Patrick O'Farrell

Patrick O'Farrell (1933 - 2003), was a historian known for his histories of Roman Catholicism in Australia, Irish history and the Irish in Australia. He was born in Greymouth, New Zealand and educated at Marist Brothers High School, Greymouth, and at the University of Canterbury, where he received both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in History. He moved to Australia in 1956 and received a PhD from the Australian National University. He was Professor of History at the University of New South Wales from 1972 to 1990, thereafter Emeritus Professor.

O'Farrell's first interests were in Labor history with the 1964 publication of a work on Harry Holland an early Labor prime minister of New Zealand. The appearance in 1968 of his book The Catholic Church in Australia (which went through 3 revised versions) led to his recognition as the leading historian of the Catholic Church and community in Australia. He subsequently also became well-known for his major contributions to the writing of Irish history and the history of the Irish in Australia. He also made notable contributions to a public controversy over the validity or otherwise of oral history.

Books

• Harry Holland: Militant Socialist (1964)
• The Catholic Church in Australia: A Short History 1788-1967 (1968)
• Documents in Australian Catholic History 1788-1968 (1969)
• Ireland’s English Question: Anglo-Irish Relations 1534-1970 (1971)
• England and Ireland since 1800 (1975)
• The Catholic Church and Community in Australia: A History (1977)
• Letters from Irish Australia 1825-1929 (1984)
• The Catholic Church and Community: An Australian History 1985, (3rd ed, w, Afterword, 1992)
• The Irish in Australia (1986, rev. 3rd ed. 2001)
• Vanished Kingdoms: Irish in Australia and New Zealand (1990)
• Through Irish Eyes: Australian and New Zealand Images of the Irish 1788-1948 (1994)
• UNSW: a Portrait (1999)

External link

• Patrick O'Farrell website

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