, in promoting the cause of Irish home rule in Australia, and in netting each of the brothers an Australian wife.

A paper given at the “Australia in the Great War – Centenary Perspectives” symposium, King’s College London on 23 May, 2014

This paper describes the Irish Anzacs Project that aims to identify all those of Irish birth who ... more This paper describes the Irish Anzacs Project that aims to identify all those of Irish birth who enlisted in the Australian military forces during the First World War and to compile a publicly accessible database containing information on each of them.

A paper given at the Symposium: Emergent Nations: Australia and Ireland in the First World War at University College Dublin on 17 October, 2014

This paper examines and refutes the oft made claim that during the First World War Australian Cat... more This paper examines and refutes the oft made claim that during the First World War Australian Catholics of Irish descent did not commit to the war effort and were shirkers, Sinn Seiners and pro-German.

A paper presented at Parnell Summer School, Avondale House, County Wicklow, 14 August, 2014

Unlike Ireland, for which remembrance of the First World War has always been problematical, Austr... more Unlike Ireland, for which remembrance of the First World War has always been problematical, Australia has had little difficulty in commemorating a war widely regarded as the crucible of the nation. According to that view, it was at Gallipoli in 1915, the first major campaign of the war in which the Australians fought, that the inhabitants of the six former British colonies that had federated in 1901 were forged into citizens of the Australian nation. At an Anzac Day lunch in London in 1919 Prime Minister Billy Hughes told his audience that Australia was “born on the shores of Gallipoli”, a view oft repeated since. While most of Australia’s First World War allies set aside 11 November to commemorate those who fought and died in the war, Australians have chosen to commemorate not the day the killing stopped, but the day on which for them it began with the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.

A paper given at the conference “Easter Rising and Cultures of Anti-Imperialism” held at the University of New South Wales, 16 June , 2016

This paper critically examines the claim that in late 19th and early 20th centuries Australian so... more This paper critically examines the claim that in late 19th and early 20th centuries Australian soldiers actively cooperated with a worldwide British imperial order that vigorously and violently denied the rights of small nations to be independent. In particular the paper looks at the role of the Anzacs in the Easter Rising and argues that the evidence suggests a contrary conclusion.

A paper given at the 22nd Australasian Irish Studies Conference, Adelaide, 29 November – 2 December, 2016

This paper examines the words and deeds of Hugh Mahon (1857-1931) on issues of race and seeks to ... more This paper examines the words and deeds of Hugh Mahon (1857-1931) on issues of race and seeks to resolve the apparent paradox between Mahon’s progressive views on Aboriginal rights and his overtly racist and restrictive attitude towards Asian immigration.

A paper given at the Australian & New Zealand Studies Association of North America conference at Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, 4-6 February, 2016

This paper examines the formative years of Hugh Mahon (1857-1931) in America and the influence th... more This paper examines the formative years of Hugh Mahon (1857-1931) in America and the influence they had on his public life in Ireland and Australia.

23rd Conference of the Irish Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, University of Sydney, 2018

In June 1918 Commonwealth and State police raided the homes of seven men in Sydney, Brisbane and ... more In June 1918 Commonwealth and State police raided the homes of seven men in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and arrested each of them under regulation 56A of the War Precautions Regulations 1915. The men, all members of the Irish National Association (INA), were taken to the Military Detention Barracks at Darlinghurst, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, where they were held until war’s end. The government claimed they were members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood who through links to America and Germany were seeking to aid an armed revolution in Ireland. A public judicial inquiry into the internments found that the government was justified in continuing to detain the men. During their incarceration they became known as the ‘Darlinghurst Seven’. A number of photographs of the internees was smuggled out of Darlinghurst Gaol. One of those photographs shows eight men. This paper tells the story of that eighth man, William Joseph Fegan, a founding member of the INA in Queensland who was imprisoned in Darlinghurst gaol twice as long as the others but without the benefit of a judicial inquiry to review his internment. The little known case of William Fegan demonstrates, more so than that of the Darlinghurst Seven, how untrammelled executive power was used unjustly during the First World War to deprive the government’s opponents of their liberty.

