Register entry 141 - Peter O'Leary
Visited the Bell Farm on Sept. 23, 1884. Peter O'Leary (1844-1895) Born near Clonakilty in County Cork, Ireland, he first became a stonemason, and it would be interesting to learn if he commented on the stone buildings on the Bell Farm during his visit to the Farm.
In 1872 he became interested in social activism and politics, and became an agitator for the release of Fenian prisoners held by the British Government. Later he moved to London, England, and was at one time a representative of the British Labour League and involved with the Home Rule movement.
In 1885 he married Margaret Quinlan (nee McNulty) (1852-1933) and they had three children: Peter, Kathleen and Eileen.
Peter O'Leary first visited Canada in 1874 and travelled extensively across the eastern half of the country and northern United States. When he returned in 1884, he was very impressed with the progress that he witnessed.
During his mid-1870s travels in Quebec, he initiated a movement to erect a monument to commemorate the thousands of Irish typhoid victims who died in 1847 while crossing the Atlantic or on the quarantine island of Grosse Isle, Quebec. That monument was finally erected in 1909, 14 years after O'Leary died.
In 1884, Peter O'Leary travelled to Canada to observe the country's progress and report back to the Canadian government and promote his trip in the United Kingdom. His four page report to the Canadian Minister of Agriculture was submitted on Dec. 31, 1884 and printed in the 1885 Sessional Paper (#8), report # 21. In it, he talks extensively about social issues, and mentioned the good opportunity for flax growth in the North-West. However, his reference to the Bell Farm in that report was rather brief - but did include mention of Major Bell's flax crop. O'Leary wrote a much longer report on the Bell Farm's operation for the "Dublin Nation" on Oct 5, 1884.
It appears that O'Leary might have travelled with some of the British Association delegates on that 1884 trip, but largely he was on his own. On the day that he visited the Bell Farm on Sept. 23, 1884, Dr. Thomas Barnardo, who founded the Barnardo Homes in England and Canada, was also there.
After his return to the United Kingdom, O'Leary wrote a number of newspaper articles and gave speeches in England and Scotland about his journeys to Canada.
During the 1890s, he regularly gave lectures in support of the Temperance Movement, as well as lecturing on the importance of protecting and enhancing the environment.
Peter O'Leary made several other trips to North America, then passed away penniless in 1895, having travelled extensively as a journalist, author and temperance advocate. Shortly after his death, a fund raising drive was organized in London to help support Margret O'Leary and their three children.
SOURCES:
There are many references for Peter O'Leary, a selection of the more relevant ones to this entry are provided below.
Birth Record: Margaret McNulty: Chatham, Kent, p. 19 - 14 July 1852
Photo Source: "South London Press", Sept. 19, 1891
Canadian Sessional Paper #8, Report #21, p. 129: https://archive.org/stream/sessional8s1885cana#page/n249/mode/2up
Fenian Arrest Issue - "The Globe", 22 Nov 1872, p. 5 - O'Leary arrested for demonstrating support of the freeing the arrested Fenians
O'Leary supports Anti-Imperialist cause - "S. London Chronicle & Southwark & Lambeth Ensign", 12 July 1879, p. 6
Newspaper: "Dublin Nation", 5 Oct, 1884, p. 11-12 -
Travels and experiences in Canada, the Red River territory and the United States, by Peter O'Leary/1877 - https://archive.org/details/travelsexperienc00olea/page/n4
Victims of 1847 Memorial - "The Quebec Saturday Budget", Sept. 17, 1892
O'Leary's trip to the north-west - "The Victoria Daily Times", Sept. 13, 1884
Environmental lectures - "The South London Press", Sept. 2, 1893, p. 3.
Obituary: "The Freeman's Journal", Sept. 16, 1895
Fund Raising Drive for Margaret O'Leary and children: "Dublin Evening Telegraph", 23 Sept. 1895
RESEARCH BY:
Michelle Cabana, Saskatoon, Sask., and Bill Pinfold, Sharnbrook, England.