The Irish Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand held its 22nd conference at Flinders University, Adelaide from 29 November to 2 December 2016. The keynote speakers were Professor David Fitzpatrick (Trinity College Dublin), Professor Melanie Oppenheimer (Flinders University) and Dr Maggie Ivanova (Flinders University). Numerous other papers were given on various topics under the common theme of “Change, Commemoration, Community”.

At the conference I gave a paper entitled “The Paradox of Prophecy: Hugh Mahon and the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal rights” in which I examine Hugh Mahon’s progressive approach to Australia’s indigenous peoples, including his unsuccessful parliamentary motion in 1901 calling for a constitutional amendment that was eventually adopted in 1967. Nevertheless, Mahon was also a strong supporter of the white Australia policy, urging strict controls on immigration and describing non-Europeans in the most disparaging terms. The paper seeks to resolve the apparent paradox between Mahon’s prophetic views on Aboriginal rights and his overtly racist and restrictive attitude towards Asian immigration.