The Australian-Irish have contributed hugely to popular culture.
“Australia without the Irish would be unthinkable . . . unimaginable . . . unspeakable.� A quote from Paul Keating, the then Australian Prime Minister, in 1992. And to reaffirm that notion, the Sydney-based Irish Echo has just published a list of 100 Irish-Australians credited with making a valuable contribution to popular culture.
From writers to sports heroes, the list covers a whole range of people who all have one thing in common, their Irish roots.
Those who made it onto the top 100 include Ned Kelly, the bushranger and folk hero; Redmond Barry, the judge who ordered Kelly’s execution; Fanny Durack the gold-winning Olympic medalist of 1912; Tom Keneally the author of Schindler’s Ark; Patrick Johnson, Australia’s fastest man who broke the 10 second barrier over 100 metres and John Moriarty, who had an Aborigine mother and Irish father. He was taken from his mother at the age of 4 under the assimilation policy and put into a children’s home. Moriarty is now a famed artist and recently tracked his Irish relatives down, knocking on their door and declaring “G’day! I’m your cousin from Australia!â€?
The list throws up a few surprises too, for instance who’d have thought that the writer of Mary Poppins was Irish-Australian? Pamela Lyndon Travers was born Helen Lyndon Goff in Queensland to an Irish father and a Scottish mother. The name change came because of her acting career. Before her Mary Poppins fame she’d contributed a few poems to the Irish Statesman.
Another surprise are the ones who don’t make the list, such as Kylie and Dannii Minogue who have Irish ancestry. But perhaps they didn’t quite meet the criteria laid out by Irish Echo editor Billy Cantwell who said: “These are people who’ve made a positive contribution in their field, so each individual would have certainly achieved a lot in their lives,� Sorry girls!
There are plenty other worthy candidates who didn’t make the list and the debate is currently raging over on the Irish Echo’s website. You can add your thoughts by clicking here and getting involved!
Other related articles:
- Irish Financial Crisis Force Many to Emigrate to Australia - A newspaper survey shows that almost a quarter of all...
- Irish Leave Emerald Isle for Australian Hopes - Soaring numbers of young Irish are leaving Ireland to emigrate...
- Ten Pound Pom Secrets Revealed - Australian immigration records through up family secrets....
Love Australia? Let us keep you informed...
- Join the Embrace Australia community today. Have your questions answered by our experts, start your own blog, get vital migration information and gain valuable insight from those who have already made the journey.
- Subscribe to our RSS Feed and have all our daily news and features delivered straight to your news reader.
- Join our mailing list -
