In September 2025 I had the honour of giving the keynote address at the annual Law Night dinner hosted by the Catenian Association and the St Thomas More Society at the Occidental Hotel, Sydney. The subject of my address was “Sectarianism and the Law in Early Twentieth-Century Australia” in which I examined a series of high-profile legal proceedings in the early 1900s that had the potential to intensify chronic ethno-religious animosity and splinter a community already divided between Catholics and Protestants.… Read the rest
Great Irish Famine Commemoration 2025
The annual Great Irish Famine commemoration was held at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney on Saturday 16 August 2025. At the event, I gave the keynote address entitled “‘This monstrous injustice’: Colonial resistance to the Earl Grey famine immigration scheme“.
As usual, the master of ceremonies was Gerry Faulkner and the Consulate General of Ireland was represented this year by the new vice consul general Ciarán Claffey.… Read the rest
Sectarian Rioting in Australia
In 2024 I began researching sectarian rioting in Australia, building on work that I had previously done on sectarianism generally. During the year I gave a lecture, presented a conference paper, and wrote two articles on the topic that were published in historical journals.
The lecture was the 13th annual Plunkett Lecture given under the auspices of the Francis Forbes Society on 10 September 2024 in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in the presence of the Chief Justice and chaired by the Attorney General.… Read the rest
Road to nowhere: faith-based political parties
In an article published in Pearls and Irritations, I look at the question of faith-based political parties. This is a subject that has been discussed in the media following the defection of Senator Fatima Payman from the Labor Party. The senator, who is a Muslim, left the party after crossing the floor to vote in favour of a Greens’ motion regarding the recognition of Palestinian statehood.… Read the rest
Sister Liguori: The Nun Who Divided a Nation
In June 2024 Connor Court Publishing published my latest book, Sister Liguori: The Nun Who Divided a Nation (ISBN: 9781923224063, Paperback 254 pages, RRP $34.95).
It is the true but amazing story of an Irish Catholic nun who in July 1920 fled her Wagga Wagga convent on a frosty winter’s night dressed only in her nightdress fearful she was about to be murdered by her mother superior.… Read the rest
Good Friday Agreement – a model for Palestine?
The continuing horror in Gaza touches us all deeply, even if only vicariously. It leads us ineluctably to the question, often asked in exasperation: Is there no solution? In an article in Pearls and Irritations I look at whether the 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement (BGFA), which ended the Troubles in Northern Ireland might be a model for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict.… Read the rest
Irish-Australian women who opposed conscription in WW1
In 2019 the Irish Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand held a conference in Adelaide on ‘Foregrounding Irish Women: the Antipodes and beyond’. The organisers of the conference have just published a book Irish Women in the Antipodes Foregrounded which includes several of the papers presented at the conference. One of the chapters is my paper entitled ‘More than Mannix: Irish-Australian women who helped defeat conscription in WW1’.… Read the rest
Leo Varadkar Resigns as Taoiseach
The announcement on 20 March 2024 of Leo Varadkar’s decision to resign as taoiseach came as a shock to the press, the public and many of his colleagues in the Oireachtas. Having served in the Dáil as a TD since 2007, having held ministerial rank since 2011, and having held office as taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and 2022 to 2024, Varadkar has decided at the relatively young age of 45 to quit politics.… Read the rest
Stormont restored with a Sinn Féin First Minister
For two years Northern Ireland has been without devolved government following the Democratic Unionist Party’s boycott of the Executive in protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
On Saturday 3 February 2024 the Northern Ireland Assembly met and elected as First Minister Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, the first nationalist member of the assembly to hold that position.… Read the rest
The Dublin riot – Ireland’s wake-up call
On 23 November 2023 the Dublin inner city witnessed an outbreak of civil disorder not seen in decades. Shocking images of burning buses, a burning police car, and police in riot gear were reminiscent of Belfast during the Troubles. In an article I wrote for Pearls and Irritations I explore the context in which the rioting occurred, with particular reference to increased immigration.… Read the rest