Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, 3rd Baronet (pronounced and sometimes spelt Brian O'Lochlen; 27 June 1828 – 31 October 1905) was an Irish-born Australian colonial politician who was the 13th

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

Early life

O'Loghlen was born in

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, Ireland on 27 June 1828. He was a younger son of the distinguished Irish judge Sir Michael O'Loghlen, 1st Baronet, and his wife Bidelia Kelly, and was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

and was admitted to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland () is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

in 1856.

Career

In 1862 he emigrated to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and was appointed a Crown Prosecutor in 1863. He succeeded to his father's

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

cy in 1877 on the death of his brother, Colman, and in the same year he was elected, ''in absentia'', to the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

for

, replacing his brother, but did not take his seat. O'Loghlen narrowly lost the election for the seat of

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

in May 1877. In February 1878 O'Loghlen, a recognised leader of the Irish Catholic community in Victoria, was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

for West Melbourne in a by-election. In 1880 he transferred to West Bourke, which he held until February 1883. O'Loghlen was a radical liberal in Victorian politics: he favoured breaking up the estates of the landowning class (who were mainly English and Scottish Protestants) to provide land for small farmers, and ending the power of the landowner-dominated

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

. He also wanted government aid for Roman Catholic schools, but not if this meant government supervision of what they taught. He served as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

in the reforming ministry of

Graham Berry Sir Graham Berry, (28 August 1822 – 25 January 1904), was an Australian colonial politician and the 11th Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most radical and colourful figures in the politics of colonial Victoria, and made the most de ...

from 27 March 1878 to 1880, and was a loyal supporter of Berry in his struggles with the Council and the conservatives it represented. His appointment as Attorney-General constituted an

office of profit An office of profit means a position that brings to the person holding it some financial gain, or advantage, or benefit. It may be an office or place of profit if it carries some remuneration, financial advantage, benefit etc. It is a term used i ...

from

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

; in Victoria he won the consequent

ministerial by-election From 1708 to 1926, Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament (MPs) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of Great Britain (and later the United Kingdom) automatically vacated their seats when made Mi ...

, whereas in the UK a select committee deemed he had vacated his Westminster seat,Select Committee 1879, p.iii, (2) triggering a by-election.

Premier of Victoria

When Berry's third government resigned in July 1881, O'Loghlen succeeded him as leader of the liberal forces and became Premier—the second Irish Catholic to hold the position. His government was described as "unspectacular", and "a collection of party rebels, Catholics and opportunists". Much of the radical impetus of the Berry years had passed and O'Loghlen's government achieved little. In 1883, a scandal arose over the activities of Railways Minister

Thomas Bent Sir Thomas Bent (7 December 1838 – 17 September 1909) was an Australian politician and the 22nd premier of Victoria. Early life Bent was born in Penrith, New South Wales the eldest of four sons and two daughters of James Bent, a hotel-keepe ...

, who was accused of corruption. In the March 1883 election, the liberals were defeated and O'Loghlen lost his seat. In 1888, O'Loghlen returned to politics as member for

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, which he held until 1889, when the seat was renamed

Port Fairy Port Fairy (historically known as Belfast) is a town in south-western Victoria, Australia. It lies on the Princes Highway in the Shire of Moyne, west of Warrnambool and west of Melbourne, at the point where the Moyne River enters the Souther ...

, which he represented from 1889–1894, and again from 1897–1900. He was Attorney-General again, albeit only for one year, in the Patterson government (1893–1894).

Personal life

O'Loghlen was married to Ella Margaret Seward (1846–1919). Together, they were the parents of twelve children, including: *

Sir Michael O'Loghlen, 4th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

(1866–1934), who married Beatrice Mary Murphy in 1918. * Lucy Mary Susan O'Loghlen (1868–1942) * Colman Seward O'Loghlen (1870–1909) * Hugh Ross O'Loghlen (1873–1873), who died young. * Ella Maud O'Loghlen Williams (1874–1960) * Bryan James O'Loghlen (1878–1920) * Josephine Mary O'Loghlen (1880–1880), who died young. * Charles Hugh Ross O'Loghlen (1881–1951) * Henry Ross O'Loghlen (1886–1944), who married Doris Irene Horne in 1912. * Aimee Margaret O'Loghlen (1891–1954) He died aged 77 in 1905, and was buried at

St Kilda Cemetery St Kilda Cemetery is located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East, Victoria. History St Kilda Cemetery covers a large block bordered by Dandenong Road, Hotham Street, Alma Road and Alexandra Street. It is bounded by a historic wall and cont ...

. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

References

Sources

*Geoff Browne, ''A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900–84'', Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985 *Don Garden, ''Victoria: A History'', Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984 *Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, ''A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856–1900'', Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972 * Raymond Wright, ''A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856–1990'', Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992 *

Citations

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ologhlen, Bryan 1828 births 1905 deaths Australian Roman Catholics Ologhlen, Bryan, 3rd Baronet Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Clare constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1874–1880 Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Treasurers of Victoria Politicians from County Clare Premiers of Victoria Irish barristers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Attorneys-general of the Colony of Victoria 19th-century Australian lawyers 19th-century Irish lawyers Lawyers from County Clare Burials at St Kilda Cemetery Attorneys-general of Victoria