Bishop John Gallagher (1846–1923) was an Irish born priest who served as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Goulburn, Australia.[1] Born in Castlederg, Ireland, in 1846, he was ordained in 1869 for the diocese of Goulburn by the Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal Moran.[2] He served as a priest in Goulburn, Dr Gallagher a noted classicist, taught at St Patrick's College, Goulburn, where he served as president of the college from 1875 until 1888.[3] Dr Gallagher was appointed Titular Bishop of Adrassus, co-adjutor Bishop of Goulburnand in 1900 Bishop of Goulburn.In 1916 he laid the foundation stone of Sacred Heart Church, Cootamundra.[4]
"John O'Brien"'s 1921 comic poem, 'Tangmalangaloo', in which a bishop visiting a remote bush school asks a boy what Christmas is and receives the reply "It's the day before the races out at Tangmalangaloo" is a true story of a visit by Gallagher to Tangmangaroo.[5]
Rt. Rev. Dr. John Gallagher died aged 77 in 1923.