A true Irishman on St Patrick’s Day

John MURRAY was my gg-grandfather – a Probationary Convict born about 1826, Bumlin, Roscommon, Ireland.

He had an interesting life but this morning, thanks to TROVE, I spotted a special reference to him – just over two years before his death.  At the time he was the publican of the Harp of Erin Hotel in Armidale – previously called the Royal Hotel [when it was run by his father-in-law] and later called the Wicklow Hotel.

And a timely find it was – Freeman’s Journal, Saturday 10 April 1876, p.7 :

St Patrick’s Day.— I should have drawn attention, too, in my last, to the fact that this day was almost totally unobserved in Armidale.  Why I cannot tell. One would think that in a district containing so many Irishmen and their descendants— Irishmen, too, worthy of the name – that the great national feast-day should not pass unnoticed, I might suggest that the annual picnic to the children of the Roman Catholic school might be given on this day, or perhaps the rare old custom which formerly prevailed here of having a banquet might be revived. As it was, were it not for Mr. John Murray of the Harp of Erin Hotel, who hoisted the National Flag, the day might have passed without the least notice.

Yep – I’m proud of my gg-grandfather!