John Leahy (15 July 1854 – 20 January 1909) was a newspaper proprietor and member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

. Leahy was born at

Schull Schull or Skull ( ; or ''Scoil Mhuire'', meaning "Mary's School") is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the municipal district of West Cork, the town is dominated by Mount Gabriel (407 m). It has ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, to Patrick Leahy, farmer, and his wife Mary (née Coghlan). After receiving his education he moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

where he was said to have worked as a rural labourer before becoming

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Windorah Windorah is a town and a locality in the Shire of Barcoo, Queensland, Australia. It is one of only three towns in the Shire of Barcoo in Central West Queensland. In the , Windorah had a population of 115 people. Geography Located downstream fr ...

then settling in

Thargomindah Thargomindah (frequently shortened to Thargo) is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Bulloo, Queensland, Australia. The town of Thargomindah is the administrative centre for the Shire of Bulloo. In the , Thargomindah had a population of ...

.Leahy, John (1854–1909)
— ''

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'' Retrieved 22 December 2015. It was here that Leahy held a partnership in a cordial factory and, with his brother

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, became part-owner of the Thargomindah Herald. From 1886 until 1889 he was also the proprietor of the Royal Hotel which was located in the main street of the town.

Political career

Leahy was the member for Bulloo from 1893 until his death in 1909. He was minister for Railways and Public Works from 1901 to 1903 and

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from 1907 to 1909.

Personal life

On the 11 February 1886, Leahy married Annie Colbert at Thargomindah and together had one son and six daughters. Leahy died in Brisbane in 1909. His funeral moved from his home in

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,542 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

to the

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemet ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, John 1854 births 1909 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Burials at Toowong Cemetery 19th-century Australian politicians