Annual Father Brian Maher Lecture

Annual Father Brian Maher Lecture: Tuesday 5 May at 7pm. (In person at the FHACT Education Room, Cook Community Hub, Templeton Street, Cook, or online via Zoom]. This lecture is part of the ACT Heritage Festival.

All welcome.  Space is limited, so book early.

Family History ACT Members BOOK HERE

Non-Members please book through Trybooking.

To attend in person at Cook: https://www.trybooking.com/DKHTC 

To attend online via Zoom: https://www.trybooking.com/DKHTS

Topic:  Love, Tragedy and Murder on the Limestone Plains

Special Guest Speakers:  Family History ACT members Cheryl Bollard and Sue Pillans.
 
Family History ACT invites members and guests to its upcoming May Monthly Meeting.

This month’s meeting will feature the annual Father Brian Maher Lecture, titled “Love, Tragedy and Murder on the Limestone Plains.” Drawing on genealogy and local history, the lecture explores four compelling stories that highlight the ways land and place have shaped lives in the region.

The lecture will be presented by FHACT members Cheryl Bollard and Sue Pillans, who have both played a key role in the preservation and digitisation of the Father Brian Maher Collection held by the society. Through their work with this significant archive, they have developed a deep appreciation for the lives it documents and are keen to share the stories and insights it offers into early Irish and Catholic individuals on the Limestone Plains.

From a murder connected to land conflict in Ireland that ultimately leads to transportation to Australia, to a violent dispute over land near Lake George; from a deeply personal family tragedy that changed a life forever, to a touching series of love letters exchanged across the vast distances of colonial Australia — these stories reveal the powerful human dramas hidden within the historical landscape.

Join us for an evening of discovery as we uncover the lives, emotions and events that unfolded on the Limestone Plains. Attendees joining in person are warmly invited to stay after the meeting for supper and a chat—an opportunity to connect with fellow members and continue the conversation.

Brian Maher was born in Corowa, NSW, in 1936 and passed away in Canberra in 2021. He was ordained as a Priest in the Catholic Church in Canberra in 1966 and spent most of his life serving Catholic communities in the Canberra Region as their Parish Priest. His work in chronicling the history of the Catholic Church in this region and his dedication to preserving the stories of the region’s Catholic and Irish communities have cemented his place as a pivotal figure in our understanding of faith, heritage and identity.