International Famine Commemoration, 2023

Talk given to the 2023 International Famine Commemoration at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney in wh... more Talk given to the 2023 International Famine Commemoration at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney in which I discuss the perils of the voyage to Australia in the days of sail

An address given at the Commemoration of the Easter Rising held at the Sydney 1798 Memorial, Wave... more An address given at the Commemoration of the Easter Rising held at the Sydney 1798 Memorial, Waverley Cemetery, on 4 April 2021.

Ceremony to commemorate Anzac Day held at Parliament House, Sydney on 1 May, 2013

A popularly accepted notion is that during the First World War the Irish in Australia, particular... more A popularly accepted notion is that during the First World War the Irish in Australia, particularly the Catholic Irish, were opposed to the war and avoided participating in it. This talk challenges that view and endeavours to show that the Australian Irish played their part in the war effort and in building the Anzac tradition.

Dawn Service, Grangegorman Military Cemetery, Dublin, 2014

This is the text of my Anzac Day address in Dublin in 2014

A talk given at the annual dinner of the Celtic Council of Australia, Masonic Hall, Sydney on 21 October, 2016

This talk examines the involvement of Irish, Scottish and Welsh units that served at Gallipoli as... more This talk examines the involvement of Irish, Scottish and Welsh units that served at Gallipoli as part of the British army contingent.

An address given at the Battle of Vinegar Hill Monument, Castlebrook Memorial Park, Rouse Hill on 6 March, 2016

This year marks the 212 th anniversary of the skirmish that took place here at Vinegar Hill, when... more This year marks the 212 th anniversary of the skirmish that took place here at Vinegar Hill, when British troops fired on and dispersed a band of convicts, mostly Irish, thereby thwarting their bold plan to win their freedom by marching on Sydney, seizing a ship and sailing home to Ireland. 212 years is not a significant anniversary, unlike say the centenary to be commemorated this year to mark the Easter Rising in Dublin. Yet, just as our study of science teaches us the link between 212 and 100 in terms of the boiling point of water in the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales, so too does our study of history show us the link between the boiling point here in 1804 and that in Dublin in 1916 when British troops also fired on and dispersed a band of Irishmen (and women) with a bold plan to win their freedom, this time by seizing the centre of Dublin and proclaiming Ireland's independence. In both cases, the plans though bold were ill-conceived, poorly executed and destined to fail. As the Americans say, "You can't fight City Hall". And yet in both cases, Irishmen were prepared to risk their lives in a reckless endeavour against overwhelming odds.

A paper delivered at the RMS Leinster Seminar at the National Maritime Museum, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland on 9 October, 2018

On 10 October 1918 the German submarine UB-123 sunk RMS Leinster, the mail-boat travelling betwee... more On 10 October 1918 the German submarine UB-123 sunk RMS Leinster, the mail-boat travelling between Dublin and Holyhead, Wales. More than 500 people lost their lives, including a number of Australian soldiers who were returning from leave in Ireland. This paper tells the story of those Australians.

Dawn Service, Grangegorman Military Cemetery, Dublin, 2017

This is the text of my Anzac Day address in Dublin in 2017

Royal Australian Historical Society Day Lecture, Sydney, 2017

Hugh Mahon is not exactly a household name in Australian political history. Those who have heard ... more Hugh Mahon is not exactly a household name in Australian political history. Those who have heard of him mostly know that he was expelled from the Commonwealth parliament in 1920, the only person to have suffered that fate. This followed a speech he made at the Richmond Reserve here in Melbourne in which he criticised British rule in Ireland and referred to the British Empire as ‘this bloody and accursed empire’.
But Hugh Mahon was not a ‘one-trick pony’. As a columnist in the Melbourne Punch observed: ‘The Honourable Hugh Mahon is one of the most interesting personalities in the national legislature. There has been more stirring incident in his career than in a dozen ordinary men’s lives’. Nevertheless, it is Mahon’s expulsion from the parliament in 1920 which is his enduring historical legacy. This talk describes that event and the context in which it occurred before touching on Mahon's formative years in Ireland, America and Australia that were the making of the Hugh Mahon, whose provocative speech at the Richmond Reserve led to his expulsion.

