Oliver MacDonagh
Encyclopedia
Oliver Ormond Gerard Michael MacDonagh, (1924–2002), was a noted professor of Irish history who made a particular study of the historic relationship between Ireland
and the United Kingdom
. MacDonagh spent most of his academic career at Universities in Cambridge
, Adelaide
, Cork and Canberra
.
, Ireland
to Michael MacDonagh and Loretto Oliver, both of whom were bank officials. The family settled in Roscommon
, where Oliver was initially educated by the Christian Brothers
and for his secondary schooling was sent to board at Clongowes Wood College
. At University College Dublin
he studied History and Law, but socialised more with the 'literary set', graduating in 1944 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree.
where he was a visiting fellow
in 1986 and Honorary Fellow in 1987. Between 1963 and 1964 he was a visiting fellow at the Australian National University
, where he was closely associated with Professor Keith Hancock
. In 1964 he was appointed Professor of History at Flinders University
on its establishment, which position he held until 1968. He returned to Ireland as Professor of Modern History at University College, Cork in 1968, remaining until 1973. In 1970 he was a Visiting Professor at Yale University
. MacDonagh resigned from Cork in 1973 and returned to Australia as W.K. Hancock Professor in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. He remained there until he retired in 1990.
In 1952 he married Carmel Hamilton with whom he had three sons and four daughters.
, The Hereditary Bondsman (1988) and The Emancipist (1989) (combined in the single volume O'Connell: The life of Daniel O'Connell 1775 - 1847 (1990) have been described as a landmark of the genre.
Throughout his career, MacDonagh had over a hundred papers published and thirteen books, including in the field of English and Irish literature. His proposition of the novel as historical evidence, put forward in 1970 in an examination of Maria Edgeworth
's Castle Rackrent
,
was further developed in his 1993 work Jane Austen: Real and Imagined Worlds. There he explored Austen's
contemporary society through the imagined lives of her own novels characters.
MacDonagh also wrote extensively on the history of Irish immigration to Australia
, and proposed the multi-volume bicentennial publication The Australians with Ken Inglis
while chairman of the management committee of the Australian Bicentennial History Project. He also contributed numerous essays to the ten-volume collaborative project A New History of Ireland, first proposed by Professor T.W Moody
in 1962.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. MacDonagh spent most of his academic career at Universities in Cambridge
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
, Adelaide
Flinders University
Flinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...
, Cork and Canberra
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
.
Early life
MacDonagh was born in CarlowCarlow
Carlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to Michael MacDonagh and Loretto Oliver, both of whom were bank officials. The family settled in Roscommon
Roscommon
Roscommon is the county town of County Roscommon in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 5,017 . The town is located near the junctions of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.-History:...
, where Oliver was initially educated by the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
and for his secondary schooling was sent to board at Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College is a voluntary secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools, and featured prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the...
. At University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
he studied History and Law, but socialised more with the 'literary set', graduating in 1944 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree.
Career
MacDonagh was called to the Irish Bar in 1945. From 1952 until 1964 he was a lecturer and Fellow of St Catharine's College, CambridgeSt Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
where he was a visiting fellow
Visiting fellow
A visiting fellow is an academic, often a senior academic, who is undertaking research at a different institution than his or her main institution for a limited period of time, often but not necessarily at a foreign institution. A visiting fellow can be paid or unpaid; sometimes the salary is paid...
in 1986 and Honorary Fellow in 1987. Between 1963 and 1964 he was a visiting fellow at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, where he was closely associated with Professor Keith Hancock
Keith Hancock
Sir Keith Hancock KBE was an Australian historian.He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of Archdeacon William Hancock. At the age of nine, he won the Royal Humane Society's medal for rescuing another child from drowning in the Mitchell River. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School...
. In 1964 he was appointed Professor of History at Flinders University
Flinders University
Flinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...
on its establishment, which position he held until 1968. He returned to Ireland as Professor of Modern History at University College, Cork in 1968, remaining until 1973. In 1970 he was a Visiting Professor at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. MacDonagh resigned from Cork in 1973 and returned to Australia as W.K. Hancock Professor in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. He remained there until he retired in 1990.
In 1952 he married Carmel Hamilton with whom he had three sons and four daughters.
Works
MacDonagh's first book The Passenger Acts: A Pattern of Government Growth (1961) was a critique of the inexorable expansion of government bureaucracy in the nineteenth century. It inspired many similar studies in Europe and the United States. In The Inspector General: Sir Jeremiah Fitzpatrick and Social Reform 1783–1802 (1981), he explored public administration in Ireland and Britain at the turn of the century through the career of his subject. His biographies of Daniel O'ConnellDaniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
, The Hereditary Bondsman (1988) and The Emancipist (1989) (combined in the single volume O'Connell: The life of Daniel O'Connell 1775 - 1847 (1990) have been described as a landmark of the genre.
Throughout his career, MacDonagh had over a hundred papers published and thirteen books, including in the field of English and Irish literature. His proposition of the novel as historical evidence, put forward in 1970 in an examination of Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe...
's Castle Rackrent
Castle Rackrent
Castle Rackrent, a short novel by Maria Edgeworth published in 1800, is often regarded as the first historical novel, the first regional novel in English, the first Anglo-Irish novel, the first Big House novel and the first saga novel....
,
was further developed in his 1993 work Jane Austen: Real and Imagined Worlds. There he explored Austen's
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
contemporary society through the imagined lives of her own novels characters.
MacDonagh also wrote extensively on the history of Irish immigration to Australia
Immigration to Australia
Immigration to Australia is estimated to have begun around 51,000 years ago when the ancestors of Australian Aborigines arrived on the continent via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. Europeans first landed in the 17th and 18th Centuries, but colonisation only started in 1788. The...
, and proposed the multi-volume bicentennial publication The Australians with Ken Inglis
Ken Inglis
Kenneth Stanley Inglis is an Australian historian.Inglis completed his Master's degree at the University of Melbourne and his doctorate at the University of Oxford. In 1956 he was appointed as a lecturer to the University of Adelaide...
while chairman of the management committee of the Australian Bicentennial History Project. He also contributed numerous essays to the ten-volume collaborative project A New History of Ireland, first proposed by Professor T.W Moody
Theodore William Moody
Theodore William Moody was an Irish historian. He was educated at Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Queen's University Belfast. In 1930 he went to the Institute of Historical Research in London, and graduated with a PhD in 1934. He was Professor of Modern History at Trinity College, Dublin,...
in 1962.