Monsignor

Monsignor

Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...

 Patrick Joseph Hartigan (13 October 1878 - 27 December 1952) was an Australian Roman Catholic priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

, educator, author and poet.

Biography

Born at Yass, New South Wales

Yass, New South Wales

Yass is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Shire. The name appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" , said to mean 'running water'....

 Patrick Joesph Hartigan studied at St Patrick's Seminary, Manly

St Patrick's Seminary, Manly

St Patrick's Seminary, Manly was the leading seminary of the Australian Catholic Church from its foundation in 1889 to its closure in 1995.Conceived by Archbishop Vaughan, it was built from 1885 in Perpendicular Gothic style by Sheerin and Hennessy on a spectacular site overlooking the Pacific...

 and St Patrick's College, Goulburn

St Patrick's College, Goulburn

St Patrick's College, Goulburn was an independent, Roman Catholic, day and boarding school for boys located in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of the earliest schools established by the Christian Brothers in Australia. It is also a school which has a significant Rugby Union...

 

His poetry was very popular in Australia and was well received in Ireland and the United States.

Hartigan died in Lewisham

Lewisham, New South Wales

Lewisham is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lewisham is located 8 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council. The postcode is 2049...

, an inner suburb of Sydney in 1952.

Works

Hartigan wrote under the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 "John O'Brien." His verse celebrated the lives and mores

Mores

Mores, in sociology, are any given society's particular norms, virtues, or values. The word mores is a plurale tantum term borrowed from Latin, which has been used in the English language since the 1890s....

 of the outback

Outback

The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...

 pastoral folk he ministered as a peripatetic curate

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 to the southern New South Wales and Riverina

Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...

 towns of Thurgoona

Thurgoona, New South Wales

Thurgoona is an outer suburb of the regional city of Albury in southern New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located in the City of Albury Local government area.It is the site of one of the campuses of Charles Sturt University...

, Berrigan

Berrigan, New South Wales

Berrigan is a town located on the Riverina Highway in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Berrigan is in the Berrigan Shire Local Government Area and is the location of the Berrigan Shire Council offices...

 and Narrandera

Narrandera, New South Wales

-Transport:Narrandera is well served for transport. The Sturt Highway and the Newell Highways cross, just south of Narrandera. Greyhound buses pass daily - note that the destination can be listed as Jillenbah....

, in the first two decades of the 20th century.

The refrain We'll all be rooned from his poem Said Hanrahan

Said Hanrahan

"Said Hanrahan" is a poem written by the Australian bush poet John O'Brien, the pen name of Roman Catholic priest, Patrick Joseph Hartigan. The poem was first published in 1921 in the anthology Around the Boree Log and Other Verses....

has entered colloquial Australian English

Australian English

Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....

as a jocular response to any prediction of dire consequences arising, particularly, from events outside the interlocutor's control.

External links

• - 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
• ADB article