Dowell Philip O'Reilly
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Dowell Philip O'Reilly (18 July 1865 – 5 November 1923) was an Australian poet, short story writer and politician.


Early life

O'Reilly was born at Sydney. His father, Rev. Thomas O'Reilly, was a well known clergyman of the Church of England, who came of a family with many military and naval associations. Dowell was the son of his second marriage, to a Miss Smith who came from a well-educated and artistic family. Dowell O'Reilly was educated at
Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...
, and when his father died he assisted his mother in keeping a preparatory school for boys at
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
. In 1884 O'Reilly published a small volume, ''Australian Poems'', and in 1888 a larger volume of verse, ''A Pedlar's Pack''. Both books are now extremely rare. It has been stated that the author destroyed most of the copies of the second volume in his disappointment at its lack of success.


Political career

In 1894 O'Reilly was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly for
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
and sat for four years. He moved the first motion in favour of women's suffrage carried in the New South Wales parliament, but was defeated at the 1898 election. He became a master at his old school, the Sydney Grammar School, and continued there for 11 years. In 1910 he again stood for Parramatta, this time as a
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
candidate with the encouragement of
Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...
, but was defeated, and shortly afterwards obtained a position in the Sydney land tax branch of the Commonwealth Treasury. In 1913, Hughes asked O'Reilly about the views of his brother-in-law,
Albert Piddington Albert Bathurst Piddington KC (9 September 1862 – 5 June 1945) was an Australian lawyer, politician and judge. He was a member of the High Court of Australia for one month in 1913, making him the shortest-serving judge in the court's hi ...
, on states' rights. O'Reilly
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
d Piddington to clarify this, and as a result of Piddington's reply, "In sympathy with supremacy of Commonwealth powers", Hughes appointed him to the Australian High Court. As a result of opposition to his appointment and his belief that he was compromised by the exchange of cables he resigned without sitting in court.


Writing career

In 1913 O'Reilly published ''Tears and Triumph'', an expanded short story rather than a novel, in which O'Reilly shows a penetrating knowledge of the feminine view-point. It is a tragic little story, simply and beautifully told, with a running commentary by the author on the philosophy of sex, and it is unique in Australian literature. In 1895, O'Reilly married Eleanor McCulloch and there were three children of the marriage. During his wife's illness, which lasted for many years, O'Reilly had a difficult and lonely life, which was brightened by a correspondence with a cousin in England whom he had met when she was a child. His father had taken him on a visit to Europe when he was 14. His cousin was too young at the time to have any memory of him, but after the death of O'Reilly's wife in August 1914, the letters gradually developed into love-letters and in June 1917 they were married. Their letters were collected, and published in 1927 under the title of ''Dowell O'Reilly From his Letters, an illuminating revelation of his interesting personality''. In 1920 O'Reilly made a small collection of his short stories from the ''Sydney Bulletin'' and other periodicals, and published them under the name of ''Five Corners''. He died after a short illness of
cerebrovascular disease Cerebrovascular disease includes a variety of medical conditions that affect the blood vessels of the brain and the cerebral circulation. Arteries supplying oxygen and nutrients to the brain are often damaged or deformed in these disorders. Th ...
and
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
at
Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...
in the Blue Mountains. He was survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter, afterwards Mrs Eleanor Dark, a leading Australian novelist.


Assessment

O'Reilly was remembered as witty, kindly, generously tolerant, and sensitive. Though he did not feel challenged by his work as a schoolmaster, he had a good understanding of boys and gained their affection. Not long before his death he wrote of himself: "I am a failure; I have attempted many things, writing, teaching, politics, drifted along, done just enough to live." This feeling of frustration and failure was characteristic. His early verse was seldom of more than average quality, but the little selection published in 1924 with ''Tears and Triumph'' and ''Five Corners'', under the title of ''The Prose and Verse of Dowell O'Reilly'', shows him to be a poet, however limited in output and scope. ''Five Corners'' contains some of the best Australian short stories ever written. "His Photo on the wall" is considered a masterpiece for its mingling of humour and tragedy, and his beautiful little sketch, "Twilight" is a triumph in economy of means. O'Reilly wrote so little perhaps because of his tendency towards self-criticism. He was known as a perfectionist.


Bibliography


Poems

*''Australian Poems'' under pseudonym 'D'. (1884) *''Pedlar's Pack''. (1888)


Short Stories

*''Tears and Triumph'' (1913) *''Five Corners''. (1920)


Letters

*''Dowell O'Reilly From his Letters''. (1927)


Individual poems

* " Sea-Grief" (1899)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oreilly, Dowell Philip Australian feminist writers Australian poets Australian male short story writers Australian suffragists Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1865 births 1923 deaths People educated at Sydney Grammar School People from Parramatta Male feminists Colony of New South Wales people The Australian Worker