Patrick James O'Farrell (17 September 1933 – 25 December 2003) was an historian known for his histories of

Roman Catholicism in Australia The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Holy See. From origins as a suppressed, mainly Irish minority in early colonial times, the church has grown ...

Irish history The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quatern ...

and

Irish Australian Irish Australians ( ga, Gael-Astrálaigh) are an ethnic group of Australians, Australian citizens of Irish descent, which include immigrants from and descendants whose ancestry originates from the Ireland, island of Ireland. Irish Australians ...

history.

Early life and family

O'Farrell was born on 17 September 1933, in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

, New Zealand, into an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

family. He was educated at the Marist Brothers High School, Greymouth, and at

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

, where he graduated

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

with second-class honours in history in 1956. Having moved to Australia in 1956, O'Farrell earned a PhD from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in 1960 on the development of

Harry Holland Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. Early life Holland was born at G ...

, an early Labour Party leader in New Zealand, as a militant socialist. On 29 December 1956, O'Farrell married Deirdre Genevieve MacShane, and the couple went on to have five children.

Academic career

O'Farrell was appointed as a lecturer in history at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

in 1959, rising to become a professor in 1972. On his retirement in 1990, he was conferred with the title of

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. O'Farrell's first research interests were in Labour history with the 1964 publication of a work on Harry Holland. The appearance in 1968 of his book ''The Catholic Church in Australia'' 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

and of

history. As an opponent of social history 'from below', he initiated a polemic against oral history in the 1980s.

Bibliography

*''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) * **Revised edition of ''The Catholic church and community in Australia : a history'' (1977). ** *''Letters from Irish Australia 1825-1929'' (1984) * ** ** * *''Through Irish Eyes: Australian and New Zealand Images of the Irish 1788-1948'' (1994) *''UNSW: a Portrait'' (1999)

References

External links

Patrick O'Farrell websitePatrick O'Farrell at the National Library of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ofarrell, Patrick 1933 births 2003 deaths University of Canterbury alumni Australian National University alumni University of New South Wales faculty People from Greymouth New Zealand Roman Catholics New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian historians People educated at John Paul II High School, Greymouth

Early life and family

Academic career

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links