Warwick Egg Incident Centenary Celebrations, Warwick, Queensland, 2017

On 29 November 1917 when the Warwick Egg incident occurred families across Australia were learnin... more On 29 November 1917 when the Warwick Egg incident occurred families across Australia were learning of the monstrous toll of the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). With newspapers hailing the battle as a great success, it was left to telegram boys to convey the appalling truth. In eight weeks the Australian Imperial Force had suffered more than 38 000 casualties, 8000 of them killed.
Yet, while the military war ground on in France, Belgium and Palestine, in Australia a political, social and industrial war was occurring on the home front. And no more so than in Queensland where Prime Minister Billy Hughes and Labor premier TJ Ryan were the principal combatants. In that domestic war, the Warwick Egg incident was a minor but, in many ways, significant event.

Canberra District Historical Society, Embassy of Ireland, Canberra, 2017

You have all heard the saying, ‘If only the walls could talk’. Well there might be another saying... more You have all heard the saying, ‘If only the walls could talk’. Well there might be another saying, ‘If only the visitors’ book could talk’. But as we know neither walls nor visitors’ books talk, so it falls to me today to speak to you on behalf of the embassy’s visitors’ book. Because I have limited time, it will and not be a long conversation, only a short chat, dealing with the first couple of years. In this talk I examine the entries in the Visitor's Book at the Irish Embassy in Canberra and narrate some of the stories behind the signatures appearing in the book.

18th Annual Gathering at the Irish Famine Monument, Hyde Park Barracks, Macquarie St, Sydney, 2017

This talk tells the story of Rosanna Fleming, a 19-year-old Irish woman who in 1849 emigrated to ... more This talk tells the story of Rosanna Fleming, a 19-year-old Irish woman who in 1849 emigrated to Australia as part of the Earl Grey scheme to send young women from the workhouses of Ireland to Australia during the Great Irish Famine.

First World War Studies, 2023

Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 2022

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2020

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2020

Australasian Journal of Irish Studies, 2021

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2020

Journal of Banking and Finance Law and Practice, 1998

Review of a book on the commercial implications of native title law in Australia

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2008

Review of a book on the founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Sydney

Irish Literary Supplement, 2020

Review of a book on the Irish in Australia

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2019

Review of a book on the Sr Liguori Affair of 1920-21

HistoryHub: http://historyhub.ie/the-irish-at-gallipoli-by-jeff-kildea, 2014

A series of six podcasts which examines the part played by the Irish during the Gallipoli campaig... more A series of six podcasts which examines the part played by the Irish during the Gallipoli campaign, looking in particular at the landing on 25 April 1915, the advance to Krithia between April and July, the August offensive, both at Anzac Cove, when Anzacs and Irishmen fought literally shoulder to shoulder, and at Suvla Bay, and finally the evacuation.
Episode 1 – Background
Episode 2 – The Landing
Episode 3 – The Advance to Krithia
Episode 4 – The August Offensive (Sari Bair)
Episode 5 – The August Offensive (Suvla Bay)
Episode 6 – Evacuation and Aftermath

History Australia, 2008

Jeff Kildea reviews The Emerald Strand: The Irish-born Manufacturers of Nineteenth-Century Victor... more Jeff Kildea reviews The Emerald Strand: The Irish-born Manufacturers of Nineteenth-Century Victoria by Keith Pescod (Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing; 2007, pp. 304. Price AU$34.95 pb.).

