AT A tiny primary school in a town in Ireland, a replica Eureka flag takes pride of place.
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It is a school run by Irish national and principal Liam O’Neill, who this month came to Australia for football.
On Monday, he found himself on historical tour of Ballarat.
Mr O’Neill is the president of Ireland’s Gaelic Athletic Association and, in a twist of fate, he lives next door to great-great-great-grand nephews of Ballarat’s historic Eureka leader Peter Lalor.
It is the former homestead of Mr Lalor’s brother Irish revolutionary James Fintan Lalor and is located in the seaside town of Tenkakill.
James was a renowned activist and played an significant role in the 1848 Irish Rebellion.
Mr O’Neill is travelling around Australia as part of the International Rules Football Series.
In a chance meeting, he met Ballarat Rooster’s chairman John McClure at Sandringham’s Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday during an
International Rules Game between the VFL and a touring Irish football team.
The exchange ended with Mr McClure offering to take Mr O’Neill on a personal tour of his hometown.
The tour included stops at Sovereign Hill, the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E) and lunch at the North Ballarat Football Club and Sports Club.
Before his trip to Australia, the Irish history buff undertook extensive research of the Lalor family.
Mr O’Neill is the principal of the tiny Gaelscoil in Trumera, a primary school of only 35 children run by two teaching staff.
For the Eureka Stockade’s 150th anniversary, Mr O’Neill had a replica flag flown from Australia to Ireland to teach the children about the iconic moment in Australian history and the activism of the Lalor brothers across the world.
He said the parallel between the fight for democracy in Australia and Ireland was undeniable.
However, Mr O’Neill said he never imagined he would be taken to the spot where Peter Lalor made his historic speech in Bakery Hill – or personally meet the director of M.A.D.E, Jane Smith.
“I’ve been absolutely blown away by the experience,” Mr O’Neill said.
He is now in discussions with the museum about commencing an relationship between Ballarat and the education centre for children his hometown in Ireland.
“I find the story of the Eureka Stockade quite romantic and inspiring,” Mr O’Neill said.
“But what I also find so interesting is that two lands more than 10,000 miles apart were experiencing a very similar struggle for democracy years apart. These challenges and movements for equality were also lead by two brothers.”
melissa.cunningham@fairfaxmedia.com.au
