Sister Liguori book launch

Queensland Irish Association Members are invited to the Brisbane launch of the book Sister Liguori: The Nun who Divided a Nation by Jeff Kildea, at The Holy Spirit Church in Auchenflower on Wednesday, October 9th, 2024, at 6pm. The book will be launched by Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO, Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic, who gave a wonderful speech at Queensland Irish Association’s St Patrick’s Eve Dinner earlier this year.

A true story stranger than fiction, when an Irish Catholic nun, fearful she was about to be murdered by her mother superior, fled her convent in Wagga Wagga and sought the protection of the Orange order, it sparked a sectarian war that divided the Australian nation. Arrested as a lunatic at the request of her bishop, she was declared sane by the Lunacy Court and released.

Then followed one of the most controversial court cases of the 1920s, Partridge v. Dwyer, in which the ex-nun sued Bishop Dwyer for damages. The hearing attracted the attention of the press across Australia and around the world. Each day the gallery was packed; hundreds queuing in the rain to get a seat.

Meanwhile, in parliament, demands by opposition members for an inquiry into Catholic convents led to threats of violence between Catholic and Protestant MPs. When the nun’s brother kidnapped her off a suburban Sydney street, intending to take her back to her family in Ireland, the police intervened. But when the brother left the country without charge, the opposition moved a censure motion that threatened to bring down the Labor government.

Jeff Kildea is a retired barrister and honorary professor in Irish Studies at the University of New South Wales. In 2014 he held the Keith Cameron Chair of Australian History at University College Dublin. He has written extensively on the history of the Irish in Australia.

Sister Liguori: The Nun Who Divided a Nation is available from Connor Court Publishing (connorcourtpublishing.com.au) for $34.95.

The book will be launched by Father Frank Brennan SJ AO at The Holy Spirit Church, 17 Harriett Street, Auchenflower 4066, on Wednesday, 9th October, at 6pm. If you would like to attend, RSVP by 8th October to email anthony@connorcourt.com or jfkildea@icloud.com.