First World War Studies, Jul 3, 2023

The Australasian Catholic record, Jul 1, 2006

A non-indigenous Catholic who was inspired by Pope John Paul II's speech at Alice Springs to ... more A non-indigenous Catholic who was inspired by Pope John Paul II's speech at Alice Springs to continue to struggle despite the political stagnation feels a growing lack of will in the Australian community to address root causes and seek a lasting answer to the Aboriginal disadvantages in a rich nation. Unless the Native Title Act 1993 is amended by the federal government the plight of Aboriginal people will not receive any public attention.

The Australasian Catholic record, 2021

Examines the response of the Catholic Church in Australia to Spanish Flu compared to COVID-1

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2002

Between 1913 and 1924 the Catholic Federation of New South Wales articulated and advocated the po... more Between 1913 and 1924 the Catholic Federation of New South Wales articulated and advocated the political interests of the Catholic Church in the state. As part of a world wide movement, having its origins in the successful resistance of German Catholics to Bismarck's Kulturkampf during the 1870s, the Federation was one of four such bodies that were established in Australia and which enrolled tens of thousands of Catholic men and women as members. (1) At its peak the NSW federation claimed a membership of over a hundred thousand and there were times when its activities dominated news reports in the major metropolitan newspapers for days on end. Yet less than eighty years after its demise, few Catholics have heard of the Catholic Federation of NSW, let alone are aware of what it did during its short existence. This article aims to give an overview of the history of the Catholic Federation of NSW so as to fill that gap in the awareness and understanding of the organisation and its significance in the history of the Australian Catholic community. (2) Catholics in early twentieth-century Australia When the Catholic Federation of NSW was established in 1913, Catholics were mostly Irish by birth or descent, the Irish were mostly Catholics, and the Irish Catholics were mostly on the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder. This three-fold identification of religion, ethnicity and class had long been a feature of Australian society. (3) From the earliest days of European colonisation, Irish Catholics had perceived themselves as a persecuted minority. The degree to which, if at all, Catholics were in fact subject to persecution in this country is a question which has frequently been debated in the historiography of religion in Australia. (4) Whatever may have been the reality, it was the perception which was most important in shaping the attitude of Catholics as to their place in the wider community, and during the period of the Catholic Federation's existence persecuted Catholicism was the orthodox Catholic historical interpretation. In the first quarter of the twentieth-century Australian society comprised two communities: one was British in origin and Protestant in faith, the other Irish and Catholic. At a functional level these two communities generally co-existed and cooperated peacefully and effectively, but viscerally they were quite distinct and often in a state of tension. From 1910 political and industrial troubles magnified by the stress induced by the Great War saw these tensions increase to a point that at times threatened the social fabric of the nation. The education question The issue that chronically and most clearly divided the two communities concerned the financing of education. Originating in the 1870s, the struggle between the Catholic Church and the NSW government over the withdrawal of state funding for denominational schools had by 1910 endured far longer than either side initially contemplated and had in fact assumed a de facto stability. The Catholic Church regarded the restriction of government assistance to state-run schools as imposing an unjust burden on Catholic parents who in good conscience could not send their children to state schools. Protestants and secularists, on the other hand, were suspicious and hostile towards Catholics' insistence on conducting their own schools. According to the Methodist, the Catholic Church 'seeks to segregate its young people, and to bring them up under influences which imbue their minds with the narrowest and most bigoted notions, separating them in the most sacred relations of life from the rest of the citizenship of the State'. (5) With the election in 1910 of an avowedly non-sectarian Labor government, the Church sensed an opportunity to reopen the education issue. At first, Catholic Archbishops of Sydney, the scholarly patrician Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran, and his successor, the rotund and pious Michael Kelly, endeavoured to do so by a strategy of constructive engagement with the new government. …

The people of Australia and Ireland have much in common based on genealogy and a shared heritage.... more The people of Australia and Ireland have much in common based on genealogy and a shared heritage. The connections between Anzacs and the Irish in World War I have been little known until now. This book tells the story of how those connections were forged. Australian and Irish soldiers fought alongside each other at Gallipoli, the Western Front and in Palestine, and thousands of Irish- born men and women enlisted in the Australian forces. But it was in Ireland itself that Australian soldiers cemented their relationships with Ireland and its people, as tourists on leave, in some cases becoming involved in the Easter Rising of 1916, while some failed to return and are buried in Irish soil.

