John O'Brien (poet)
Monsignor Patrick Joseph Hartigan (13 October 1878 – 27 December 1952) was an Australian Roman Catholic priest, educator, author and poet, writing under the name John O'Brien.
Life
Born at Yass, New South Wales Patrick Joseph Hartigan studied at St Patrick's Seminary, Manly and St Patrick's College, Goulburn.[1][2]
His poetry was very popular in Australia and was well received in Ireland and the United States.
Hartigan died in Lewisham, an inner suburb of Sydney, in 1952.
Works
Hartigan wrote under the pseudonym "John O'Brien." His verse celebrated the lives and mores of the outback pastoral folk he ministered to as a peripatetic curate in the southern New South Wales and Riverina towns of Thurgoona, Berrigan and Narrandera, in the first two decades of the 20th century.[3][4]
The refrain We'll all be rooned from his poem Said Hanrahan has entered colloquial Australian English as a jocular response to any prediction of dire consequences arising, particularly, from events outside the interlocutor's control.[5]
He also wrote a number of articles on early Irish priests in Australia, later collected in The Men of '38 and Other Pioneer Priests.[6]
Legacy
His most popular book of poetry was filmed in 1925 as Around the Boree Log.
A John O'Brien Festival was held annually in Narrandera.[7] The John O'Brien Heritage Museum is located in Audley Street.[8]
Bibliography
Poetry collections
- Around the Boree Log and Other Verses (1921)
- The Parish of St Mel's and Other Verses (1958)
Selected list of poems
| Title | Year | First published | Reprinted/collected in |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Said Hanrahan" | 1919 | The Catholic Press, 31 July 1919, p19[9] | Around the Boree Log and Other Verses, Angus and Robertson, 1921, pp. 77-81 |
References
- Back to citation Australian National University, "Patrick Joseph Hartigan", Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, 12 May 2011
- Back to citation "Monsignor P.J. Hartigan's reminiscences". Narandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser. 26 May 1952. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- Back to citation F.A. Mecham, "John O'Brien" and the Boree Log (Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1981).
- Back to citation Franklin, James (2019). "Catholic rural virtue in Australia: ideal and reality" (PDF). Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society. 40: 39–61. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- Back to citation O’Dwyer, Tim. "We'll All Be Rooned, said Hanrahan". Lawyers Conveyancing. Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2009. Echos of the well-known poem about Irish-Catholic-bush-pessimist Hanrahan* came out of the Australian Capital Territory
- Back to citation The Men of '38 and Other Pioneer Priests, by "John O'Brien" ed. T.J. Linane and F.A. Mecham, with a foreword by His Eminence Cardinal James Freeman, Kilmore Publishing, Lowden VIC, 1975.
- Back to citation "John O'Brien Festival". Narrandera Shire Council. 2011. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- Back to citation "John O'Brien, Australian Author and Poet". John O'Brien Heritage Museum. 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- Back to citation O'Brien, John (31 July 1919). "Said Hanrahan". The Catholic Press. p. 19. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
External links
- The Life and Poetry of John O'Brien - brief biography, timeline and 25 poems
- Brief biography and selection of Hartigan's bush poetry
- John O'Brien's Poetry - brief biography and three poems
- Narrandera's John O'Brien Festival Archived 20 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- ADB article
- Works by John O'Brien at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- John O'Brien discography at Discogs
- Patrick Joseph Hartigan discography at Discogs