Patrick Augustine O'Flaherty CM (October 6, 1939 – August 16, 2017) was a

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

writer, historian, and academic.

Early life and education

O'Flaherty was born in Long Beach, part of Northern Bay,

Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it ...

. He received a B.A. and M.A. from

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

, and obtained his Ph.D. from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in 1963. After teaching at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

, in 1965 he joined the English department at Memorial, where he was later Professor and Head (1982-1987). He retired in 1995 and held the position of

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

Academic career

O'Flaherty was the author of two books of short stories, '' Summer of the Greater Yellowlegs'' (1987) and ''A Small Place in the Sun'' (1989), and two novels, ''Benny's Island'' (1994) and ''Priest of God'' (1989). In 1979 he published ''The Rock Observed'', a survey of writing about Newfoundland and Labrador. He also wrote a travel guide ''Come Near at your Peril'' (first published 1992), a sardonic but affectionate look at tourism in Newfoundland. In collaboration with historian Peter Neary, O'Flaherty wrote ''Part of the Main: An Illustrated History of Newfoundland and Labrador'' (1983) and edited ''By Great Waters'' (1977), an anthology of writing about Newfoundland and Labrador. O'Flaherty later completed three volumes on Newfoundland political history, ''Old Newfoundland: A History to 1843'' (1999), ''Lost Country: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland 1843-1933'' (2005), and ''Leaving the Past Behind: Newfoundland History from 1934'' (2011). In 2007, O'Flaherty was inducted into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Personal life and death

O'Flaherty was married to Marjorie Doyle, a writer and broadcaster, and had three sons from a previous marriage. He drowned in a swimming accident in August 2017.

References

External links

Appreciation by Rex Murphy
Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador Members of the Order of Canada 1939 births 2017 deaths {{Ireland-writer-stub