Patrick Ignatius Davit O'Leary (1888 – 21 July 1944) was an Australian poet and journalist.

History

O'Leary was born in Georgetown South Australia, the fourth child of Irish-born schoolteacher Daniel James O'Leary (died 6 May 1902) and Susan O'Leary, née Kinnear. The Irish patriot Michael Davitt, who visited Australia in 1895 was said to be Patrick’s Godfather? Patrick did not walk until 8 years of age on account of a congenital leg deformation, so developed an early love of reading, particularly the adventure stories of

Stevenson Stevenson is an English language patronymic surname meaning "son of Steven". Its first historical record is from pre-10th-century England. Another origin of the name is as a toponymic surname related to the place Stevenstone in Devon, England. The ...

and

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

. He eventually learned to walk, and developed a love of cricket (though he needed a

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

) and horseriding. The family moved to Port Pirie, from where he once attempted to stowaway to America, but was caught out. He worked as a clerk for

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

and

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

, where he became involved with the union movement, then became a journalist with the '' Barrier Miner'', learning the trade from the radical H. H. Champion. In 1912 he married Mary Slattery, and moved to Adelaide, where he found employment with '' The Advertiser''. This was around the time of the Great War, and the conscription referendum, on which he campaigned vigorously on the "NO" side, against ''Advertiser'' policy, and was sacked. They moved to Melbourne, where he worked for some time in menial jobs and perhaps a publication called ''Midnight Sun''. In 1920 he joined ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'', a Catholic weekly, where he remained until his death in 1944, making significant contributions with literary critiques and poems, and briefly served as assistant editor. He was a member of

Louis Esson Thomas Louis Buvelot Esson (10 August 1878 – 27 November 1943) was an Australian poet, journalist, critic and playwright. He was a co-founder of the Pioneer Players. His second wife, Hilda Esson (nee Bull), had a career in theatre besides work ...

's Pioneer Players, an amateur company that specialized in Australian plays, and also belonged to Melbourne's

Bread and Cheese Club The Bread and Cheese Club was a Melbourne-based Australian art and literary society and publisher. It was founded in June 1938 with the purpose of fostering “Mateship, Art and Letters”. Its membership was all male. It promoted Australian wri ...

. He was secretary of the Irish Self-Determination League.

Family

O'Leary married Mary Teresa Slattery at the Broken Hill cathedral in 1912. Their son, Kevin O'Leary, became a Catholic priest. O'Leary's brothers John Justin O'Leary (born Peterborough 31 July 1892 – 14 February 1918), and (Humphrey) Emmet O'Leary (born Georgetown 6 May 1886 – 9 March 1918) both enlisted with the

First AIF The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

, both killed in action. Their mother, Susan O'Leary, was listed as next of kin. She later became Sue Holland.

Works

*''Romance and Other Verses'' (1921) *''The Bread and Cheese Book'' (1939) *''Bard in Bondage'' (1947), an anthology compiled by Joseph O'Dwyer, included several of his essays. He was a frequent contributor to '' The Lone Hand'', ''Triad'' and other periodicals. His poetry was published under several pseudonyms, including "M", "Historicus", "Francis Davitt" and "P.I.O.L." One of his poems was published in December 1944 as ''R.I.P.'' by the '' Irish Press'' in his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Patrick I 1888 births 1944 deaths 20th-century Australian male writers Australian journalists Australian poets Australian Catholics