John Donoghue Memorial Unveiling Jarrahdale Western Australia

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:08][music] [music] [music] [music] She's Heat. Heat.

[00:02:03]>> [music] >> Don't mind me. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat.

[00:02:39][music] Heat.

[00:02:50]Heat.

[00:02:56][music] >> [music] [music] >> All right, good morning everyone and Falcha. Thank you all for gathering here today at Jaredel Cemetery as we honor the life and legacy of John Donahghue.

[00:03:32]We come together not only to unveil this memorial but to remember a man whose story forms a part of the wider Fenian history in Western Australia.

[00:03:45]My name is George. I'm here speaking on behalf of my wife who's one of the few Waja Nunga elders in town.

[00:03:53]I'd like to say we acknowledge the traditional Konians of the land and pay our respects to the elders past, present, and future. We recognize their enduring connection to the land, the waters, and the community. Welcome to Jaredel. It's not just a proud day for the Irish, it's a proud day for us people that live here. And we welcome John into our cemetery.

[00:04:16]Thank you. [applause] Fulture Gadi Geredale Majin John Dunnoo was born in Ireland in 1841 during a century marked by upheaval, hardship and an unyielding desire for freedom. He came of age in the shadow of the great famine, a time that shaped a generation and fueled a determination among many Irish men and women to seek independence from British rule. Donahoo became associated with the Fenian movement as part of a broader struggle for Irish self-determination.

[00:04:59]The Fenians were not simply rebels. They were men driven by a vision of a free Ireland, willing to risk everything in pursuit of that ideal.

[00:05:10]As a result of his involvement, John Dunnoo was transported to Western Australia aboard the Hugammont in 1868.

[00:05:19]The last convict ship to arrive in Australia.

[00:05:23]Among those on board were a number of Fenian prisoners whose story would become one of the most remarkable chapters in Irish Australian history.

[00:05:32]Life in the colony was harsh and for transported men like Dunahoo it meant separation from homeland, family and identity.

[00:05:43]Yet despite the hardships, many of the Fenians maintained their sense of purpose, resilience and quiet defiance.

[00:05:52]Western Australia would later become the setting for a daring catalpa rescue of 1876 when several Fenian prisoners were dramatically freed and returned to America.

[00:06:05]While not all shared in that escape, the presence of men like Donahoo forms part of that legacy.

[00:06:14]A story of endurance, sacrifice, and the enduring hope of freedom in time. Dunu made a life here. Like many former convicts, he became part of the developing colony, contributing in ways both seen and unseen.

[00:06:32]Though far removed from Ireland, his story remained tied to it, woven into the broader narrative of exile and identity that defined so much of the Irish experience abroad.

[00:06:46]He died in 1901 in Western Australia and for many years his story lay quiet known only in fragments. But today we stand here to restore his place in history to ensure that his name is remembered and that the cause he was part of is not forgotten.

[00:07:05]John Dunahoo's life reminds us that history is not only made by great events, but by individuals, by people who carried beliefs, endured hardship, and left their mark, even far from home.

[00:07:20]Today, at this grave site, we honor not just the man, but the legacy he represents.

[00:07:27]Resilience in exile, loyalty to identity, and the enduring spirit of Ireland. He rests here in Jaredale, but his spirit walks with Ireland. He was exiled, but never defeated. He was buried far from home, but never forgotten. For as long as Ireland remembers her sons, the fine flame will never die.

[00:07:52]Mahagus [applause] Maria Collins Tommy Sha is all mid >> [applause] >> I now invite representatives from Kolgan Industries to unveil the memorial to John Donahghue.

[00:08:59]Okay.

[00:09:17][applause] >> [applause] >> As this memorial is revealed, it stands as a lasting tribute not only to John Donahghue, but to all those who shared in that journey, that struggle, and that enduring hope.

[00:09:42]I invite you all now to observe a moment of silence in the honor of John Donahue.

[00:10:01]>> Now at this time I'll invite anybody who wishes to come forward, lay a wreath or offer a small tribute at the graveside.

[00:10:08]This is an opportunity for each of us to pay our respects in our own way.

[00:10:26][music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat.

[00:10:53]Heat. Heat.

[00:10:58][music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> So, thank you all for gathering here today to honor the life and legacy of John Dunahoo. What we have done here is more than unveil a memorial. We have restored a name, a story and a place in history. For many years, John Dun who lay here in quiet anonymity far from the land of his birth. But today that silence is broken. Today he is remembered. His life speaks to us across the years. Of courage in the face of hardship, of loyalty to a cause greater than oneself, and of the enduring strength of identity, even in exile.

[00:12:54]Though he walked this land in a different time, his story remains part of who we are and how we understand the past.

[00:13:03]We also remember that he was not alone.

[00:13:06]He was one of many Fenians transported to these shores. Men who carried with them a belief in Irish freedom that distance could not diminish.

[00:13:17]Their legacy lives on not only in history books but in gatherings like this where memory is kept alive through community.

[00:13:28]As we leave here today, let us carry that memory with us. Let us continue to tell these stories to honor those who came before us and to ensure that their sacrifices are never forgotten.

[00:13:42]Though John Dunahoo rests here in Gerard, his spirit belongs to a much wider story, one that stretches across oceans and generations.

[00:13:53]So we remember him, not just a man of the past, but as part of a living legacy. For as long as Ireland remembers her sons, the Fenian flame will never die. Aaron Gabra Gurav [applause] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Did you get it?

[00:14:37][music] [music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat.

[00:15:14][music] Heat. Heat.

[00:15:24][music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] [applause] [applause] >> Shouting party.

[00:16:24]The no witch ship and commander called pick out the day they say [music] came out to western Australia [singing] and six years away [music] for seven long years they serare and sudden war and stay [music] in their country that they were vanished away. [music] Oh come on you true waters and jailers [singing] [music] remember take care of the rest of your body.

[00:17:19]>> Hey folks I'm the part of the team at the Irish associations. So we we support Irish people the years through political lobbying and encouraging support of Irish culture. Uh it's really important to feel our remembrance for anyone to take up arms to for our country is a massive step and many have obviously suffered as we've seen in John W today.

[00:17:40]So we're here just to recognize a couple of characters uh who made possible. It's a coincidence. It's the 110th anniversary of the 1916 rise of Paul Pierce. So the greatest feeling of them all was John Po and the John Po awards two characters who are keeping play of Trevor D and Chris. [applause] [applause] >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> I'm sorry.

[00:19:10]Heat. Heat.

[00:19:20][music] >> [applause] >> quickly. Thank you very much.

[00:19:38]Yeah, I love the look, the guys that actually did the work physically were these out here. So, I just kind of got to tell you WHAT [cheering] [applause] I actually love that the story starting to come out and now you're hearing about it more and um you know just even the fact that you story of him working here and then in Gren and then down in Bumbrey and you know we work in all those places [music] so you kind of follow in their footsteps and things.

[00:20:08]So, you know, it's um really really good, you know, and um the history as you get expelled and everyone's hearing about you're hearing it from lots of different places. That's what I want.

[00:20:20]>> Yeah.

[00:20:22][applause] And then as Nathan said, for those guys who were the men on the ground doing the work, doing the job, got it all done for us. Can we HAVE FRANK SMITH?

[00:20:38]>> [applause] >> JAMES MASON. [applause] I'm not sure if everybody's here. So we've also got Patrick Hogan on your behalf.

[00:21:06]>> Maver, >> thank you.

[00:21:10]>> Rebecca Wy, thank you.

[00:21:14]and Brian Foster. Thank you all for [applause] All right. Yes, sir. Thanks very much.

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