The sea-divided Gael : a study of the Irish Home Rule movement in Victoria and New South Wales, 1880-1916

Abstract

Although the Irish constitute one of the major formative influences in the development of Australian society, they have as yet escaped the serious attention of historians. No coherent body of literature exists to place the Irish in their colonial context and assess the distinctiveness of their contribution to an emerging Australian ethos; yet this is not to say that the Irish have been totally ignored by local, researchers - rather, they have been seen as a group of secondary importance, often to be found on the periphery of large and significant events or embroiled in violent controversy. Accordingly, we have studies of the Irish and Eureka, the Irish and the Labour Party, the Irish and conscription - but never of the Irish in their own right, as a distinct ethnic group coming to terms with a difficult and often hostile environment.