In this presentation Damian John Gleeson will outline key themes that have emerged from a detailed examination of the Reverend John Joseph Therry collection held at the State Library of New South Wales, including analysis of Therry’s Irish family and culture, his dominant leadership role amongst convicts, heart wrenching correspondence from convict families remaining in Ireland, re-marriage and bigamy in early NSW, church and state relations, and Therry’s numerous financial and property disputes.