Journal of Religious History, Oct 1, 2002

The Australasian Catholic record, 2019

McGill-Queen's University Press eBooks, Nov 1, 2015

This chapter examines four episodes of sectarian conflict that occurred in Australia in 1920 in t... more This chapter examines four episodes of sectarian conflict that occurred in Australia in 1920 in the context of the endemic sectarianism that existed there from the founding of the British colony at Sydney in 1788 until well into the 20th century.

This book examines what distinguished New Zealand's response to the Rising and its aftermath ... more This book examines what distinguished New Zealand's response to the Rising and its aftermath -- particularly from Australian and Canadian responses, the two Dominions whose constitutional relations to the United Kingdom were frequently ..

This article describes sectarianism as it existed in early twentieth- century Australia and exami... more This article describes sectarianism as it existed in early twentieth- century Australia and examines whether Western Australia avoided it or whether that state’s sectarian past has been ignored, downplayed or simply forgotten.

The Australasian Catholic record, Jul 1, 1998

During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Waterford-born Mich... more During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Waterford-born Michael Kelly, challenged the federal health authorities over their refusal to allow a priest to enter Sydney's Quarantine Station to administer the last rites to Nurse Annie Egan, who was dying there. The incident sparked a major political controversy that ended when the government reluctantly and against the advice of its medical advisers, agreed to allow clergymen to minister to quarantine station inmates.

The Australasian journal of Irish studies, Oct 1, 2018

Ireland will be Free is a multi-part feature-length film supporting Irish self- determination tha... more Ireland will be Free is a multi-part feature-length film supporting Irish self- determination that screened in Australia in 1920-21. It comprises footage of the 1920 St Patrick’s Day parade in Melbourne led by Archbishop Daniel Mannix escorted by 14 Victoria Cross recipients on horseback as well as images of the “Martyrs of Easter Week” and of other Irish heroes then past and present. Shown during the height of the Irish War of Independence, its contentious topicality ensured sell-out audiences among Australia’s Irish-Catholic community while scandalising Empire loyalists. Condemning it as disloyal Sinn Féin propaganda, they asked questions in parliament, wrote letters to governments and newspapers, prevailed upon local authorities to prevent it being screened in town halls and held meetings demanding it be censored. This article explores the production and exhibition of the film and examines how it reflected and affected community relations in early post-war Australia, already riven by sectarian conflict.

The Australasian Catholic record, 2021

Examines the response of the Catholic Church in Australia to Spanish Flu compared to COVID-1

A non-indigenous Catholic who was inspired by Pope John Paul II's speech at Alice Springs to ... more A non-indigenous Catholic who was inspired by Pope John Paul II's speech at Alice Springs to continue to struggle despite the political stagnation feels a growing lack of will in the Australian community to address root causes and seek a lasting answer to the Aboriginal disadvantages in a rich nation. Unless the Native Title Act 1993 is amended by the federal government the plight of Aboriginal people will not receive any public attention.

The Australasian Catholic record, 2019

I am grateful to the Catholic Theological College for inviting me to give the Cardinal Knox Lectu... more I am grateful to the Catholic Theological College for inviting me to give the Cardinal Knox Lecture for 2018, the centenary year of the end of the First World War, and to reflect on the way the Catholic Church in Australia related to and was affected by that war, a war that began in the same year that Cardinal Knox, in whose honour we meet tonight, was born.

Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 2002

Between 1913 and 1924 the Catholic Federation of New South Wales articulated and advocated the po... more Between 1913 and 1924 the Catholic Federation of New South Wales articulated and advocated the political interests of the Catholic Church in the state. As part of a world wide movement, having its origins in the successful resistance of German Catholics to Bismarck's Kulturkampf during the 1870s, the Federation was one of four such bodies that were established in Australia and which enrolled tens of thousands of Catholic men and women as members. (1) At its peak the NSW federation claimed a membership of over a hundred thousand and there were times when its activities dominated news reports in the major metropolitan newspapers for days on end. Yet less than eighty years after its demise, few Catholics have heard of the Catholic Federation of NSW, let alone are aware of what it did during its short existence. This article aims to give an overview of the history of the Catholic Federation of NSW so as to fill that gap in the awareness and understanding of the organisation and its significance in the history of the Australian Catholic community. (2) Catholics in early twentieth-century Australia When the Catholic Federation of NSW was established in 1913, Catholics were mostly Irish by birth or descent, the Irish were mostly Catholics, and the Irish Catholics were mostly on the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder. This three-fold identification of religion, ethnicity and class had long been a feature of Australian society. (3) From the earliest days of European colonisation, Irish Catholics had perceived themselves as a persecuted minority. The degree to which, if at all, Catholics were in fact subject to persecution in this country is a question which has frequently been debated in the historiography of religion in Australia. (4) Whatever may have been the reality, it was the perception which was most important in shaping the attitude of Catholics as to their place in the wider community, and during the period of the Catholic Federation's existence persecuted Catholicism was the orthodox Catholic historical interpretation. In the first quarter of the twentieth-century Australian society comprised two communities: one was British in origin and Protestant in faith, the other Irish and Catholic. At a functional level these two communities generally co-existed and cooperated peacefully and effectively, but viscerally they were quite distinct and often in a state of tension. From 1910 political and industrial troubles magnified by the stress induced by the Great War saw these tensions increase to a point that at times threatened the social fabric of the nation. The education question The issue that chronically and most clearly divided the two communities concerned the financing of education. Originating in the 1870s, the struggle between the Catholic Church and the NSW government over the withdrawal of state funding for denominational schools had by 1910 endured far longer than either side initially contemplated and had in fact assumed a de facto stability. The Catholic Church regarded the restriction of government assistance to state-run schools as imposing an unjust burden on Catholic parents who in good conscience could not send their children to state schools. Protestants and secularists, on the other hand, were suspicious and hostile towards Catholics' insistence on conducting their own schools. According to the Methodist, the Catholic Church 'seeks to segregate its young people, and to bring them up under influences which imbue their minds with the narrowest and most bigoted notions, separating them in the most sacred relations of life from the rest of the citizenship of the State'. (5) With the election in 1910 of an avowedly non-sectarian Labor government, the Church sensed an opportunity to reopen the education issue. At first, Catholic Archbishops of Sydney, the scholarly patrician Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran, and his successor, the rotund and pious Michael Kelly, endeavoured to do so by a strategy of constructive engagement with the new government. …

Pearls and Irritations, 2024

The continuing horror in Gaza touches us all deeply, even if only vicariously. It leads us ineluc... more The continuing horror in Gaza touches us all deeply, even if only vicariously. It leads us ineluctably to the question, often asked in exasperation: Is there no solution? But we’ve been here before and some point to the 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement (BGFA), which ended the Troubles in Northern Ireland, as a possible model for the problem of Palestine. How plausible is that approach?

Pearls and Irritations, 2024

For two years Northern Ireland has been without devolved government following the Democratic Unio... more For two years Northern Ireland has been without devolved government following the Democratic Unionist Party’s boycott of the Executive in protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol. On Saturday 3 February 2024 the Northern Ireland Assembly met and elected as First Minister Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, the first nationalist member of the assembly to hold that position. In a recent article for Pearls and Irritations I examine unionist objections to the Northern Ireland Protocol and the reasons for the DUP’s boycott of devolved government. I also examine what it was that led the party to return to Stormont despite the risk of a split in the party and the leaking of votes to its hardline unionist rival.

