Exiles undaunted

Kevin O'Doherty (1823-1905) and his wife, Eva Kelly (1830-1910) were of Irish Catholic heritage. As an Irish nationalist poet, Eva became known as "Eva of the Nation" after the Irish paper,"Nation." Kevin was charged with treason after the Irish uprising of 1848 and exiled to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). In 1855 he secretly returned to Ireland to marry Eva Kelly. In 1856 he received a full pardon from the British government and he graduated in medicine a year later. In 1860 the O'Dohertys migrated to Australia where they played a prominent roll in civic and political affairs. Their descendents still reside in Australia.