Albert Thomas Dryer
Encyclopedia
Albert Thomas Dryer was an Australian
medical doctor and supporter of Irish republicanism
. The founder of the Irish National Association of Australasia
(INA) and the Australian League for an Undivided Ireland, Dryer was a noted campaigner on behalf of the Irish community in Australia and the republican cause.
suburb of Balmain
, Albert Thomas Dryer was the son of an Irish mother, Mary Ann Cusick, and a German-Irish father, Albert James Dryer. His father died when he was young, and his mother remarried. He began his education in Singleton, New South Wales
, in the Hunter Valley, where he lived with his maternal grandmother, and later in Sydney
in 1896-1904, then at night schools. When he finished school he found work in Melbourne
as a clerk with the Customs Department.
In 1909 he was transferred to Sydney, and entered Sydney University to study English literature. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1914, and it was about this time that Albert Dryer’s interest in Irish culture, history and politics was awakened.
On 21 July 1915, at a meeting of 18 Irish people in Sydney, Dryer proposed the establishment of the Irish National Association of Australasia
, to preserve the notion of Irish sovereignty in Australia.
On Monday, 17 June 1918, Albert Dryer and six other INA office-bearers were arrested under emergency war-time regulations, and imprisoned without trial. The seven were accused of membership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and were held in Sydney’s Darlinghurst Prison for several months. Six were released on 19 December 1918, but Albert Dryer was held until 11 February 1919.
After failing in such ventures as book-keeping, coaching and shopkeeping, including his own Academic Coaching College, he attended Sydney Technical College (associate in science and biology 1926) and in 1929 passed first-year medicine at the university without attending lectures. In 1932 he borrowed money to enter medical school full-time and graduated M.B., B.S. in 1938.
Dryer had married Elizabeth Ellen Haynes, on 29 April 1933 at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
. They had been engaged since 1915, but not married until then because of the insecurity of his employment. Their only child Albert Benjamin was born in 1934. He set up his own practice at Fairfield, New South Wales
, in 1940, and then moved his family and practice to Singleton after the Second World War.
For his entire life, Dryer remained the central figure of the Irish National Association of Australasia
, helping secure the land for its premises in Devonshire St, Surry Hills. He was instrumental in organising Éamon de Valera
's controversial visit to Australia in 1948.
Dryer died of cancer in Lewisham Hospital, Sydney, on 11 April 1963, survived by his wife and son. A devout Roman Catholic, he was buried in Sedgfield Cemetery at Singleton, NSW.
The INA's library at its premises in Devonshire St, Sydney is named in his memory.
According to his biographer and friend, Professor Patrick O'Farrell:
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
medical doctor and supporter of Irish republicanism
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. The founder of the Irish National Association of Australasia
Irish National Association of Australasia
The Irish National Association of Australasia is an incorporated association based in Sydney, Australia...
(INA) and the Australian League for an Undivided Ireland, Dryer was a noted campaigner on behalf of the Irish community in Australia and the republican cause.
Biography
Born in the SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburb of Balmain
Balmain, New South Wales
Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....
, Albert Thomas Dryer was the son of an Irish mother, Mary Ann Cusick, and a German-Irish father, Albert James Dryer. His father died when he was young, and his mother remarried. He began his education in Singleton, New South Wales
Singleton, New South Wales
-Industry & Commerce:Major industries near Singleton include coal mining, energy generation, light industry, vineyards, horse breeding and cattle production. Dairying was once a mainstay in the area, but has declined....
, in the Hunter Valley, where he lived with his maternal grandmother, and later in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1896-1904, then at night schools. When he finished school he found work in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
as a clerk with the Customs Department.
In 1909 he was transferred to Sydney, and entered Sydney University to study English literature. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1914, and it was about this time that Albert Dryer’s interest in Irish culture, history and politics was awakened.
On 21 July 1915, at a meeting of 18 Irish people in Sydney, Dryer proposed the establishment of the Irish National Association of Australasia
Irish National Association of Australasia
The Irish National Association of Australasia is an incorporated association based in Sydney, Australia...
, to preserve the notion of Irish sovereignty in Australia.
On Monday, 17 June 1918, Albert Dryer and six other INA office-bearers were arrested under emergency war-time regulations, and imprisoned without trial. The seven were accused of membership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and were held in Sydney’s Darlinghurst Prison for several months. Six were released on 19 December 1918, but Albert Dryer was held until 11 February 1919.
After failing in such ventures as book-keeping, coaching and shopkeeping, including his own Academic Coaching College, he attended Sydney Technical College (associate in science and biology 1926) and in 1929 passed first-year medicine at the university without attending lectures. In 1932 he borrowed money to enter medical school full-time and graduated M.B., B.S. in 1938.
Dryer had married Elizabeth Ellen Haynes, on 29 April 1933 at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
The Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell. The cathedral is dedicated to "Mary, Help of Christians", Patron of Australia...
. They had been engaged since 1915, but not married until then because of the insecurity of his employment. Their only child Albert Benjamin was born in 1934. He set up his own practice at Fairfield, New South Wales
Fairfield, New South Wales
Fairfield is a western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Fairfield is located 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Fairfield and is also partly in the local government...
, in 1940, and then moved his family and practice to Singleton after the Second World War.
For his entire life, Dryer remained the central figure of the Irish National Association of Australasia
Irish National Association of Australasia
The Irish National Association of Australasia is an incorporated association based in Sydney, Australia...
, helping secure the land for its premises in Devonshire St, Surry Hills. He was instrumental in organising Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
's controversial visit to Australia in 1948.
Dryer died of cancer in Lewisham Hospital, Sydney, on 11 April 1963, survived by his wife and son. A devout Roman Catholic, he was buried in Sedgfield Cemetery at Singleton, NSW.
The INA's library at its premises in Devonshire St, Sydney is named in his memory.
According to his biographer and friend, Professor Patrick O'Farrell:
Dryer never visited Ireland, but his devotion to the cause of Irish independence, and particularly the party of de Valera was constant, selfless and total. With great ability and remarkable strength of character and purpose, he was essentially a romantic idealist to whom Ireland represented all that was noble in human affairs. His high intelligence and gentlemanly disposition stopped him well short of any fanaticism, but the realities of indifference and in-fighting which afflicted the Irish cause in Australia were a source of deep disappointment and frustration to him.