Issue Details: First known date: 2009... 2009 The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In 1922, at the height of Ireland's tragic civil war, Irish Jesuit William Hackett was transferred to Australia by his order. Assigned to a minor teaching post, this seemingly unremarkable newcomer caused no stir.

'Yet Father Hackett had been close to the centre of the provisional Irish Republic's struggle for independence from Britain; part of the network of Irish nationalists who carried intelligence, ministered to republican troops, spoke on republican platforms, and helped to publicise British injustices and atrocities in Ireland. Now, he was effectively an exile.

'Leading Australian biographer Brenda Niall tells the story of this remarkable priest, in both its Irish and Australian chapters. Cut off from his compatriots, without news of his friends, Hackett sought out Daniel Mannix, the formidable Archbishop of Melbourne, famous for his Irish republican stance and his opposition to conscription. The enduring friendship that followed drew Hackett into Australian cultural and political life, and eventually into the central political controversy of 1950s Australia - the Catholic Church's covert partnership with anti-communist leaders of the labor movement.

'An absorbing narrative and a subtle character study, The Riddle of Father Hackett is based on archives in Ireland and Australia, including Hackett's personal correspondence with Michael Collins, Eamon de Valera, Erskine Childers, Daniel Mannix and BA Santamaria.' (From the publisher's website)

Affiliation Notes

  • This work has been affiliated with the Irishness in Australian Literature dataset because it contains Irish characters, settings, tropes or themes.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

[Untitled] John Molony , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Catholic Historical Review , Winter vol. 100 no. 1 2014; (p. 186)

— Review of The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Brenda Niall , 2009 single work biography
Untitled Tony Gibbons , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 4 no. 2 2012;

— Review of The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Brenda Niall , 2009 single work biography
The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Ged Martin , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: Reviews in Australian Studies , vol. 5 no. 3 2011; (p. 1-6)

— Review of The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Brenda Niall , 2009 single work biography
My Father's Journey around Archbishop Mannix John Pratt , 2010 single work column
— Appears in: Tintean , September no. 13 2010; (p. 4)
Launch of The Riddle of Father Hackett 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Xavier News , December vol. 27 no. 4 2009; (p. 20)
Irish Radical Jesuit's Life Down Under Val Noone , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Eureka Street , 11 September vol. 19 no. 17 2009;

— Review of The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Brenda Niall , 2009 single work biography
Ireland to Australia, Politics to Power, a Jesuit in Exile Frank O'Shea , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 5 September 2009; (p. 17)

— Review of The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Brenda Niall , 2009 single work biography
The Meddlesome Life of a Jesuit Maverick Gerard Windsor , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19-20 September 2009; (p. 26-27)

— Review of The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Brenda Niall , 2009 single work biography
Lifting the Lid Morag Fraser , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 315 2009; (p. 13-14)

— Review of The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Brenda Niall , 2009 single work biography
[Review] The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Eliza Metcalfe , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , September vol. 89 no. 2 2009; (p. 33)

— Review of The Riddle of Father Hackett : A Life in Ireland and Australia Brenda Niall , 2009 single work biography
Notes from the Underground Ray Cassin , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 4 September 2009; (p. 22)
My Father's Journey around Archbishop Mannix John Pratt , 2010 single work column
— Appears in: Tintean , September no. 13 2010; (p. 4)
Launch of The Riddle of Father Hackett 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Xavier News , December vol. 27 no. 4 2009; (p. 20)
Last amended 29 Aug 2024 17:32:41
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