Pearls and Irritations, 2023

On 23 November 2023 the Dublin inner city witnessed an outbreak of civil disorder not seen in dec... more On 23 November 2023 the Dublin inner city witnessed an outbreak of civil disorder not seen in decades. Shocking images of burning buses, a burning police car, and police in riot gear were reminiscent of Belfast during the Troubles. In this article I explore the context in which the rioting occurred, with particular reference to increased immigration. I also discuss whether it portends for Ireland a shift to right-wing populism that has been gaining ground in the rest of Europe.

Pearls and Irritations, 2023

Recently a writer for the Sydney Morning Herald claimed to have solved the mystery of why Sr Ligu... more Recently a writer for the Sydney Morning Herald claimed to have solved the mystery of why Sr Liguori fled her convent in Wagga Wagga one frosty evening in July 1920. The problem is there is no mystery and the proposed solution is a nonsense.

Pearls and Irritations, 2022

Pearls and Irritations, 2023

Pearls and Irritations, 2023

Pearls and Irritations, 2022

Pearls and Irritations, 2020

Pearls and Irritations, 2021

Pearls and Irritations, 2022

Pearls and Irritations, 2020

Pearls and Irritations, 2020

Pearls and Irritations, 2020

Pearls and Irritations, 2021

Pearls and Irritations, 2021

Pearls and Irritations, 2020

Pearls and Irritations, 2020

Pearls and Irritations, 2021

Pearls and Irritations (Online), 2020

On 8 February 2020 the Irish people went to the polls to elect Dáil Éireann, the 160-seat lower h... more On 8 February 2020 the Irish people went to the polls to elect Dáil Éireann, the 160-seat lower house of the Irish parliament. The result was remarkable for two main reasons. Firstly, Sinn Féin, traditionally a fringe-dweller of politics in the Republic of Ireland, had received the highest number of first-preference votes, and with 37 seats was the second largest party. Secondly, no party had won sufficient seats to govern in its own right or even in coalition with one other party. After four months for a coalition government to be formed between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens. It was an improbable outcome given that the first two parties had been traditional rivals for almost 100 years and neither shared much in common with the third. The PDF contains the text of the four articles that appeared in the online blog Pearl and Irritations in February, June and July 2020.

In July 1998 the Parliament passed the Native Title Amendment Act 1998. This brought to an end ma... more In July 1998 the Parliament passed the Native Title Amendment Act 1998. This brought to an end many months of bitter and divisive debate in the Australian community concerning the vexed question of native title. Before 1992, native title was not an issue in Australian politics. Prior to that the talk had been about land rights. Most governments at State and federal level had passed land rights legislation of one form or another. However, in June 1992 the High Court handed down judgment in a case called Mabo v Queensland (No. 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, which shook the foundations of Australia’s land law and opened up a major political debate. In 1996 the High Court handed down another judgment— Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996) 187 CLR 1. Even more so than Mabo, Wik thrust the Australian community into a highly charged political debate. This paper provides basic information to enable non-specialists to understand why Australia legally and politically underwent such trauma concerning the issue of native title. It explains what the High Court decided in Mabo and how the Commonwealth Parliament responded with the Native Title Act 1993. It then goes on to explain the High Court’s decision in Wik and looks at the government’s response to Wik in the Native Title Amendment Act 1998.

This paper contains a detailed narrative of the ten-month tour of Australia in 1883 by John Redm... more This paper contains a detailed narrative of the ten-month tour of Australia in 1883 by John Redmond MP and his brother William to promote and raise funds for the Irish National League. Conducted at an inauspicious time, the tour aroused sectarian and anti-Irish feelings in Australia. The Redmond brothers arrived just as the police court hearings began in Dublin of charges against the extreme nationalists accused of the assassination the previous year of the Chief Secretary of Ireland, Lord Cavendish, and his Under-Secretary, Thomas Bourke, in Phoenix Park. Notwithstanding this and other difficulties the tour was a success, raising both a large sum of money and awareness of the Irish nationalist cause.