A celebration of the O’Malleys in public life, recounting contributions to politics, sport and the arts around the world.
Limerick played host to the 65th annual O’Malley Gathering over the weekend of June 21 to 23, 2019.
Clan chieftain Brendan O’Malley, from Castletroy, welcomed all O’Malleys, Mailles, Maleys, Malias, Malleys, Mealeys, Melias, O'Máilles, O'Malias, O'Mailes, O'Mealys and any other variants, as well as their families, descendants and friends to Limerick, where the O’Malleys have been living since at least the 12th century.
Several hundred O’Malleys from all over Ireland, Europe and the world converged on Limerick city for the festivities.
Mayor Michael Sheahan kicked things off at 6pm on Friday, June 21 by opening an exhibition in City Hall to celebrate O’Malleys in public life, recounting contributions to politics, sport and the arts around the world.
It features such colourful characters as King O’Malley, whose career took him from Kansas to California and then to Australia where he entered politics and became the Minister for Home Affairs in the first Australian federal government.
Brendan said: “He was a lifelong campaigner against alcohol and at one point tried to have attractive barmaids banned from Australian public houses. He was responsible for the selection of Canberra as the site of the new federal capital, where the suburb of O’Malley is named after him. King O'Malley's Irish Pub is also named after him – a tongue-in-cheek reference to his sponsorship of the unpopular alcohol ban in the Australian capital territory during Canberra's early years. So it wasn’t just in Ireland that the O’Malleys have been prominent in local and national politics.
Brendan is a third generation chieftain, his father and grandfather having been chieftains in 1967 and 1955 respectively.
You can find out more at www.omalleyclan.ie
