Filed under Australian-Irish history …

Kitty Parker: Transnational-Composer and Concert Pianist and her Irish Rebel Ancestry

Kitty Parker: Transnational-Composer and Concert Pianist and her Irish Rebel Ancestry

Here is a brief snapshot of Kitty Parker’s rebel ancestry: Michael Dwyer’s sister Sarah married Hugh Vesty Byrne, Dwyer’s Lieutenant. They had fourteen children. In 1825 a daughter Catherine Byrne married John Keirghan also a currency lad, or child of the convict Patrick Keirghan transported on Marquis Cornwallis, 1796, who married convict Catherine Kitts in Sydney. John Leary, convict on transport Prince Regent 1824, married convict Catherine Jones in Sydney 1825 Continue reading →

Irish-Australian Women Writers: 1. Eliza Hamilton Dunlop (1796–1880)

Irish-Australian Women Writers: 1. Eliza Hamilton Dunlop (1796–1880)

Eliza was obviously interested in people who came from different cultures, and she tried to understand them by studying their languages. We see this in some of her first poems written in Ireland. For instance, she made a point of using Irish placename spellings, rather than anglicised ones, when describing the impressive natural features of south County Down, including the Mourne Mountains. Continue reading →